Day 2 Sacavem to Vila Franca de Xira

27 kilometres. Started by getting the train from our hotel to Sacavem, arriving at Sacavem about 8:45am. Walked along the river, and then it was quickly into a rural landscape (even though there were suburbs west and east of me). The track followed a river, but was used by horses and mountain bikers, and it progressively got muddier. Then it started to rain, so on with the raincoat and pack cover. I got to Granja, and stopped in a park to have early lunch, and by then it had stopped raining.

Then through Alpriarte, and towards the A1 Expressway, along an even muddier track, and it was raining again. It was still raining when I went through Povoa de Santa Iria, with all the shops closed because it was Sunday. The Camino was then a farm track north covered with a lot of water, until I arried at Alverca de Ribatejo, where I really enjoyed riding the escalator up when crossing the railway station. I stopped again for something to eat in front of a closed shop, so I could get out of the rain for a while.

The camino then headed towards the N-10 passing industrial areas. Then it was 2 kilometres of walking along the N-10 (a busy road) with sometimes no shoulder to walk on.

I left the N-10 at Alhandra and using the GPS made by way to the waterfront, and took the John Brierley guide book advice and took the river walking track up to Vila Franca de Xira. The late afternoon had turned sunny and it was a pleasant walk (if you ignored the sore feet and legs) along the river front. I arrived at Vila Franca de Xira to meet up with Judy just before 6pm.

Muddy tracks on the Camino

Riverside walking trail into Vila Franca de Xira

Addit from Judy: We stayed at the Flora Residencial, Rua Noel Perdigao 12, Vila Franca de Xira. 45 euro including a good breakfast. It’s close to the railway station and there’s a supermarket, cafes and restaurants just down the street.