[Camino Portuguese Day 00] On My Way!

First trip to Europe in over 5 years

Apr 19, 2023

Flight: US - Terceira (island in the Azores) - Porto - Lisbon

video coming soon

Being on a sabbatical (aka not working a paid job) is such a gift. It’s not like I sit around doing nothing, either. I am busy, mostly with things that bring some energy to my life: juggling several volunteer commitments and seemingly unending house projects, while trying to slow down and creating space to tune in to myself. I personally need ample white space to design my life: to do therapy and self growth work outside of sessions, to pursue my long list of creative projects, and to figure out how to making an income in nontraditional ways. Time is flying. And when my anxiety, shame, and guilt aren’t in an uproar vying for control, I’m having a blast learning to be a beginner again.

I had a busy weekend leading up to my flight for the Camino. I was co-leading the Taiwan Film Festival of Boston’s spring film screening of “A Letter to A’Ma" 《給阿嬤的一封信》. Super proud of the whole team and the collaborations with local organizations to bring this event to fruition. We were joined by Director CHEN Hui-Ling, who joined us for a post-screening forum (Episode 59) as well as a podcast interview (Episode 58). Everything went swimmingly well. Sold out show, engaging discussions, interview for my podcast all done. I was late several times because the T wasn’t extra reliable this weekend, but all is ok. So terrific. So pleased.

Taiwan Film Festival of Boston's spring event with Director CHEN Hui-Ling was a success!!

The next day, I hosted a family friend who was running the Boston Marathon. Unfortunately, my apartment was still a peak disaster. Moreover, my 1922 antique toilet was out of service. I had been in months of decision paralysis in trying to find a plumber who would fix it versus trying to figure out if I dared to fix it. Ultimately, I bought a replacement toilet that was supposed to arrive in time to be installed for my guest’s arrival, but it got lost in shipment (of course it did!). Quite the embarrassment to have someone stay in a less-than-hospitable space. It is what it is. And it was fine.

Having watched many Boston Marathons from the sidelines and having run last year, I knew it’d be a festive day in Boston and all along the 26.2 mile course. Today was especially unique in that it’s the 10th anniversary of the terrible Boston Marathon bombing. This year training would have been hard schedule-wise, but great weather-wise. Pretty much stayed above freezing all winter. And today was in the 50s and misty. Perfect for running!

My guest didn’t run with a phone, and I was super skeptical about how we’d meet up at the finish line so I could give him his luggage. He ran faster than expected and negative split. Wow. Pretty impressive. He borrowed a phone to call me to coordinate meetup location. The luggage pass off went fine, to my anxiety’s surprise. A reminder that the world revolved before cell phones.

Paul and I then rushed to the store to pick up my toilet (because it had finally arrived, but they couldn’t store it for a month). I guess the universe does want me to have a new toilet, but is delighting in creating hoops. Paul helped me fanagle the awkward and heavy 90-pound toilet into the car and up to my apartment (still less heavy that each of the existing two pieces of my antique toilet). This would have been an impossible task without an extra set of hands. It’s def a two-person job.

Picking up my new toilet so it doesn’t get returned and lost

I packed and unpacked my bag several times, consulting the detailed list I made. I was running out of time to decide if I bring or ditch this and that to save a gram here and there. I could stuff the sleeping bag into one stuff sack, and clothes into a second. But then the electronics and other stuff would be a tight fit, with no room for other things I might want to pick up along the way. I finally decided to ditch the sleeping bag in favor of layers. That opened up a tiny bit of space but didn’t drop the weight. Still going to be carrying ~22 pounds. I probably don’t need all the packets of energy chews either. Pretty sure those 15 packets alone added 3+ pounds. But what better opportunity to eat them than on an endurance walk? Time to get going. I don’t know what traffic will be like with the Marathon.

Packed and ready to go!!! Ball of nervous excitement.

All my pent up anxieties of this weekend happened without major issues. Whew. I’m noticing that the way my nerves and anxieties get charged up in anticipation of something is way worse than the actual thing. It’s had decades to practice looking for things to prepare for. It’s taking over my life and rendering me unable to cope.

What a chaotic few months as I try to redesign my life. Breaking patterns is tough work. I’m tired and ready for this long awaited break from it all. I don’t know what exactly I’m searching for by going on the Camino, but I want to be disconnected from the internet, I want to not have to talk to anyone, I want to not have to be responsible for anything.

I’m finally in transit. Camino, here I come. See ya’ll next month!

Paul dropped me off at the airport and it was lucky he did so and that I got there a l little early (unlike my usual preference to arrive just-in-time). The line to get my ticket was 45 minutes long. It didn’t let me print my boarding pass on the kiosk. TSA was mean. My precheck number didn’t make it on my boarding pass, so had to remove things. Then when I got to the gate in dinky Terminal E, the flight was 30 minutes delayed. Got lucky and heard another passenger going to the Priority Pass lounge. I hadn’t even thought of that. But since I got the fancy credit card again this year, I can! I just had to dig around in my email and credit card to find it. I went in and ate some snacks: dried apricots, figs, sandwiches, teriyaki chicken, and lemonade.

I couldn't sleep the entire flight. There were several kids, but only one very vocal non-stop fussy crier. It turns out SATA Airline is not direct-to-Lisbon. It’s the same plane, but we have to deplane first in the Azores. Deplaned in Terceira before sunrise, and boarded after the sun rose. I’m technically in Portugal! My eSIM works on the iPhone (installed it last minute this morning). My EU outlet converter works – just tested it at the airport. Whew.

Transit through Terceira, an island in the Azores. Deplane. Reboard.

Onward to Lisbon!

It was an unexpectedly long day of travel. The flight was supposed to land in Lisbon at 11 am, but we were diverted to Porto because of a drone in the Lisbon airspace, which stunt down the airport for a few hours. We sat on the plane in Porto for a few hours, and took off again at 2 pm. I ended up chatting with a police chief from a town in MA who has Portuguese heritage. He joked that maybe I can just get off here and start my walk. True, many people do start from Porto. But that’s only a two week journey.

We landed in Lisbon at 3 pm, deplaned, boarded a shuttle to the terminal. Fastest customs clearance ever. I haven’t traveled in so long, they implemented new technology. I scanned my passport at a gate, got my face read at a second gate, got a stamp from the customs official.

I bought a 24-hour Metro pass. There were signs all over saying don’t accept help from strangers, and there a dude who was all up in your business at the ticketing machine. Took a while before officials shooed him away. There were lots of Burger King advertisements, too. This reminded me of Madrid. A little trigger?

I took the red line to the blue line and found the Cathedral Sé, the official starting point of the Camino from Lisbon. I didn’t buy the 40 euro pass to tour inside, and instead just got my Credential stamped. It’s official!

I wanted to drop off my bag. I did lots of hostel research from home. I wanted to stay at the Guest House Alfama, overlooking the Sé, but they didn’t answer their door. I continued on to another hostel (lots in the area). I stumbled upon an excavation of a Roman ruin theater, and some pretty tiled-walled buildings. Lots of up and down hill walking. Didn’t track on my Garmin! Alas.

The second hostel “Inn Possible” shut the door in my face. The girl who answered works there, but says she doesn’t know if there was any beds left. Curly said I MUST book online and wouldn’t help me when I asked. I stood outside the door trying to download the Booking app, but thought it wasn’t too smart to take my credit card out in the middle of the street to complete the transaction.

I was getting a little nervous, What if all the rooms are soldout?! I wandered to a third hostel where the lady patiently explained i needed to prebook on HostelWorld or Booking.com. Times have changed, and it’s no longer like traveling 15 years ago, where you can just show up. Supposedly it’s for safety and insurance. Shrug. For 31 euros, I get to stay in a 9-bed mixed-gender room. The female-only dorm was already sold out. It’s now 6 pm. I might try to make the most of my City Transit Pass by taking it around in the morning for a bit of sightseeing before starting my walk. The pilgrimage.

Another thought. Perhaps I can take the commuter ferry (how cool is that!) from Terriro de Paco to Cacilhas and have seafood lunch. And then after lunch, take the metro to Santa Apolonia and catch the regional train.

Part of my trip prep was to research what to do and eat in Lisbon. Between Eater’s restaurant recs and travel guides from the library, I made some notes in my journal.

I wandered around Alfama, but kept getting spit into the tourist zones. I came across over three bubble tea shops and found a little strip of beach by the Arco du Rua Augusta, between Terreriro do Paço and Cais do Sodré. Artists were making beautiful an sculptures and stacking rocks.

I wanted to get in vicinity of the hostel before sunset (approx 8:15 pm). Turns out it’s hard to wander far. I followed a mom and toddler for a bit up a hill to some bookstores and music shops, then ended up turning downhill and ending up where I started. So much for getting lost. Surprisingly, most shop owners speak English. Many places seem to be owned by Indians, too.

baked goods to look forward to in the morning

I ultimately got dinner at a seafood rice shop. I reasoned it was populated with people, so it must be tasty. It was a large quantity of food for a person, but sadly, it was bland! And this is coming from someone who doesn’t oversalt her food. It was rather disappointing. Also, what ended up upsetting me a bit is that they charge for the bread, cheese, butter, and tuna/sardine pate. I thought those were complimentary! But that was an additional 10 euros and they call it “table service.” So dinner ended up being 25.80 euros. I bet a King Ahorro would have been tastier. Ha. Just kidding.

seafood Rice dinner + table service surprise

See how early I get up tomorrow: Go wander. Breakfast, Ferry, Checkout. Train/metro lunch. Santarém.

So glad to have Crocs for the shower (thanks, Camino forums)! I brought a sarong to use as a towel because I couldn’t find my microfiber camping towel. Thank you to my sister for suggesting a sarong as an alternative — packs small and light, and dries fast.

I locked up my stuff in the plywood locker and crawled into my plywood bed. Seems like clean bedding. Came with a blanket. Windowless. Maybe jetlag will let me sleep.

The things you can make out of cheap plywood…

No idea what day or time it is at home now, but I’m exhausted. Boa noite! Good night!

Lessons from today

They charge for the bread and butter as part of the table service (not advertised!)
Food may look good, but be prepared for it to be bland
Lisbon is very hilly
Beware that all hostels in Portugal might require advanced booking? Or maybe it’s just Lisbon. Or maybe it’s just that one hostel with the angry keeper.