For the last 6 weeks I was in Portugal. I decided to go for a month, but when that was over I just wasn’t done yet. To be honest, I’m still not done, but the last week and a half was such a roller coaster that I decided to come home despite the lockdown waiting for me here.
Starting my dream of walking the camino
When I extended my stay I booked a new flight straight away. My original flight went from Porto, which was declared a risk area 2 weeks into my trip. Therefore I’d have to go into quarantine upon arrival in Berlin. I could not bare to think of that, so I booked a later flight from Faro, which was still in the safe zone. I’d really enjoyed my walk on the Rota Vicentina and decided to start something I had dreamed of for a long time: walk the camino, or caminho as they say in Portugal. Never had I thought to be starting in Lisbon, always thinking of the French way, but here I was, starting my journey on the Portuguese way.
During the 8 days to Coimbra I gradually got more and more excited. Many people I passed knew this was the road to Santiago de Compostela. They got excited to see me and wished me a ‘bom caminho’. Then I met 2 other pilgrims that were aiming for Santiago. I knew I didn’t have enough time, but my desire to continue on to Spain grew with every step, no matter how painful some steps were.
Making plans is impossible during this pandemic
Portugal seemed to do ok with Covid-19, but the numbers all over Europe were growing rapidly. And yet I started to realise that it might just be possible to keep going and reach Santiago. The Portuguese all told me the country couldn’t afford another lockdown and that even the government was saying so. Then a week with many changes began. My mind and emotions were bouncing in every direction. Every time I’d come to terms with a decision, or every time I’d made a plan, something would make me doubt it again. And it nearly broke me.
It started after 5 days of walking. I’d planned a rest day in Tomar. That’s where I heard there would be a travel ban for 4 days over the long weekend. They wanted to stop people from visiting family all over the country on a public holiday. For me to be able to spend these days in a city (as opposed to a tiny town), I had to give up my walk or pack my things and start walking right then. As soon as I realised this, I started packing. It was midday when I walked out of town. I had 32km to go that day and about 6 hours of daylight. In a matter of minutes my whole plan had changed. It felt crazy and I powerwalked on adrenaline.
By the time I’d reached the city Coimbra, the government had exempted tourists from the travel ban, but travelling felt wrong and I decided to stay put. I had also heard that Germany was going back into a lockdown. I’d just come to terms with the thought of going back and working on some personal goals, like creating a social life. This lockdown crushed my hopes of doing that. Once again I had to rethink my decisions and I was happy that I had a long weekend to do it. In my heart I knew I would not do well in another lockdown and continuing my walk was the best option. But I struggled to accept this.
On Saturday night I decided: tomorrow I’m going to buy the things I need to continue my walk North. When I woke up the next day, I woke up to the news that Portugal was going to put many municipalities in a lockdown. My heart broke. The list included many cities on the caminho and many cities I had crossed in these first 8 walking days. My only option was to go south and I booked a bus to Faro.
The end of my camino: decision time
Now should I stay or should I go? I could still travel around the Algarve, enjoy the beaches on the good days. but I’d always have to keep track of which cities would get a lockdown. And prices for last minute flights were not great. Being in a lockdown in Portugal wouldn’t be the end of the world. Prices are very affordable. The weather is nice. But in Berlin I’d at least have all of my own things.
And so I’m back in Berlin, hoping this lockdown will end after November. It’s cold and it gets dark so early! At least I made it here without having to quarantine. I can go for runs along the Spree river and enjoy the fall scenery on a walk. Of course things in Portugal turned out to be way less strict than the news made it out to be and perhaps I could even have continued. But those are all speculations and in any case it would not have been without its challenges. Now I’m in Germany, I will focus on other things. I can write about my adventures, plan the next steps and of course my return to Portugal. Within the next year I will finish my camino. I can’t wait!
The day I landed I received an email from the government. The entire country of Portugal would be considered a risk area from this week. I suppose this was a sign. I made it before the new quarantine rules!
