2025 - Day 5 - Santarém to Golegā

Scores on the doors 20.83 miles 33.5 KM, 7.26 hours walking 

We woke after a good nights sleep, ready to face our second +20 mile day. Our three guides gave conflicting distances, so we planned in our heads for about 24 miles.  Just before 8:00 a young lady knocked at the door with our breakfast basket, with orange juice, a roll, a nespresso pod, jam, spreadable cheese, butter, a small pancake and a bag of grapes.  Some parts we ate and drank but other bits we kept for later.  Just before 9 we set off, following a photo outside the apartment.

We left Santarem by the Santiago gate, following a narrow mule track down to the river, which we soon left, walking through suburb villages and then out into the country by a tarmac road for about a mile before joining a farm track.  A few yards in we met a pilgrim coming the other way, I thought a pilgrim to Fatima, no, it was a disgruntled Frenchman, the path was terrible, look at all the mud he said brandishing a photo on his phone,  although his shoes weren’t particularly dirty, he had decided to go back to Santarém and take the train to Tomar. We reassured him it wasn’t cheating as he had told us he had a Compostella from a previous walk (Porto to Santiago).  The path was a bit muddy in places, but not impassable.  

It was all agricultural land with workers in the field tending vines, planting young plants from plugs, and spraying crops. After a couple of miles we came to a place where workmen had dug up the path with a JCB as they were installing a water pipe. They were very friendly, explained they needed to work, and directed us through between the piles of dirt and a fence.  We then crossed over some tarmac and continued on farm tracks before emerging onto a country road, climbing up a gentle hill to the village of Vale de Figueira where we found a bench and stopped to have our breakfast orange juice and grapes.  We continued through the village and down a very well signed road out of the village, where Lesley discovered she had lost her wide brimmed sun hat.  But as it could have been anywhere in the last three or four +miles, it wasn’t practical to retrace our steps.  Hopefully someone will find it and put it to good use.  Thankfully she has her posh birthday cap from Meryl, so still has sun protection. 

Then we were back on farm roads, meeting a Brit, Bob, who was walking very slowly as he was suffering from blisters.  After a chat we continued on, the road was very sandy mud and in places, because of the rain, there were deep ruts from the farm vehicles and we had to pick our way through so as not to get plastered in the mud (we still did!).We continued on farm tracks for many miles passing friendly farm workers and a great variety of crops.  Around 2 we stopped on a gabion flood wall over looking the River Tejo for lunch.  Shortly afterwards, passing the local waterworks, we were hailed by a man, Francisco,

offering us ‘Agua Frio’. We went into his office where he gave us cups of cold water and slices of cake, and put a comment in his visitors book, he also asked if we wanted a taxi to Golegā we declined he also offered me an ice cold beer for 1 euro again we declined.  He told us it was 11 km to Golegā.  Refreshed after saying our goodbyes we set off again, seeing horses being herded by quad bike. Passing through the nearby town of Azinhaga there was a choice: 7.5 km up the main road or a detour adding 1.2km which took 3.8km off the main road. We took the latter walking along a very minor road with flood waters on either side, before taking to a farm track again.  At one point we stoped to put on extra sun screen and an old battered Renault 5 passed, reversed back and with sign language asked if we were ok, having been given the thumbs up sign, he sped away.   We eventually came close to the main road, with a 1.7 km walk into the town, so stopped for a quick break. Shortly afterwards a pickup pulled up and the man inside explained that his farmhand was spraying the cabbages with a product that might not be good for us, although was probably ok.  Before the sprayer came near we started off again, arriving in the village at about 5:30. The church was open so we stopped in before finding our accommodation.  We arrived at quite a dilapidated door and wondered if it was the right place, but I rang the bell, the door was answered very suspiciously by a lady and we thought oh no!  But when I pulled out my piece of paper from Santiago Ways to say was this Casa da Tia Guida, she saw the logo, her face broke open to a welcome smile and she welcomed us into her house, which was quite baronial.  We were her only guests, and we were give a two room suite with and anti room with a sofa and a bedroom with twin beds, wardrobe, chairs and dressing table, which were period pieces and all matched!

She asked what time we wanted breakfast and said it would be out for us from seven, and said when we left in the morning to go when ready and leave the key.  She also told us how to rejoin the Camino in the morning and that the only place to eat was at the central hotel by the church.  After showers we set off to eat, going by way of our departure route, and then retraced the Camino into town at the church.  Once back at the church we went into the hotel and after a beer went into the restaurant. The offering was basically Fish dishes or Pork dishes, so after some bread cheese and olives, Lesley had Pigs Cheeks (six in total)in a tomato and pepper sauce with chips, and I had grilled cuts of pork, with a local side popular in Spain and Portugal called Migas made from stale bread and in this case spinach.  We also had a bottle of Red Douro wine. The pork tasted great but mine was a bit chewy, and both dishes lacked veg. We also got talking to a nice pilgrim couple from Stockport, who we had seen ahead of us but not talked to, and after eating we said our good byes and headed home to our Casa for bed.