From the Tanzanian Bush to the Portuguese Camino

Lisbon, Portugal

What do Tanzania and Portugal have in common?  Not much, other than the fact that we visited them back to back over seven weeks, walked at lot in each place, and had pretty much the same wardrobe.  So for the many readers of this blog who don't do social media and for those that followed us, here's a brief recap with links at the end to some of our best photos.

Tanzania is below the equator on the east coast of Africa, just south of Kenya.  After three days in forgettable Dar Es Salaam, we camped in the remote bush country of Ruaha and Selous National Parks.  Gratitude and awe are only two of many words I could use to describe our nine days there. Our first part was a mobile camp 50 miles from a dusty airstrip in Ruaha National Park where we mostly did walking safaris every day. The second half was a remote tent camp on Lake Mainz in Selous Game Reserve where elephants, giraffes, impalas, baboons, and hippos visited us daily. In both places, the wildlife, vistas, plants, guides, and camp staff were amazing. Traveling with our good friends Ron and Barb and meeting other travelers made the experience even more fun and memorable. 

Our three places in Tanzania

Our next stop was Portugal.  Very interesting, tourist friendly, beautiful, and extremely crowded with tourists in late August-early September.  We played tourist in Lisbon, Sintra, Tomar, amd Porto for a few days.  The highlight of Porto was hanging out with daughter Shanti and her husband Alan from London for her 35th birthday. 

20-mile bike ride to and along the coast from Porto

Our main reason to visit Portugal was to walk the one of the Portuguese routes of the Camino de Santiago into Spain to Santiago de Compostela.  (One year ago today we arrived in Santiago after six weeks and 500 miles across northern Spain on the Camino Frances, the route used by thousands.)  Looking at the weather, we decided to take the coastal route, which took two weeks and was only 175 miles.  It was somewhat disappointing at first, and you can see why by reading our September 3, Day 1 post on the Tumblr link below.  This year, no stomach or shin splint problems, but we did get a few blisters and very aching feet. We averaged about 13 miles per day, with the shortest at two and the longest (the last day) at 20.

However, unlike last year we were joyous upon arrival into Santiago. We aren’t sure why. Perhaps it is because we felt better physically, with the time and our overall distance being less than one third of last year’s walk. The Camino Frances last year is truly unique in the world. It was such a special experience in our lives, so we probably shouldn’t compare them. This route of the Coastal Portuguese Camino felt more like a two week cross-cultural backpacking trip, often along a beautiful coast. We had a wonderful–sometimes challenging–time. We met interesting people, saw beautiful scenery, and enjoyed the lifestyle. It was a great experience! 

We arrived in Santiago sooner than we had anticipated and decided not to walk back to Porto along a different route.  So that left us time to go to Finisterre (the End of the Earth), and the fascinating historic city of Coimbra, and spend an extra day in Lisbon.

It was a very diverse trip, and a good one.  We especially enjoyed our time together and all the people we met along the way.  That said, it's always good to be home.

"What We Can, While We Can!"

NOTE:  The photos below are best viewed in anything larger than a cell phone. The Tanzania photos were taken mostly with a pocket-sized Sony Cybershot. The Portugal/Spain photos were with my Samsung and Kathy's iPhone.

Link to our Best Shots of Tanzania Photos

Link to our Best shots of Portugal photos.  (Doesn't include those from the Camino)

Link to our Camino Summary, somewhat in chronological order.  It pairs well with the daily narrative at our Tumblr site.   (This site also has about 10 photos for each day, which puts the narrative into context. It's also a duplicate of my Facebook and Instagram posts.)

For our Camino nerds that want to see the full photo folder of our Camino adventures, please send me an email, and I'll send you the link.  Same with more specific photo folders for Ruaha and Selous.