There is a saying amongst pilgrims that ‘the Camino provides’.

So far it has done just that. Last night when we met a very helpful family who run the cafe around the corner from the apartment we are staying in. We arrived very late, almost midnight, after a 2 hour delay in our flight and our apartment building appeared to be locked up. The family couldn’t have been more helpful and eventually we found our way in.

This morning we had breakfast at a little local workers cafe around the corner from our digs and although the staff were run off their feet they couldn’t have been more patient or kind, with our requests and my faltering Portuguese.

The search for our first ‘sello’ (stamp) in our pilgrim passport also wasn’t without its challenges but here again we met some lovely people who went out of their way to help, even walking us from one church to another one nearby to help us procure the elusive sello.

Our mission was eventually successful and we are now officially pilgrims on the Camino Portuguese. And though we racked up several kilometers exploring Lisbon today the official walking doesn’t start until the morning.

Lisbon is a very picturesque city and I can see us coming back in the future to explore it some more.