Today was a challenging walk. It was 18kms through rugged mountain paths. I was lucky I was able to buy a pole in Oia, because I wouldn’t have been able to do the hike without it.
I was walking with a Dutch woman, Martine, who had spent a few years working for an American company based in Texas. She flew to Texas about once a month, at the time, but was often interrogated by the custom officials, because she and her husband had done a lot of hiking in Arab countries and the stamps were in her passport. She eventually got a business passport, which you can do over there, to speed up her entry into the US.
Prior to walking with Martine, I walked with an Australian woman who had started in Lisbon. It was just as well that Martine was ahead of us, because there was a snake on the path and she waited to show us, lest we almost step on it too. I am terrified of snakes.
Although the walk was 18kms, there were several food stops along the way. I had a coffee and an open faced sandwich with tomato and ham at the first stop for 7euros and a tall glass of freshly squeezed orange juice for 3euros at the second stop.
I then had to pelt along, as I walked with Martine who was a very fast walker.
Buen Camino