Golegã welcomes you quietly. Horses are part of everyday life here, as the village is known as the horse capital of Portugal. Your legs will feel every step of the day, and no wonder: you’ve walked around 32 kilometres and spent more than eight hours on the road.
Climbing has little to do with it. Santarém sits high on its hill, after which you mostly descend and the land stays open and flat. It’s that very flatness that makes the day hard: little shade, little variety and a distance that never seems to shrink. What you’ll remember is the broad valley, with straight paths running alongside fields and a horizon that never gets any closer.