Феб. 22, 2014 Live from the road

Lisbon - Sines

Reported by Patricio da Rocha, Tom McGuire 145.0 km

We started our day in the beautiful town of Barreiro...

...to meet some children from Colegio Minerva who had come to school even though it was Saturday just so they could hold the Peace Torch!

A moment of silence

"We are the oneness"

Patricia, the school's principal, passes the torch to a student...

...who passes it to the next person.

Some lucky kids got all six of the continent stamps. Africa is missing?

Then the school planted a peace tree...

Renato, one of our last night's hosts, teaches the kids how to plant a peace tree...

It was not easy getting everyone together for a group shot.

The children helped us carry the torch...

A big thank you to Colegio Minerva!

At the next town of Coina, we were joined by the Moto Club do Seixal and the Moto Club de Corroios local motorbike clubs.

Sukham (left) catching a ride in style...

At the outskirts of Seixal, we were greeted by members of the Fundacão Benfica Athletic Foundation...

They were fit athletes who easily ran with us to Seixal...

Upon reaching the main street of Seixal, we were greeted by top city representatives and welcomed with some traditional Portuguese drumming (Toca Rufar)

Joaquines Flores led the Benfica team and our runners to the Seixal ceremony.

Mayor of Seixal Dr. Joaquim Santos received the Peace Torch on behalf of the town.

The City Deputies of Uniao de Freousias Do Seixal, Arrentela E Aldeia De Paio Pires held the torch.

We are very grateful to the local police force, who safely escorted our many participants through the Seixal area.

Big thanks also to the Red Cross, who organised the event for us in Seixal...

....and thanks to the drummers, whose music we very much enjoyed...

.....thanks also to Seixal's motorbike clubs who inspired us to run faster so that we could keep up with them...

...and all the other folks who came along to support us.

Prabhata forgot to unlock the van so the girls could get inside...

The Peace Torch continues its 24,000 kilometre journey. There is still a great distance to cover today...

A smile is sometimes the best medicine...

By afternoon we reached Palmela, which is famous for its ancient castle.

We were joined by a group of enthusiastic young men who live at the Questoes de Equilibrio.

It was a long uphill to the castle, through windy cobbled streets...

Traditional Portuguese tiles everywhere....

Palmela's Mayor Alvaro Amaro (second from right) was waiting at the castle to warmly welcome our team.

Ricardo Martinez (left) is the founder of Questoes de Equilibrio

Then it was time to go back down the hill, and our Mayor led the way...

We were welcomed and shown around by the Questoes de Equilibrio family.

There is nothing like a good run to put a smile on your face...

The boys of Questoes de Equilibrio led us to our next destination...

...a meeting with the Mayor of Setubal (right), Maria da Dores Meira.

The people of Setubal gathered in the town square to see and hold the Peace Torch.

Sukham in the media spotlight...

To get to Troia we had to catch a boat...

We crossed the River Sado towards the next region, Alentejo.

....and then it was time for more running. Some of the team kept going until sunset.

The Mayor of Sines graciously received us in his municipal chambers late in the evening.
Sines is the birthplace of Vasco da Gama, but that's another day...

The City of Sines provided us with a lovely evening banquet and luxurious seaside accomodation, for which we are most grateful.

Torch carried by
Alexandar Lukac (Bosnia and Herzegovina), Dipavajan Renner (Austria), Dulce Manso (Portugal), Eszter Koncz (Hungary), Irina Majerova (Czech Republic), Jose Gomez (Venezuela), Marc Schrader (Germany), Miguel Gonçalves (Portugal), Nuno Figueiredo (Portugal), Patricio da Rocha (Portugal), Pedro Gaspar (Portugal), Rachel Pina (Portugal), Tereza Přecechtělová (Czech Republic), Thomas Strohn (Germany), Tom McGuire (New Zealand), Vladimir Salnikov (Moldova).  
Photographers
Alexandar Lukac
The torch has travelled 145.0 km from Lisbon to Sines.

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