Masked man in forest out of Tomar

[Miki Goldie]

Sunday, 15th September...
My friend and I set off from Tomar today, myself at 5:30 am in the dark, Petra at 8am. The path out of town becomes a single bush track of 4 klms. Along by the bridge on the left was a small man dressed in black with a black mask. She quickly ran back along the path to ring the police (112)(carrying her pack).
Nothing else happened and the police have promised to patrol the area. Petra and I will walk together now unfortunately at my snail's pace. Petra was very panicked and upset today and wonders whether she will go on to Santiago?
So this is an alert to stay at the entrance till another pilgrim walks with you.




I have the alert cops.....

 

[Bala]

Thank you for the heads-up to all those walking after you. Let's hope the police can find this person and manage to put an end to this. Good luck to both of you as you continue along. I hope your friend is able to regain her confidence and stay the course.

 

[MinaKamina]

This has happened before, also outside Tomar:

Last May, I was walking with a woman who, shortly after leaving Tomar, was followed by a guy wearing a ski mask. He stayed behind her and hid every time she turned around. At some point he ran right up behind her and started masturbating. So weird. There aren't enough walkers between Lisbon and Porto for it to be safe for single women. Always walk with others.

The post is from last year.

It is indeed best to walk together. Never mind your snail pace, Miki. I hope you carry poles. The Santarem area, in fact the entire area between Lisbon and Porto, is mentioned too often in cases of harassment of solo women.

 

[wayfarer]

There is continuing concern about incidents affecting female pilgrims. We reiterate the advice given by a number of pilgrim associations and the Spanish authorities:

Before you set out, program the emergency number 112 into your telephone.

Consider downloading this App issued by the Spanish government:

https://alertcops.ses.mir.es/mialertcops/info/info.xhtml

The app allows anyone in Spain to send an alert from a mobile device "smartphone'"straight to the police..

If you feel threatened or uncomfortable or if you are assaulted in any way TRY TO REMOVE yourself to a place of safety immediately

Call the police – the best number to use is 112 which covers all of Spain (and much of Europe) and which has operators who speak English.

And please, please, REPORT all incidents to the police. Too many of these unlawful aggression's are never reported, which means that the full extent of the problem is hidden from the authorities.

 

[Elle Bieling]

I believe that Alert Cops does not work in Portugal. Tomar is in Portugal.

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

According to the vialusitana.org website, the SOS number for pilgrims (peregrinos) in Portugal is (+351) 915 595 213. Probably good to program in that one, as well!

 

[Santi70]

Sunday, 15th September...
My friend and I set off from Tomar today, myself at 5:30 am in the dark, Petra at 8am. The path out of town becomes a single bush track of 4 klms. Along by the bridge on the left was a small man dressed in black with a black mask. She quickly ran back along the path to ring the police (112)(carrying her pack).
Nothing else happened and the police have promised to patrol the area. Petra and I will walk together now unfortunately at my snail's pace. Petra was very panicked and upset today and wonders whether she will go on to Santiago?
So this is an alert to stay at the entrance till another pilgrim walks with you.




I have the alert cops.....

Hi “ Miki” this is jill, (my husband and I walked with you that day) news on the trail said that she had also gotten robbed. I’m relieved to see your post that she was able to run away, with no other issues. So many vulnerable spots on this trail with so few pilgrims! I hope we catch up with you soon on the trail. Take care, stay safe.

 

[Miki Goldie]

Hi “ Miki” this is jill, (my husband and I walked with you that day) news on the trail said that she had also gotten robbed. I’m relieved to see your post that she was able to run away, with no other issues. So many vulnerable spots on this trail with so few pilgrims! I hope we catch up with you soon on the trail. Take care, stay safe.

Thanks Jill...no robbery...we stuck together today and she has decided to continue her Camino. So it happened after you walked through at 8am. Staying at Ansiao tonight, hope to see you all soon. Bom Caminho.
Love

 

[RJM]

My only really negative I suppose experience while walking the Camino occurred on the Portuguese three years ago. I will not say when or where, but I believe it may have been an attempt to mug me I suppose. I ignored the guy's attempts to talk to me and stepped around him as he kept trying to block me walking. When he grabbed my arm with force and turned me around I took appropriate action and ended the situation.
That and other incidents on the Portuguese changed how I look at that route and I would caution lone female pilgrims walking it to find walking partners. I'm a 6'1" 200 lb male.

 

[Connie Canada]

We had a problem with a very persistent man leaving Tomar. He kept getting ahead of us on a little motor bike and confronting us on the trail. 2011. I think I got his picture. Will look through my disc.