The Camino Bug has bitten us! After walking a short segment of the Camino Frances last year, we decided we wanted to do a longer one, and chose the Camino Portugues (Litoral route), starting from Porto, Portugal. We walked for 10 days, approximately 150 miles. We trained for several months in the summer, routinely walking 3, 6 and even a few 12 milers. We did not do a lot of hill training, as my knowledge of the Camino Portugues was that it was mostly flat, coastal walking. Boy, was I mistaken! There were lots of hills once we crossed over into Spain and headed inland toward Santiago de Compostela. Glad we got poles! We did not use them much in Portugal but we did in Spain.
The Camino Portugues was different from the Camino Frances, and I knew it would be. It felt more touristy to me. Of course, for a week of the walk we were going along the coast and those are beach/tourist towns. Almost every stay was in a place with an attraction or something I wanted to see (which I loved, too). So maybe we were not focused as much as just enjoying the walk as getting there and seeing something interesting. I will say I think we talked to more people along the Way this time and that was really enjoyable. We did skip a section due to time constraints (Vigo and Redondela) and also because we were trying to meet up with friends that were walking in from the Camino Frances route on Thursday of the next week. We had a wonderful time despite some blisters and shin splints!
Enjoy some of my favorite pics:
The start!
Clerigos Tower - we climbed to the top!
Dom Luis bridge designed by Eiffel-pedestrians can walk on both the top and bottom
So much blue tile on buildings inside and out in Porto! Gorgeous!
Walking alongside the Atlantic Ocean - this beautiful pergola was just outside Porto and we met the Vigars from the UK. We walked alongside them for a while and found out they have a youtube channel, Vigarsroam and chronicle their travels. We were excited to have met them and have watched some of their recaps of days walked on the Camino Portugues!
We saw several forts on our walk
We took a Sardine factory tour one afternoon - it was so interesting and we even got to taste them! Not bad in spicy tomato sauce!
We walked over several large bridges on the walk
We stopped at little chapels and large cathedrals along the Way, praying or singing at each one.
We saw an aqueduct at Vila do Conde
This blue tile mural wall in Povoa was one of my favorite random things along the Way
We saw the building remains of old windmills for several days
Sand dune trails - thankfully we were not on these for very long
One afternoon in Viana do Castelo we got to ride a funicular to the top of a hill and see this magnificent cathedral, Santa Luzia. You could climb up the bell tower and get great views of the city!
Sometimes we took off our shoes and walked in the cool water! What a gift!
Another fun thing for me was finding the seaglass beach!
In Baiona, we ate well, walked on this little beach, saw the Pinta (replica ship), passed by their massive fort and walked up to the Virgin on the Rock statue in the early morning.
Pontevedra was our rest day - we taxied here and toured the Scallop shell church, saw some convent ruins, and enjoyed the other sights in town, along with tuna pizza.
A couple of days we walked through lots and lots of vineyards!
Enjoying the thermal waters of Caldes de Rei
Our favorite night was spent at Herbon Monastery. It is like a hostel now. They have beds for 30 and take no reservations. You just line up your backpacks outside the door and when there are 30 out there, they place a "completo" sign on the door. We got there at 11 a.m. to secure a spot and the doors didn't open until 4 p.m. So that was kind of a rest day! We met some Canadians who were singing - we joined them and then all the visitors enjoyed it so much they asked us to sing again at the Pilgrim Mass and at the dinner we had together later that night. It was super fun!
Our group at Herbon Monastery
Our last day of walking we got a wax stamp on our credencials from a young man who had a station set up on the trail. He insisted we get our picture taken by his sign as well! Sweet.
We made to Santiago de Compostela on Thursday afternoon as we planned! The gigantic cathedral is an amazing destination and the plaza is filled with music and the excitement of people finishing the Camino walk, and tourists too.
We loved meeting up with our friends there and swapping stories from the Camino! We ate tapas and got gelato to celebrate our blessings!
Our extra day in Santiago, we had a good breakfast at Aires Nunas, visited the Pilgrim Museum, went to the popular noon Mass at the Cathedral with our friends, went to the mercado and shopped. Then the next morning, time to head home via a train ride to Madrid and getting on a plane!
Till next time, Camino!
