Camino Portugues
Camino Portugues Gear List Video & Written out list can be found on my Gear List & Reviews page
Ever since walking the Camino Frances route in 2017 I wanted to return to walk another route. I just love the simplicity of walking these ancient pilgrimage routes where over time thousands of other pilgrims have walked which has made it easy to find food and lodging, compared to the more arduous terrain-wise and living in the woods of backcountry trails that I have thru-hiked in the states. As an experienced backpacker and hiker I look at the Camino route as a nice break from the physical challenges of those other trails and where I can renew my love for just strolling through and being able to really observe my surroundings since I don’t have to just focus on where I place my foot every step. Plus, the access to great wine and food doesn’t hurt. Furthermore, I always love being exposed to another culture and learning the history of the area. However, what I don’t love about the Camino is the amount of people on the trail, which at first I think is great to meet new people and gain new friendships, but I find most of the time that folks are too focused on getting to the next destination that they only say “Buen Camino” in passing. I’m not saying not to walk it, just that I prefer more solitary trails.
But back to the point…I had planned to return to walk this route at some point I just didn’t know when it would work out. And in initial planning stages I assumed I would start in Lisbon and go all the way to Santiago de Compostela. But then with my mother retiring came with her desire to join me as her first trip overseas and as a new active start to the next chapter in her life of retirement. After debating back and forth if the time was right I finally decided that I wanted to give my mom the gift of taking her over and doing this with her. I thought who better than me to take her overseas, who better to take her on her first long distance walk but me since this is what I do. So with all that in mind we shortened the trip down to 100 miles, something Mom thought would be doable for her since she had never done anything like this before. And after flying to Lisbon, taking the train to Porto, and busing to Ponte de Lima, we were finally ready to start walking North to Santiago de Compostela.
Day 1: Ponte de Lima to Rubiães
We left our favorite room of our entire trip in Ponte de Lima and started walking around 8 in the morning. We took our first pictures of the trip on the bridge crossing the Lima River. Then on the other side we posed again with our first Camino statue stating the Portugues version of Buen Camino, Bom Caminho. As we walked mom’s pace was faster than mine, I tend to walk slowly, but I kept telling her to settle down that she had 11 miles to go that day. Back when I decided to start in Ponte de Lima I failed to look at the guidebook and once we looked at the next day’s walk we were confronted with the biggest climb of the route, all on mom’s first day. Initially mom was thinking she would walk 6 or so miles a day and I told her she would easily be able to do 10 a day and that then it would take us 10 days to get to Santiago. We didn’t have to follow John Brierley’s guidebook day to day we could find places in between except that first day there wasn’t any other choices, you had to do the full 11 miles to the first lodging and do the big 1000ft. climb. I knew it would be a long day but I knew she could do it.
We met some other Americans and walked with them for a bit and then saw them throughout the rest of the day. They asked if we had booked our room for the night and I said no because I was planning on just getting there and finding a place just like I did on the Camino Frances. But I think my mom worried about it and later after leapfrogging with two Brazilian ladies they ended up calling a place for us and we were able to get the last private room there. We made it up the climb and mom did good. And just like I always say, anybody can do it, you just go slower. So we would walk a bit and then mom would stop and sit on a rock for a couple minutes and then keep going and just repeat until we made it to the top. We arrived in Rubiães around 4. We cleaned up and went out for our first pilgrim’s dinner at the only restaurant nearby. Mom originally said she was too tired to go and she didn’t want to walk anymore but I persuaded her to go.
Day 2: Rubiães to Valença
It just happened to turn out that the guidebook days were around 10-12 miles so we were able to follow along. I thought they might be longer mileage days and we wouldn’t be able to follow the guidebook day by day but surprisingly it was doable. So for this day we wanted to stay one last night in Portugal and stay in Valença rather than cross over and stay in Tui, Spain. Today we met another American woman and walked with her for the whole day. We stopped for lunch at an albergue along the way and I had a peanut butter, banana, and cheese panini. I don’t usually stop for a long sit down meal during the day but it was nice to stop and chat with fellow pilgrims. We got to town and checked into our hotel around 3:30. Now I didn’t exactly think we would get private rooms every night but it just worked out. Since I was booking them the night before using booking.com most of the towns had small hotels or pensions that were listed on the site. Very unlike my experience on the Camino Frances where I was staying at the cheaper albergue in bunk beds in dorm rooms. So that was one advantage of having my mom along. She has the money and prefers to have her own bathroom so private rooms it is- I was not complaining! ..Later on we were going to walk around the fort but it started to rain so we retreated and just had our pilgrim’s dinner instead. So a pilgrim’s menu is just usually a cheaper version of the menu of the day that most every restaurant in Europe has. [I originally thought this menu del peregrino was just a Camino thing but I’ve seen menu of the day all over Portugal, Spain, and France]. And the menu consists of bread, a drink (if there’s two people and you order wine you usually get a whole bottle), first course (soup or salad), second course (fish or a meat dish), and dessert all for around 10 euros.
Day 3: Valença, Portugal, to Porriño, Spain
The Camino went through the fort and from there we had good views of the river Minho and on the other side was Spain. Once down on the bridge we took pictures at the border marker as we entered Spain. Then we proceeded down the Camino and up to Tui’s cathedral to get a stamp in our pilgrim credentials (from here we need to get two stamps a day in order to get our certificate in Santiago. Two a day to prove that we are actually walking through the area). Today was supposed to be a nice, easy, and flat day but for some reason it felt really long. It didn’t help that we had a long slog on a sidewalk by an industrial area because we didn’t take the alternative route due to wanting to get into town before it started to rain. We got to town and although we didn’t have a reservation for the night we found a room at the second place we stopped. After cleaning up I was excited to go back to the place where I saw a ‘chocolate con churros’ sign out front. It became an obsession last Camino as I love churros so I was stoked to find them on day 3. Later we just got groceries for dinner and called it a day.
Day 4: Porriño to Redondela
I noticed the time change (jumped ahead an hour in Spain) when I woke up at 7 and it was still a little dark outside. We had a shorter mile day today but we had a climb and steep descents on the road. We stopped around 9 for our usual morning stop and I got my daily café con leche (another thing I love to get in Spain. Back in the states I don’t drink coffee but here I love my café con leche). Then before we knew it we were at the highest part and only had downhill to go for the day. And it was steep, shin-hurtingly steep, so I walked in zig zags, like s-curves when skiing. We stopped for lunch and shared a plate of fries. Once in town we stopped at an albergue and was able to get a private room there, again with no reservation. Then since we arrived early we did our first load of laundry of the trip (we usually wash a few items daily in the sink or basins the lodging offers). Later I became hangry due to not being able to find a place to eat because it’s hard to know where to eat when no one is out eating cause it’s still too early at 7pm (most locals eat late from 8:30 onwards. Some restaurants don’t even open till then). Finally we just got a pizza to go and ate it outside our albergue.
Day 5: Redondela to Pontevedra
The day started off with me forgetting the guidebook at the albergue but luckily we were just down the street so I was able to run back and get it. Also, our luck ran out today and it was the first day we got rained on, but it was never hard rain, just a constant light rain. We had two 500 ft. climbs today but were rewarded with views of water on the first one. Then once we descended we stopped for our morning break at a café. We saw more pilgrims on the trail today as other routes from the coast join in to Santiago. Then through a forest of Eucalyptus and ferns to reach the second hilltop. After descending once again we chose to follow an alternative route that added .6mile but was a pleasant meandering path along a small river. And as soon as we left the river we were in town. Pontevedra was the biggest city we had been to on the trail so we had to walk through the town for awhile till we got to our hotel. Later we found another churro place and had a basic pasta dinner.
Day 6: Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis
Today was a day of putting our rain jackets on and taking them off repeatedly as the light rain came and went. Plus I didn’t want to wear the jacket more than I had to cause it was warm out and the jacket doesn’t breathe. And today was the first day I daydreamed and zoned out while walking. I had tried not to in order to stay in the moment but it was just a dreary day. As usual we passed vineyards, creeks, and houses until we got to the outskirts of town. Our hotel was one of the nicer ones we stayed at and it was off the trail a bit. Since we weren’t right in the middle of town we had our pilgrim’s menu dinner at the hotel’s restaurant.
Day 7: Caldas de Reis to Padrón
Today was the first sunny day in awhile and I enjoyed the warmth from the sun. We saw loads of pilgrims today as we neared the end, with Santiago less than 30 miles away. Even though most folks don’t say much in passing you still come to recognize a few as you pass each other numerous times a day. So there were the familiar faces we’d pass when they stopped and we didn’t or when they’d keep walking when we’d stop. Then even with two stops along the way we made it to town around 3. We had time to make reservations for the next two nights, the second being in Santiago. If you follow the guidebook you’d go from Padrón straight to Santiago de Compostela but it’s 15/16 miles with a climb so we decided to split it over two days. For dinner that night we got groceries again and I got a pineapple and pear cider made in Galicia, the Spanish region we were in.
Day 8: Padrón to Picaraña
Since it would be a short day of just 6 miles we slept in. After leaving our hotel we saw that a market was taking place so we went over to check it out. I had seen a churro sign on a tent the day before so I bee lined for that but was stopped by one before I got there. Overwhelmed by the sight of so many churros I got a bag full and then some chocolate covered ones. Then as we continued to walk I saw two other churro stands and one with white chocolate (mom thinks it’s a glaze not necessarily white choc.) and I flipped. Back when I was in Santiago in 2017 I had come across these white ones at a festival and they were the best thing I ever had so when I saw them here I had to get some. So there I was with 3 bags of churros, totaling about a dozen. After I gobbled a few down I started to feel a little sick. It was hot out, I had my pack on with my hip belt sinched down tight squeezing my organs, and the sugary chocolate was too much. I was able to take a break while mom went looking for a church that St. James preached at. See Padrón boasts that they are the ones that received St. James’s body when it came from Jerusalem. The boat moored there in Padrón and the post is kept at a holy site in town. From there his body was reportedly taken to Santiago de Compostela and where his relics lie at the cathedral, which is the basis of the whole pilgrimage thing- so folks walk as penance and can pray where his relics supposedly rest. But anyways, with a load of churros we continued on taking our time, taking pictures of every last thing since the walk was coming to an end. I stopped at another cathedral and took pictures of some old sarcophagi lying outside. And since we started late we didn’t see many other pilgrims. We got to our room at 2 and had a quiet rest of the day there since not many folks stop there on the way.
Day 9: Picaraña to Santiago de Compostela
Since it was the last day and it was going to be really hot and we had some climbs we decided to start the earliest we had thus far so we were walking by 7AM. The cooler temperatures helped us keep a quicker pace and the time before the sun came out gave us a nice quiet solitude. Before we knew it we had made the climb and stopped for a quick café. As we got closer it became more urban until we left the dirt path completely and were only walking on sidewalks. Finally we came to a point that I recognized and I knew exactly where I was. I loved the feeling of returning to a place I knew. I enjoyed feeling not so much as a tourist but someone who knows their way around. We walked the narrow old pedestrian streets to the corner of the cathedral and walked out into the large plaza to get a good look at the cathedral. It was remarkable and shining in the sun. Last time I was there it was covered in scaffolding but since then the outside work had finished and I was able to see the beautiful façade. I congratulated mom for walking 100 miles to get there and we took our pilgrim photos in front of the cathedral.
Then we hurriedly went down the street to drop our packs off at our hotel since it was too early to check in. It was just before noon and I wanted to take mom to the noon pilgrim’s mass. I asked the receptionist and she said that the mass isn’t being being held at the cathedral for the time being due to the restoration work inside but that it is held down the street at the San Francisco church so we headed there. We made it in time and walked towards the front standing off to the side as all the benches were full. We listened to the mass in Spanish not really knowing what was being said but enjoyed the experience. After mass we went nearby to the pilgrim office and stood in line for an hour with other pilgrims to get our certificate. Then we walked nearby to a café I went to twice last time I was there. There we had churros and toast for lunch. By then it was time and we could check into our room.
After resting and cleaning up we went to tour the inside of the cathedral. They are now restoring the inside so scaffolding and coverings are everywhere but you can still ‘embrace the apostle’ -wait in line to hug the back of a statue of Saint James- and walk down into a crypt of sorts to view St. James’ relics, in a box. Afterwards we shared a celebratory pitcher of sangria at a place I remember from last time. We people-watched and reflected over our camino. As we walked the busy streets we stopped in two tapas places and got small plates for dinner. We walked back to sit by the cathedral plaza once more and take it all in. While mom retired to the room I went on a walk to find the pension I stayed at last time. I wanted to test my memory and try to find it without using my phone’s gps. I went down one street but quickly realized it didn’t look right and then went down another and knew it was the right street. Now it might not seem like a big deal to find a place after two years but you’d have to know that the streets in an ancient town are maze like. I took a small discreet street in the corner of a plaza until it opened up to another smaller plaza and I found the pension. I was proud that I had an imprint of the area still on my mind and enjoyed navigating the streets in the dark of night.
The next day we slept in a bit but we weren’t done walking yet. We were off to the end of the world, the coast of Spain to the town of Fisterra.
