Portuguese Camino April 26- May 10 2024
Three friends and I spent 15 travel days on the Camino Portuguese. We chose the litoral/coastal route adding in the Spiritual Variant. Our ages are between 60 and 72! People ask why we did this. It was partly spiritual -taking time to reflect and pray- we left prayer rocks, religious medals and a few rosary beads along the way- we had friends give us prayer requests- we took a photo of where their prayer rocks were placed, so they knew we were praying for them on that day..
As we are all "women of a certain age", this was also a challenge opportunity for us . We loved every bit of it and had very few struggles along the way. We took our time, and were always thankful to be walking.
I did a blog on Porto- I have been to Porto 3 times- but this blog
will be focused on just the Camino- Here is a link to my Porto only blog.https://1960travelgirl.blogspot.com/2023/09/porto-portugal.html
We picked up our credentials- with our first stamp- and
shells for our backpacks, at the Porto Cathedral as we were touring the city. The mosaics inside the church are gorgeous. We
loved our days in Porto- I recommend everyone spend a full day or two in Porto,
no matter where you begin your Camino.
Oh and eat lots of pasteis de nata- Portuguese custard tarts.. as soon as you cross the border into Spain you will not be able to get them anymore!!!
We got private transfer from Porto to Viana do Castelo. We decided to start north of Porto due to
time constraints and wanting to go slowly and enjoy the walk. We went 6- 17 miles
a day (10-27 km). I had done the
Portuguese Camino coastal/central with my husband the year before (2023- same
time frame starting in Mindelo at Casa Sonia). When my friends saw the Camino pictures-
they asked if would take them on a Camino- I said “Of course, I would love to take you!!”
After checking into our hotel in Viana do Castelo, we took the funicular up to the
Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart, Mount of Santa Luzia. We could actually see the
path we would begin walking in the
morning from the sanctuary’s “praca” (aka piazza, plaza) . We returned down the
hill and wandered the beautiful town of Viana do Castelo.
We stayed at Casa Melo Alvim - a historic hotel- it had a
restaurant attached. We were so glad to have that restaurant – it was pouring
rain that night! This restaurant had padron peppers (well maybe not actual “padron
peppers” because they aren’t in season yet- but these were still peppers, blistered
and salty - awesome. We ate these peppers every time they were offered on a menu.
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| We tried on our Camino socks Wright brand sock company sells these |
The next morning we started our walk- in the drizzle! We followed arrows and then lost them (I
think we lost them at a roundabout). HOWEVER we could actually see the Litoral Camino
running along the ocean, but we couldn’t find the path from the roadway! Then we spied what we thought was the path-
but it was actually a path under construction. Lol- so we had to bushwhack across the rest of
the field, but finally we were on our way. We got crazy looks from the man driving the backhoe.
Today we planned 12 miles (19 km) from Viana do Castelo to Praia de Ancora.
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| placing a prayer rock |
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| the Litoral route marker |
The sun came out around lunchtime and the walk was lovely.
Our next day was Praia de Ancora to Oia- 17 miles
(27km)- it started out cloudy but turned into another lovely day.
In Caminha we did the small boat transfer, $6 euro pp. We really weren’t sure how this crossing worked…we were told (and read online) “just follow” the signs a bit before Caminha. We were just about to enter Caminha and we saw the sign for boat crossings. (google Camarido beach) We just showed up on a beach, saw a man with a boat, had cash- and 10 minutes later we were crossing the border from Portugal to Spain.
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| this was the only pic we had- we were holding on tightly! |
There were so many things to see on this day! Our first day in SPAIN!
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| We placed prayer rocks all along our journey. |
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| we filled water bottles frequently |
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| stopped for lunch with a gin and tonic |
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| taking goofy pics- it was a really long day 17 miles!! |
In Oia we stayed at Casa Puertas. It was an adorable bnb- highly recommend. Ask for the room with the balcony! Also ask about the secret garden!
The next day was a bit less than 13 miles (21 km) from Oia
to Baiona
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| cows and helicopters |
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| saw the bread delivery man |
t was a stunning walk! We stopped for a snack and shared one slice of Tarta de Santiago
We went off trail about 1 hr- 3 miles, before Baiona . We just HAD to visit Praia dos Cristais de Silleiro- SEA GLASS BEACH- sea glass at least 1 foot deep, 25 yards wide and 100 yards long!
To get there you need to stay on the wide bike path on the BELOW
the lighthouse along the highway. The Camino goes on a path above the
lighthouse, and you will miss the glass beach. We stayed at the beach for about an hour sifting through the beautiful glass and pieces of pottery!
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| veggie paella -one person in my group is vegan she ate lots of salads and supplemented with food from the grocery store |
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| the wide bike path into Baiona |
We arrived in Baiona- Oh my gosh- we stayed in the Parador de Baiona.
We had a great meal with other pilgrims at La Boqueria. (we saw these new friends many times along the way).
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| 4 people could share 2 meals and add a salad |
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| you keep meeting up people along the way |
The Parador was an amazing hotel- it is a fortress complete with cannons, rampart walls and look-out towers. It was so worth the money- and it included a great breakfast. This was originally built in the 8th century by the Muslims. It was attacked by Sir Francis Drake in 1585 and was made into a parador in 1963. (I try to stay in as many historical paradors in Spain.)
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| laundry day! |
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| dinner |
Baiona to south of Vigo…16miles (25 km)- and the rain came back- another long walk day!!
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| a big walking day |
To be honest, I had read so many reviews about Vigo. The reviews talked about walking through industrial areas, and that the mayor of the city didn’t like pilgrims, so there were limited arrows to follow… so we decided to stay at a great hotel and taxi through Vigo to an area about 1/4 mile before Fonte de Mozas- this is a beautiful forested area above Vigo where we could pick up the Camino. The hotel did all the translation for our drop off point with the taxi driver.
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| view from where the taxi dropped us off |
It drizzled off and on all day. The short cut taxi was a good idea as there were many hills and even some walking in the woods made harder by the rain.!
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| the number of people on the path easily doubled after Vigo |
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| bread mailbox |
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| steep hill through the woods |
In Arcade, we stayed at our only “alburgue experience”- O
Meson- we booked 2 private rooms. It was a really nice alburgue. We cooked our own meal in the kitchen- one of
my travel girls is a chef- so the meal was incredible! The alburgue experience was fine in a private
room- I am not sure I could stay in a dorm room! I honestly don’t mind showers
and toilet down the hall, but I couldn’t deal with snoring.
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| bridge into Arcade |
The next day, we traveled from Arcade to Pontevedra about 15.5 miles (25 km)..it drizzled off and on all day long today. However, it had poured rain in this area for the last two nights, so we could not take the variant through the woods ( ankle to knee deep mud) so we ended up on the main road into Pontevedra. (at least there were sidewalks.)
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| lavandaria- you see these frequently- it is where you gather to do laundry- some are still used for this purpose |
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| this trail angel will give you the trail conditions report also take the time and chat with him and buy a bracelet or a snack! He is such a nice man.  |
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| vending machine for "ALL your needs" as you enter Pontevedra |
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| entering Pontevedra |
On arrival day to Pontevedra, we dumped our backpacks and took a taxi to San Xoan Poio monastery. We had intended to visit this historic spot on our next walking day- but when I looked at the hours for visitation, I saw they were closed when we were to be walking past. So, on this POURING RAIN afternoon, our hotel helped us get a taxi that would wait for us for an hour at the monastery. It was a perfect plan- and divided by 4 people was cost effective. We were afraid to let the taxi leave, as taxis are hard to get when it is raining. This monastery was a must-see. The mosaics are incredible.
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| largest horreo (granary) |
That night we stayed at another great hotel, The Parador of Pontevedra. It was a palace that once was the residence of the Counts of Maceda. It was beautiful inside and there was a great area for us to play our nightly card game. Breakfast was incredible as well.
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| drying our rain soaked clothes |
The drizzle stuck with us as we spent our second rest day in Pontevedra. There are so many things to see in Pontevedra, but we needed our raincoats all day.
We went to the market
Saw all the churches and ruins
And went to the awesome Museo Provincial de Pontevedra
And wandered around Pontevedra
And yes, the rain continued into the next day…we had a decision to make- take the official Camino up and down muddy hills – or do a google map route down streets, on city and suburban roads, and save a few miles. We did the short cut- google map route, staying south of the monastery
Pontevedra to Combarro- 5 miles- 8 Km such a short day- but so glad- more time in Combarro!
We picked up the Spiritual Variant about an hour into our walk..
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| a bit too much rain these last few days |
We stayed in a place right inside the old town of Combarro. The apartment is called Casa Rualeira. Our luggage transfer company had to deliver our luggage to a bar in town because there was no reception area to drop luggage. We arrived at the bar and found out that the bar tender was also our landlady!
It was super handy to meet our landlady because she was
able to get us a table immediately at her crowded restaurant. What a kind thing
for her to do! While chatting with her in the bar, we met a table of locals who
wanted to practice English- so we befriended them. We would run into them all
day at different Combarro locations!
They would greet us with “TEXAS” and we would reply with word “COMBARRO”.
By the time we settled into our apartment and ate our late lunch it had stopped raining.(finally)
We explored the town which is famous for its horreos (granaries). There are about 60 of these structures throughout the town.
We stopped and admired the flower boxes and gardens and
tried to photograph as many horreos as possible. They were all so different. And with their
location next to the sea, we got some stunning pics. I wish we could have stayed
two nights in Combarro.
That evening we were discussing the next day’s walk up the big 5 mile hill. We were dreading it.
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| discussing the big hill at our apt |
We decided to make a playlist of songs to encourage us up
the incline. (Think …“Ain’t no Mountain High Enough”, “Eye of the Tiger” “Walk
This Way”)…but we knew if there were any pilgrims within earshot, we wouldn’t
play these loudly or sing along… Lo and behold, morning came and we were the
only walkers….so we sang our way to the top. When we reached the top>>>
Louis Armstrong’s “What a Wonderful World” was playing!! We let out happy tears
and hugged each other. A piece of advice
that was given to me “was stop every mile or so and turn around, so you can see
the view”. Our group did this, and it made the walk so much easier because we
weren’t constantly staring at the unending uphill!
we started the climb as the sun was coming up up and up stop and turn around often
the view is spectacularfinally to the top- and
Louis Armstrong playing
It's a Wonderful World
A bit past the top of the hill is the monastery of Armentiera. It is a nice stop. Get your credential
stamped and buy something from the gift shop.
a bit early in the day...
but a celebratory G and T for the the top of the hill
We continued our walk. We were excited to hike the
section called Stone and Water. It was
absolutely gorgeous. The sound of the
river, the smell of twenty shades of green, the many moss covered old mill buildings
made this a walk I will never forget. I had so many good pics it was hard to choose!!
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| if you are unsteady on your feet hiking poles helped us through all tree routes and slick rocks |
We ate in a great restaurant called Peneira. The food and the service were excellent.
We had about an hour more to walk after lunch.
We ended our day in the town of Barrantes… Combarro to Barrantes was about 12 miles-19km.
We stayed at Apartment Ruta da Auga. Barrantes was a great stopping point. There was a grocery store 1
block from the apt. The apt did have a washer and dryer in the hall to share-
but the dryer took HOURS to dry a small load of clothing.
The next day was an easy walk and a gorgeous day. Barrantes to Vilanova de Arousa- 9 miles 14.5 km all downhill! The only sad part is we passed a few wineries and none of them were open for the season.
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| entering Vilanova de Arousa |
We stayed at Marujita Vilanova alojamiento apartments. These were really nice. We had a great kitchen, so our chef friend whipped us up another tasty meal. We walked around the town and explored its little alleys.
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| this is where you catch the boat- see the arrow |
The boat was pretty big, it had an upstairs – uncovered and a downstairs covered. It took us near the mussel collection areas in the bay and pointed out the many crosses along the river. It took about 2.5 hours (This is the slow boat- there are faster ones- but be careful where they launch from) The boat’s time schedule is dependent on the tides – so departure times vary.
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| collecting mussels at the in water mussel farms |
Vila Nova de
Arousa to a bit north of Padron- after the boat ride, we still had 8 miles
of walking.
you cross this bridge to get to Padron
We stopped in Padron for lunch. It was 2:30- and we
almost didn’t get served- every restaurant was closing. But one restaurant took
pity on us and gave us 4 “easy for the restaurant kitchen to prepare” choices,
for lunch. We had soup and fish and salad and French fries and the stoutest gin
and tonics EVER!
and for begging the kitchen to feed us!!
We hung out at the beautiful house until check-out time, and then had a short walk from north of Padron to Milladoiro- it was 8 miles, 13 km.
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| pay attention to small details |
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| random street performers- we saw these people and bagpipers in the woods too |
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| I knew a tiny short cut- before the traffic circle in Milladoira (I have walked this way before with my husband and we spotted people doing it) but this shortcut involved climbing a railing, which at our ages is hysterical! and lol- it only saved about 1/16 of a mile! |
We stayed at Casa Rural das Bentinas. This was the second time I stayed here (my husband and I did the Portuguese Camino Coastal/Central the year before- no blog). It is a great bnb- highly recommend- they have a great breakfast, pool, and a company like UBEReats that will deliver food to the house. The important thing to know is that Milladoiro is on a big hill- and this bnb is at the bottom of the hill- if you order food delivery- you don’t have to walk up and down the hill multiple times. Instead, you can sit and enjoy the garden, the patio, and the (good) wine or beer that is the “honor frig” (pay when you check out!) We sat in the den at the bnb that night and met some really nice people from England. It was a great evening!
Excitement was with us as we got up this morning….we were headed to our final destination.
we saw this heading into town-
we agreed, you have to do stuff NOW
Milladoiro to Santiago de Compostela… It was only 6 miles /10km !! Interesting things to see on the outskirts of the city.
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| bread delivery and an arrow-lol I would love bread delivered to my house daily! |
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| there is city walking for about 40 minutes |
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| walk through the park rather than around it |
And suddenly we were there
We were staying at the Parador Santiago de Compostela. The history of this hotel is incredible.
Pro tip- ask for a room with an inner courtyard view. We had an
exterior room and had to listen to bagpipe music all day long! The breakfast is
great. The only issue we had was that the a/c had not been turned on for the season- our room was hot and the bagpipe music couldn’t be shut out!! For the
price we paid, they should have a/c year round.
I would stay there again but only with a guarantee of a/c. However, it is worth it to stay there once, to
see the grandness of this Parador built in 1509. (you are not allowed to just
go in and look around- there is security)
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| The Parador of Santiago- *****the place where you get your Compostela is down the hill on the left side of the parador and then make your first right hand turn  |
one of 6 beautiful courtyards
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| bring a clothesline rope |
We stayed in SdC for 2 nights. We did the cathedral rooftop tour (book in
advance)..Fun as long as you are not afraid of heights!
We toured the Cathedral and saw the tomb of St James (behind and under the altar- there is usually a waiting line to descend into the tomb.
We went to mass. Disappointingly, the botafumerio was being repaired so no “swinging” incense for us. PRO TIP- get to the church 1 hour before mass- or you will be standing. Also they don't allow backpacks in anymore- so leave it at your hotel or alburgue.
my husband and I got to see the botafumeria swing
it is done on high holy days or if someone/group pays the fee
You never know if you will get to see it swing!
We went to a rock concert in the piazza next to the
Cathedral
The Cathedral is the right wall in this photo
Because the concert was in this location- we couldn't see the pilgrim shadow- so this pic is from when my husband and I came in 2023. The shadow is located on the cathedral wall to the right of the stage
We drank sangria and ate at great outdoor cafes/bars
Bought smoked paprika- really good
Ate Mexican food at Pico de Galo (I think we were sick of seafood)
We took the high speed train to Madrid. It is so hard to believe it is over.
The Camino will always be in our hearts. I am trying to figure out my next walking trip!
Just a few notes-
We flew from Dallas/Fort Worth airport to Madrid and then onto
Porto. We had carry-on roller bags and small backpacks and 1 small duffel per 2
people. These duffels held our hiking poles and the extra stuff (see below). We
only checked the extra duffels-we carried on the rest of our luggage. If the
duffels were lost- everything could be replaced. We spent 2 full days in Porto
at the beginning and two full days in Madrid at the end. Our journey began in Viana do Castelo. We
decided on 2 rest days in Baiona and Pontevedra. We booked all our hotels/bnbs/guest houses
and hostels ahead of time and used the company Caminofacil for luggage
transport- they did a great job!
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Our daily schedule went something like this-times are approximate
according to availability of cafes and places to sit and rest
Breakfast 7 or 7:30(either in our room- or at the
bnb/hotel)
*Bags in the
lobby by 8 am for luggage transfer
2nd breakfast- 10:30 am- coffee/tea/share a sweet or a
tortilla or just sit take our shoes off and
have a snack
and some water
Lunch- 1:30 (at the latest because many places close at 2:30
We ate fairly big lunches-
fish,
calamari, pork, salads, grilled veggies, pizza and usually shared a bottle of
wine 😊.
After
lunch we usually only had about 1- 1.5 more hours to walk.
Check into hotel about 2:30-3pm
Rest a bit and wander the town. and find a good gin and tonic. Look for possibilities for dinner- w
we hate eating at 8 pm-
we looked for
bars that had salads and sandwiches. But truthfully, mostly we went to the
local
grocery and
bought fruit, veggies, hummus, crackers, and nuts. We didn’t like to go to bed on
a full stomach. Lunch was our main meal. We also brought 2 decks of cards and played
almost every
night.
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Highlights-
We met and chatted up more than 75+ people from 31 different
countries- some pilgrims- some locals.
We took selfies with ALL these people! It was so much fun making connections, and running into these people down the trail. What a wonderful diverse world we
live in! What a great experience!!
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We brought some food and supplies from home- oatmeal
packets, peanut butter, protein bars, nuts, snacks, plastic baggies (all sizes),
sharp knife, little cutting board, clothesline (drying clothes in your room), a
few small plastic containers. All of
these things came in handy for evening snacks and storing leftover things like
cheese and fruit.
