Reset search
Camino PortuguesCamino Portugues
SatelliteEdit route

Camino Portugues

April - May 2024
Linda and Kathleen on another adventure — walking from Porto (Portugal) to Santiago de Compostelo (Spain). An estimated 160 miles, 14 days on the trail with one rest day. Two days exploring Porto before and after. Come along with us! Read more
  • 16footprints
  • 3countries
  • 19days
  • 141photos
  • 4videos
  • 4.0kmiles
  • 3.5kmiles
  • 167miles
  • 146miles
  • 141miles
  • 0.6miles
Follow Calendar Share Bucket list
Date ascending
  • Camino Portugues
    11
    Day 3

    Our day in Porto

    April 23 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    We spent part of the day with Bruno on a private “Off the Beaten Path” walking tour of the city. He was incredibly knowledgeable — about history, architecture, food, languages, and art (including street art). It was the best city tour either of us has ever taken. We got our first Camino passport stamp at the Cathedral … and shared a francesinha sandwich for lunch and cataplana for dinner — both typical Portuguese dishes. And it feels like we spent hours zipping and unzipping our duffel bags and backpacks and fanny packs, as we organized and reorganized our gear, getting it ready for tomorrow!Read more

  • Camino Portugues
    Day 4

    Porto to Povoa

    April 24 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    We’re on the Camino for real! After breakfast we taxied to the beach north of Porto — and started walking at the Praia da Memoria obelisk. Most of the 13 miles to our destination in Povoa de Varzim were along a beach boardwalk, sometimes past sand dunes, always surrounded by wildflowers, and lots of bamboo stands. We walked thru a couple of small fishing villages, then thru a large urban area at the end. There were dozens of other pilgrims along the way, a handful of bicyclists, and many locals enjoying the boardwalk as well. At lunchtime we chatted with a young couple from Ireland at an outdoor cafe — she had recently walked a pilgrimage in Japan. Sunshine and a cool breeze were the perfect accompaniments to our first day. The hotel that was booked for us in Povoa was similar to the one in Porto: our twin beds were side by side in a very tiny room!Read more

  • Camino Portugues
    11
    Day 5

    Povoa to Beach Resort Hotel, Esposende

    April 25 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    Today was Dia da Liberdade, and the 50th anniversary of the Portuguese revolution. It was another short(ish) day of walking — 13 miles, only 6 hours with breaks. Beach boardwalk, then inland boardwalk, some towns, a golf course, a quiet wooded stretch on a dirt road. Kathleen took lots of flower photos — spring is a great time to be here! We’ve been seeing the same people at break stops and on the trail, and everyone wishes each other Bon (or Buen) Camino! Our hotel upgraded us to a Jr Suite — and the twin beds were all of 18” apart, not smushed together like at the other hotels. Kathleen, of course, did her traditional headstand on the beach, and we had a great sunset view at dinner.Read more

  • Camino Portugues
    2
    Day 6

    Esposende to Viana do Castelo

    April 26 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    We walked 16 miles today, our longest so far — about 8 hours including breaks. Leaving town, we had to stop for a school parade — they’re continuing to celebrate Freedom Day. Our path today went from city streets to countryside to small villages to woodland trails, across bridges (including a mile-long scary one) and up rocky mountainsides. The rain started around 2:30, and we were ready with our rain jackets and ponchos. When we arrive at our hotels, the first thing we do is strip off shoes & socks and get our feet up … Aaaaah, sweet relief!Read more

  • Camino Portugues
    11
    Day 7

    Viana do Castelo to Caminha

    April 27 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 55 °F

    We dressed for rain this morning, but it didn’t last long and we soon stuffed the rain gear back into our packs. We have been using our hiking poles a lot ever since leaving the boardwalks — they are so helpful on hills (going both up & down), on slippery rocks, on cobblestones, even on staircases. We did a lot of socializing today: with women from California, upstate NY, and Australia at stops along the way. During dinner, we lingered for two and a half hours over a feast of shared dishes and a bottle of excellent wine from the Douro Valley — complements of the Design and Wine Hotel. While today was 17 miles long, it took us a full 9 hours including breaks — thanks to higher hills than previous days.Read more

  • Camino Portugues
    Day 8

    Caminha (Portugal) to Oia (Spain)

    April 28 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F

    This morning we took a small 6-passenger water taxi across the Rio Minho into Spain. We chatted on the trail with people we had met earlier as well as new fellow pilgrims. Again, there was a variety of paths, and the day wasn’t too long — about 12 miles, taking about 6.5 hours with breaks. There were almost no services along the route, so we ended up eating snacks instead of a real lunch. (Note to selves: make sure to carry more food in our packs!) Arriving in the tiny seaside village of Oia quite hungry, we were dismayed to find the only two restaurants had just closed — but our hotel was at least serving drinks, which we supplemented with a bag of chips. We found a self-service washer and dryer, and washed a large load of our dirty clothes. Finally 8 pm rolled around, and we were the first two in the restaurant!Read more

  • Camino Portugues
    Day 9

    Oia to Baiona

    April 29 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    A 12-mile day that took about 5.5 hours. Sometimes the Camino followed the rocky coast, sometimes we shared a “yellow brick road” with occasional bicyclists, and it seemed we climbed steeper mountains today than any previous day (we are very thankful for our hiking poles). We arrived in Baiona famished, and found a restaurant just before the hotel, for a very late lunch. Bocadillos are ginormous hot baguette sandwiches — and go great with Estrella Galicia cervezas. We had lots of time before dinner (WHY do Europeans like to eat so late??) so we walked down to the marina, climbed up the to the medieval Monterreal Castle — and were allowed into into the (empty) Yacht Club by Kathleen saying she is a sailor in the US. Camila, the delightful young bartender working there alone, was thrilled to entertain us — with a wine tasting!Read more

  • Camino Portugues
    Day 10–12

    Baiona to Vigo

    April 30 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    We started with all our rain gear on, as the forecast was rain for the next 6 days. But it miraculously stopped in the early afternoon, and the sun and partial blue sky cheered us. More hills today — we think the steepest yet. So far we’ve met and chatted with pilgrims from Ukraine, Italy, Estonia, Austria, Britain, Ireland, Canada, Germany — Helen from Australia wins the prize. Women seem to outnumber the men … and more seem to be traveling with their friends rather than their partners (like us)! A few times this week we’ve gotten off the Camino path, but today was our biggest blooper. We usually get to our hotel by looking at google or apple maps when we’re really close. We looked too early today, and instead of hiking the trail near the water’s edge and getting off within 3 blocks of our hotel, we ended up hiking waaaaaay up to the highest point in the city (318´ in elevation, where the famous Horse statue is) then down again. (On the attached map, yellow is the Camino and red is more or less our path.) All we could do is laugh when we realized our mistake! (And keep our legs up on the hotel room wall even longer until the aching settled a bit! Beer, wine and pizza helped, too. )Read more

  • Camino Portugues
    Day 12

    Vigo to Redondela

    May 2 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    Yesterday was our rest day in Vigo, so we got to sleep in a little, didn’t have to zip and unzip everything, and lingered over breakfast. Walking outside, we wondered why it looked like a ghost town. May 1st is celebrated big time here — a Labor Day holiday with flags and balloons, parade and speeches. Some locals celebrating by spilling out of the bars in a different type of “labor.” In keeping with the local spirit, we treated ourselves to a massage, and at dinner we shared a huge seafood platter and bottle of delicious local white wine, Albariño.

    Today we were back on the Camino — 9 miles, 4.5 hours. More slowly climbing of the city streets to get from Vigo Baja to Vigo Alta … and once out of the city we reached a lovely wide dirt path thru the woods, where we could walk side by side instead of single file — sooo much easier for our conversations! (You think we might run out of things to talk about?) The forecast had been for rain, and we were dressed accordingly, but ended up blessed with sunshine most of the way. (Just like bringing your umbrella assures the rain will hold off. ) Arriving in the village of Redondela, we met up with more pilgrims than we had ever seen in one place. This is where the Coastal and Central Portuguese Caminos come together. We are now less than 100 km from Santiago. How did that happen so quickly?    Read more

  • 2024© FindPenguins
  • Home
  • About us
  • Blog
  • Group Tracking
  • Press
  • Terms
  • Privacy Policy & Cookies
  • Support
  • Legal notice
  • English