Portuguese Coastal Camino

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Portuguese Coastal Camino Olddustyboots.com
A day of rest and preparation
25. august 2025, Spania ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
2.1 kilometers. So after sleeping in and a short walk to the mercado for groceries, I decided to book a massage to loosen up my hip and knee that have been complaining. Google, my best friend, gave me several places to choose from when I asked for massages in O Milladoiro. But then I discovered some were 10 kilometers away. Not a problem by car, but not happening for this walker.
I chose a local place and booked an appointment. When they sent me a 📌, I had a 28 minute walk. I walked out of O Milladoiro, through another village and found the clinic in the next village after that! Huh?!?
Luckily the full body massage worked out my tight overworked muscles and the therapist gave me a ride back to my Albergue. Bonus!
So now I've packed up my meagre belongings and I'm ready to walk the last stretch into Santiago de Compostela tomorrow. Buen Camino!Les mer
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O Milladoiro to Santiago
26. august 2025, Spania
August 26, 2025 8 kilometers. I made it! My hip and knee behaved and after leaving behind farms and forests, I traded the peace and quiet for the busy bustle of the city.
It's been a busy day. I took my photos in front of the Cathedral, lined up for my Compostela (which is a certificate of completion of the Camino) and my distance certificate. Even in the busiest month of the year, there was hardly any wait at all at the Pilgrim's Office.
After getting my documents, I attended an English mass in the pilgrims chapel and headed over to the Franciscan church for another certificate dedicated to walking at least part of the route St. Francis of Assisi walked 800 years ago.
That was just the morning. In the afternoon, I had a celebratory lunch of tuna empanadas, followed by octopus and seafood paella. I had to skip dessert because my leisurely lunch almost made me late for my yoga stretching session that I signed up for. After some stretching (I really need to be more flexible), we finished with a 20 minute "sound bath" meditation where we were immersed in the musical vibrations of gongs, chimes and multiple singing bowls. It was relaxing and very cool!
I attended the evening Pilgrim's mass in the Cathedral and then lined up to descend to the crypt to see the resting place of St. James. Afterwards, we climbed up behind the altar to "leave our burdens" with the statue of St. James. These are rituals that pilgrims have followed for centuries after finishing their Camino.
I still have a guided night tour of the Cathedral at 10:30 tonight. It will be in Spanish, but I'll get a small group visit to the church which will be nice.
What a day! Did I mention that I teared up when I got my Compostela? Being a pilgrim is not for the faint of heart! Buen Camino!Les mer
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Portuguese Coastal Camino Olddustyboots.com
Santiago de Compostela
26. august 2025, Spania
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Portuguese Coastal Camino Olddustyboots.com
The Cathedral
26. august 2025, Spania ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C
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Portuguese Coastal Camino Olddustyboots.com
Roof tour and Portico of Glory
27. august 2025, Spania ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C
On my free day in Santiago I joined a tour to climb up a tower and walk on the roof of the Cathedral. The views were amazing and the steeples of Santiago were right beside me!
After lunch, I joined the Portico of Glory tour. This used to be the main entrance to the Cathedral and it's where Doug and I entered this Cathedral in 1999. Below St. James' feet, pilgrims used to touch the Jesse's tree column until there are 5 dents in the stone from the everyone's fingers. To protect this intricately carved area, it has been closed to the public now for years except through this tour.Les mer
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Hospitaleira Porto
28. august 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 18 °C
When I walked through Santiago to the bus station, I came across a pilgrim that I had met a few days ago He was trying to find the bus to the airport, so I showed him the way before hopping on my bus to Porto. The Albergue de Peregrinos Porto with the green door is my home for the next two weeks. I'm volunteering as a hospitaleira (Albergue host) which means I get to clean floors, lockers, beds, and pretty much everything in the Albergue except the bathrooms. A cleaning lady sanitizes the bathrooms each day.
There is a team of 6 of us here. Three full time employees and three volunteers run the 52 bed hostel which welcome pilgrims from 14:30 to 20:00 hours each day. The Pilgrims have to leave by 10:00 hours the next morning and that's when our cleaning frenzy begins again. We must have hthe entire 3 floor building sparkling and ready for the next wave of pilgrims to arrive.
I was scheduled to cook lunch for the staff today, so I bought my supplies last night, which is challenging because I can't read Portuguese. Google translate came in handy when I was trying to read the type of meat I was buying. I made a honey garlic vegetable and sausage dish that my family likes and despite having to work with an ancient gas stove with no oven temperature markings, lunch was success!
Now we're fed and ready for our pilgrims. Bom Caminho!Les mer
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Porto at Leisure
1. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C
All who wander are not lost...
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Fatima, Portugal
3. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
I have a day off from the Albergue so I signed up for a tour to Fatima and Coimbra, both of which are south of Porto.
Fatima is a religious site similar to Lourdes in France. Three shepherd children saw a series of apparitions in 1917 that they came to understand were Mary giving them guidance and that holy area became Fatima. Now Portuguese people and others from around the world travel to Fatima to worship and pray for miracles. Pilgrimages to Fatima follow a blue arrow similar to the yellow arrow used to find Santiago de Compostela. The site is beautiful and there's a special energy here. Bom Caminho!Les mer
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Miracles
3. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 23 °C
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Coimbra
3. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 26 °C
Coimbra has the oldest university in Portugal and is a charming town built on a hill. The university is at the top of the hill in an area of prominence, while the center of town is at the bottom of the hill. In the olden days, women made a living carrying jugs of water up the hill to the university using a street named " Broke Back" in Portuguese.
University students wear a uniform with a black cape at university in Portugal and it is felt that these outfits inspired the school uniforms in the Harry Potter movies.
It was a very interesting day and I returned to the Albergue rested and ready for more pilgrims to arrive. Bom Caminho!Les mer
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Braga, Portugal
10. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ 🌧 20 °C
Today was my day off from my albergue volunteering and I joined a tour to go north of Porto to the city of Braga, which is often referred to as the Rome of Portugal. This is because Catholicism first started in Portugal in this town in about the 3rd century and it had been founded by Romans. Julius Caesar visited Braga 6 times during his reign.
Our first stop was at the Basilica of Bom Jesus which is built high on a hill overlooking the city Many people reach this church by climbing the 472 steps from the bottom of the hill, stopping at the small chapels that represent the stations of the cross, but we got there by car. Surrounding the Basilica were many monasteries, but they've been turned into hotels now. The whole area is absolutely beautiful and the church is amazing! I could have spent hours here, but our tour whisked us away to see the centre of town instead.
In the centre of the historic part of Braga sits the Cathedral made of stone and decorated with statues and bells. Inside, the church is full of paintings and carved wood covered with gold leaf. Again I could have stayed in this church studying the artwork and soaking in the peaceful atmosphere for a longtime, but our guide moved us through the church quite efficiently.
The Primativo Portuguese Camino starts from this Cathedral and heads up to Santiago de Compostela, so it's another choice for Camino walkers.
My phone died during my tour today and it wouldn't charge off my power bank, so when we returned to Porto, I had to find my way home to the Albergue without Google maps. I'm proud to say that I'm getting the hang of this city and I made it back safe and sound! Bom Caminho!Les mer
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Bom Caminho
13. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C
Tomorrow Doug arrives and my Camino will officially end. I will become a tourist and start my river cruise experience with him. This is a bittersweet moment as I am excited to have my life partner with me again. I've missed my Doug. But, it also means I have to say goodbye to this Caminho which has been a lesson in courage, perseverance and gratitude for me. I will carry these learnings and experiences with me as I return to my regular life.
Maybe one day, I'll find my way back to the Way again.
Bon Camino!Les mer
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Books, a Tower and a Cellar
15. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
We visited Livraria Lello which is known as the most beautiful bookstore in the world, and it really is. The stained glass, intricately carved woodwork and winding staircase made me feel as if I was inside a fairytale!
We followed the bookstore with a 225 step climb up the Torres did Clerigos (church tower), some traditional Portuguese food, a walk across the Dom Luis I bridge, and a tour of Calem Caves Port cellar complete with Fado show
I wore Doug out, but we returned to the Albergue with stomaches full of Portuguese street food, and heads full of memories.
"Wander more, worry less"Les mer
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Bifana and Port
15. september 2025, Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C
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Reisens slutt
15. september 2025