Camino Portuguese Day 5

Casa da Carolina is a lovely albergue. There was even a singalong last night, with one pilgrim on the guitar.
Breakfast was included today, so I started with some energy.
Anha to Viana do Castelo

The next main town was fairly large, with a castle up on the hill. Luckily I did not visit it. The Camino was not well marked in Viana, but I figured out how to see my position on a Camino map app. Czytaj więcej
Viana do Castelo to Correcos

Once I finally found my way out of Viana, the way-marking was much better. There were some hills, some cobblestone, some road, and some forest trail.
Interesting scenery, odd street and lawn Czytaj więcej
Correcos to Vila Praia de Ancora

I had lunch in Correcos, then had quite a steep climb following. What’s usually at the top of a climb? Sometimes a beautiful view, sometimes just a cross. The crosses reminded me of the iron cross Czytaj więcej
Camino Portuguese Day 6

A few scenes from the albergue and from where I ate yesterday evening. It was definitely a Mom and Pop restaurant, traditional Portuguese food. Up on a hill, with a great view for sunset nearby.
The Czytaj więcej
Vila Praia de Ancora to Moledo

It took me about 30 minutes to find the Camino route again, the albergue was that far away. Easy though, I just had to head towards the ocean. And once I found a church, I had found the Camino.
I Czytaj więcej
Moledo to Seixas

From Moledo it was an easy walk to Caminha, which is a lovely town. The central plaza was a great place for lunch.
The route splits here. You can either cross the Minho River into Spain (by boat), Czytaj więcej
Camino Portuguese Day 7

This is my last full day in Portugal. There is rain in the forecast so I will keep my poncho handy.
The mannequins were in the lobby of my albergue, very fashionable. I had a typical pilgrim meal, Czytaj więcej
Seixas to Vila Nova de Cerveira

I had a few views of the Rio Minho today. The other side of the river is Spain. I will enter tomorrow across a bridge.
Part of my trail this morning was on the red paved trail, very nice to walk on. Czytaj więcej
V N de Cerveira to Sao Pedro da Torre

I had a happy snack about halfway through today’s walk. This is a nice town, some art and flowers.
The grapes were heavy on the vines in this one place. I tried some, very sweet!
This was the Czytaj więcej
Camino Portuguese Day 8

Another lovely albergue. This one is family run, with lots of love. Anna and Pedro were walking the Camino from there home in Lisbon when the property called to them. Basically in ruins, they began Czytaj więcej
Sao Pedro da Torre to Valenca

The walk was a bit damp, but manageable with the poncho. The path was well marked until Valenca, but it was easy to find the Fortaleza there, just go uphill.
I am meeting Sharon here, so walked Czytaj więcej
Valenca to Os Eidos

I waited for Sharon in the Tourist Information Centre. She showed up right on schedule. From the Fortaleza it was a short walk to the International Bridge, where we crossed the border into Spain. Czytaj więcej
Camino Portuguese Day 9

Casa Alternativo gets top marks for great food, friendly host, and cute dog, Otto. A second bathroom would have been nice, but I’m not complaining.
We had rain on and off last night. Luckily our Czytaj więcej
Os Eidos to Porriño

It was very foggy this morning, and lots of moisture was in the air. And the temperature cooler today, with a high of 21 C.
Because our albergue was off the Camino, we had to find the way back to Czytaj więcej
Porriño to Redondela

After a coffee break we had a long climb. We are getting stronger, though 💪🎒.
The signpost indicates less than 100 km to Santiago, but we have an optional variation coming up, so it will be a Czytaj więcej
Camino Portuguese Day 10

We had a quiet evening with laundry, dinner, and a short shopping trip (breakfast food).
The albergue had nice facilities and curtains on the bunks. I asked nicely and we both got bottom bunks.
We Czytaj więcej
Redondela to Arcade

We had two good-sized hills today, one before coffee and the other after. There were some very nice views.
In Arcade we crossed a very old bridge, and saw some horreos.
Arcade to Pontevedra

We had our second hill after Arcade. This was mostly on soft paths through forests, so I enjoyed the climb a lot more.
We stopped at a roadside ‘tienda’ for a chocolate bar. It was well set up, Czytaj więcej
Camino Portuguese Day 11

Last night we had no success finding an evening meal prior to the pilgrim mass. All ‘kitchen cerrado.’ So we ended up at a familiar location.
After church there were many families out walking, Czytaj więcej
Pontevedra 1

There are quite a few historic sites in this city.
We walked a bit and saw most of them. Then went back to our room for a rest.
Pontevedra 2

We walked a bit more, checked out the path for tomorrow. We get to start with a lovely bridge across the Rio Lerez (Ponte do Burgo). Then we strolled through a flea market. Luckily nothing I need. Czytaj więcej
Camino Portuguese Day 12

After a day of rest we were ready to walk some more, though a bit apprehensive about the upcoming hill and heat.
In the evening we went to a nearby park for a bit, but mostly relaxed. Not as relaxed Czytaj więcej
Pontevedra to Combarro

It was mostly light by the time we reached the spot where the Camino divides. We could go straight and it would be very busy with pilgrims, or left on the Spiritual Variant, Variante Espiritual. Less Czytaj więcej
Combarro to Armenteira

We stopped for brunch before the hill. Tortilla Español. This time I shared with Sharon and we still had leftovers for later. Combarro is also known for fishing and horreos.
Then we started to Czytaj więcej