• Traveling Devols

Camino De Santiago - Portugues

A 24-day adventure by Traveling Devols Read more
  • Trip start
    April 4, 2024

    Lisbon by Foot

    April 5, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    We arrived in Lisbon yesterday at 3pm after leaving San Francisco at 3pm on Wednesday. 24 hours of travel and a wild cab ride to our hotel left us a bit spent. Once we got to the hotel we thought “let’s take a nap and then head to dinner". Well guess what? Our nap lasted till 7am. 😂

    Off we went this morning, after a great hotel breakfast, for a hike around Lisbon. What a great walking city Lisbon is. The mosaic tiled sidewalks are not easy on the feet but very impressive to look at. We made an unexpected stop and bought tickets to walk through the botanical gardens located in the middle of town which was a real highlight.

    Lisbon has a feel of San Francisco. It sits on a bay with lots of tourists and even a replica of the Golden Gate bridge that spans the harbor. As the afternoon grew warmer, and we had logged about 8.6 miles, we headed back to the hotel to put our feet up. Tomorrow will probably be a Hop On-Hop Off bus tour day (heavy on the “On”, light on the “Off”) as there is so much more to see.
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  • Pena Palace

    April 6, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    Today we tried something different and joined a bus tour that took us out of Lisbon to Pena Palace, then to the town of Sintra, next to Cabo da Roca, and finished up in Cascais. It turned out to be a very full day.

    The Pena Palace began as a monastery and then in 1755 an earthquake practically turned it into a ruin. In 1836, Queen Maria II married Ferdinand of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha, a prince from Belgium. Ferdinand began renovating the monastery and expanded it to the palace of today to hold his family of 11 children.
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  • Sintra

    April 6, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    After touring the Pena Palace we went into the town of Sintra for lunch. Sintra was full of narrow streets winding up steep hills full of small restaurants and shops. It was quite beautiful but crazy busy with people. For lunch we decided the best course of action, to find a quiet place to eat, was to climb to the top of the steepest street. It was a perfect plan. We found a nice refreshing place, with great service, for lunch .

    After lunch we had a nice stroll through town while dodging all the tourists. I can’t imagine what the busy summer season must be like.
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  • Cabo da Roca

    April 6, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 63 °F

    Cabo da Roca, known as the most western point in Europe was our next to last stop for the day. It was our shortest visit but I think for both of us the highlight of the day. There is something so special about the ocean; seeing it’s vastness, feeling the wind and watching the waves. It definitely beats being stuck in a long line of people slowly walking through an old palace.

    The last stop was a town named Cascais which reminded us of Monterey. It is known to be the most expensive place to buy a home in Portugal with houses starting at over a million euros. The town has lots of restaurants, tourist shops and street vendors. I think if we were able to have a seafood dinner it would have been great but time, our schedule bus tour, did not allow for it.
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  • Castelo de São Jorge

    April 7, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 59 °F

    Today we thought we would do what we always try to do in any major city, a Hop On-Hop Off bus tour. But at the last second said, let’s just go to the castle. We got an early start and grabbed a Bolt (Portugal Uber) to drive the steep winding streets (barely large enough for a vehicle) to the top of the hill. The driver finally stopped a couple of blocks from the top and said, “you’re on foot from here”.

    An early start turned out to be a great decision as we walked right up to the ticket window, got our senior discount and were some of the first people in.

    We both agreed this was the best castle we had ever been to. It was surrounded by huge trees and wide walks of beautiful verandas and great views of the city. The castle grounds are beautiful and home to colorful (loud) peacocks that are not intimidated by the crowds. Once we wandered inside the walls we were treated to full access to walk through the interior courtyards and around the perimeter fortifications. The shear amount of stonework was amazing and beautiful.

    After our tour we exited the castle grounds and headed down the ancient streets of Lisbon and walked the path of the Camino for a few blocks. What a great start to the day!
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  • Praca Luís de Camões Walkabout

    April 7, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    The second half of our day we decided to take a slow, meandering walk through the city. It was a beautiful Sunday with perfect temperatures to eat and drink outdoors, people watch and take in all the sights and sounds of this amazing city. We weaved our way through out of the way streets and were amazed at all the architecture, street art and cafes tucked away off the beaten path. Lisbon has been a great introduction to Portugal. We are excited for more to come. 🇵🇹Read more

  • Porto Arrival

    April 8, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 52 °F

    Today was a 4 hour train ride from Lisbon to Porto. We were so excited the whole way in anticipation of meeting up with friends, Helen and Mike from Dublin, who we met on our last Camino in the fall of 2022. They flew in to Porto just to see us ☺️. We have a sweet little Airbnb (see red door in pictures) for this stage of our journey that we will share with Miguel, another friend, from Germany, that we also met along The Way in 2022. Miguel was born and raised in Porto so we will have our own personal tour guide for the city. We are excited for new adventures in Porto and time spent with friends.Read more

  • Out and About - Porto

    April 9, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F

    It was a perfect day in Porto; blue skies, good temperatures and great friends. We met up with Mike and Helen and headed straight for the Hop On-Hop Off bus to tour around the city. We then spent our afternoon at the river where we had a great lunch, rode a river cruise, listened to great street music and attended a Port wine tour/tasting. We finished our day by meeting up with Miguel, once he flew in from Germany. He directed us to a great place for an outdoor dinner and more music in the streets. We are all excited to explore more of Porto tomorrow.Read more

  • Porto - Day 2

    April 10, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 57 °F

    Today was a lot of walking in Porto with Miguel as our personal tour guide. We first went to the cathedral to purchase our pilgrim credentials for the Camino and took a quick tour of the cathedral. Then off to walk the city, have lunch, ride the trolleys and ended up at a beach cafe drinking coffee and eating carmel gelato. After a long day out, we had Helen and Mike over to our apartment, that we are sharing with Miguel, for a home made dinner by Tom. Porto is the birthplace of Vinho Verde wine (which happens to be my favorite white wine) so it was fun to share a couple bottles with good friends before we had to say good bye to Helen and Mike. It was a great day in Porto.Read more

  • Prep Day for Camino

    April 11, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 75 °F

    Today was mostly a day of Camino prep as we spent the morning at the local laundromat washing all our clothes and getting our suitcase packed in order to get it shipped to Santiago to be received once we complete our walk.

    We still had plenty of time to do some exploring and found an amazing open market where we had lunch and talked forever to a fun couple from Canada who wanted to know all about the Camino. Otherwise it was a lazy afternoon of reading, hanging out with Miguel, after he returned from visiting his family, and then the cherry on the top of the day was finding Taco Bell for a quick dinner! Who knew?! Portugal never fails to surprise us 😂

    Tomorrow morning comes early as our Camino journey begins.
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  • Day 1 - Porto to Angeiras

    April 12, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 68 °F

    Today was our first day’s walk on the Camino Portuguese. It was so much fun to get to share it with Miguel. And it doesn’t hurt that he speaks 5 languages. He is handy to have along in a pinch when ordering from a menu or trying to locate a bathroom.

    We left from the Porto cathedral and walked through the narrow streets of town to the river and then made our way to the coast. It was such a nice, peaceful walk as the day awakened. Once on the coast we headed north following beautiful wide beaches for nearly 16 miles. The weather was clear and warm which was a concern as the rains have been unyielding on this route for weeks. We always wish we had trained more but hope that we get stronger as the days go by. We should sleep well tonight.
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  • Day 2 - Angeiras to Póvoa de Varzim

    April 13, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    Last night (our first night on the Camino) we stayed in an out of the way campground where Miguel spent 10 summers of his youth. We had a great little 2 bedroom cabin with a kitchenette and bathroom. We grabbed bread rolls, ham and cheese plus Fritos and Oreos from the campground store for dinner and forced ourselves to stay awake until 7:30pm 😂 Gosh we were beat!

    It is hard not to compare this Camino to the Frances route, but let me just say that walking all day looking at the ocean and listening to it crash against the shore all night is pretty heavenly. The fact that we have not encountered one proper hill is pretty crazy too. But that being said, the guys still have a few blisters to doctor and my hips are letting me know they don’t like carrying the backpack weight. Nothing I hope a little ibuprofen can’t handle. We are glad today’s 11 miles was a little shorter than yesterday.
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  • Day 3 - Póvoa de Varzim to Esposende

    April 14, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 70 °F

    Day 3 on the Camino and the skies continue to be blue and the temperature warm. The same is forecasted for at least the next 10 days. This area has had so much rain previously that we were very nervous for our planned time here but we have been very lucky weather wise, so far.

    Today being Sunday, there were loads of families out walking and enjoying the beaches. We left later than we normally like because I (Peg) couldn’t pass up the free breakfast, that came with our room last night, but it wasn’t served until 8am. We arrived at our Albergue about 3:00 with many stops along the way to refuel our bodies and rest our weary bones. Tomorrow we have further distance to cover so will definitely be leaving earlier.

    As they say in Portugal, Bom Caminha!
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  • Day 4 - Esposende to Anha

    April 15, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 63 °F

    We covered 13 miles of a very different walk today. Moving inland from the beach a couple of miles put us in a different world. It changed from boardwalks on the beach to mountain trails and quiet villages. The path was very much like walking the Galicia region of the Camino Frances. It was cool with a light wind and wonderful smells of the forest.

    A highlight was crossing a river on a simple bridge in the middle of nowhere, it was a beautiful spot that felt magical.

    Once we came out of the forest we had a nice stroll by some churches and then a stop for a “Pilgrims Meal” at a small bar. Then to our Albergue (hostel) to recharge, wash clothes and prepare for tomorrow. Another amazing day!
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  • Day 5 - Anha to Carreço

    April 16, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    What a special day (5) it has been. We walked a shorter day of 11 miles that took us along a wonderful path in the hills just a couple of miles from the beach. One minute we were walking on narrow paths through a quiet village then on a dirt path through eucalyptus groves and then crossed streams on bridges constructed hundreds of years ago. Portugal is a beautiful country and seeing it at 3 miles per hour lets you really take it in.

    After 10 miles we stopped for a coffee and some snacks and met the first two Americans on this Camino so far. It is interesting the difference in who is walking this Camino compared to our last. Many Germans, more people from Eastern Europe, but few from the States. It really has been great having Miguel, with his language skills with us. We are constantly taking bets on where folks are from based on their accents. It's unbelievable how often Miquel gets it wrong and makes for a good laugh.

    At the end of today’s walk we arrived at Albergue Casa do Sardão, heaven on the Camino.
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  • Albergue Casa do Sardão

    April 16, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Sometimes you come across an Albergue that is too good to be true. We thought we found that last night at Casa do Carolina but tonight’s stay at Casa do Sardão is over the top and for the first time has required its own post. It is owned and operated by two guys; Hugo is local and Alex is from South Africa. The place they are running is the most serene place we have ever stayed. I asked Hugo for a job. I think he thought I was kidding but I don’t think I was. We may have found Heaven on Earth or at least heaven in Portugal 🇵🇹Read more

  • Day 6 - Carreço to Caminha

    April 17, 2024 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 72 °F

    Today, as in the last few days, we’ve chosen to take the main coastal route rather than the coastal litoral route to start the day. This put us much more up on the mountain, which is a lot more work because it’s a lot more climbing. But the rewards were amazing because the views were incredible. We were up in the trees where the eucalyptus forests were cool and the trails were beautiful. We walked down paths with ancient walls and over old stone bridges. We took the road less traveled and were so glad we did.

    After about 6 miles we joined back with the litoral route and was treated to perfect coastal weather, no crowds and a path that was perfectly flat (something very different than climbing in the hills this morning). The path took us into Caminha where we are staying tonight. It is a wonderful village for our last day in Portugal. You can feel its age and character everywhere you look. We had a fun walk through the open market and then spent the afternoon in the square drinking beer, sipping coffees and enjoying the Portuguese pastries for the last time. Well, maybe we will have one more chance for pastries in the morning for breakfast. 😉

    Tomorrow we take a boat across the river to Spain. Spain has a lot to live up to. 🇵🇹 ❤️
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  • Day 7 - Caminha to Oia

    April 18, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 73 °F

    I think we were smuggled into Spain today……

    Getting up and going today was hard. Probably because we were all unusually sound asleep when the alarm went off. The thought of walking all day had lost its appeal. But today was not a day to dawdle as we had paid ahead for breakfast at the Albergue and a taxi to the river to catch a boat for Spain.

    Well breakfast was great and then the taxi showed up as promised. Four of us were loaded in and then sped away through the streets of Caminha like we were in a 007 movie. We held on for dear life and were then dumped off at an obscure place on the river where three guys were waiting for us and yelling 6€! 6€! We had our money ready, threw it at guy #1, was loaded into the boat by guy #2 and guy #3 threw us each a life jacket and just said “policia” which we understood to be he was only giving us a life jacket because it was the law. It was a crazy 15 minute boat ride across a choppy river with water slashing in the boat the whole way. We laughed until we cried 😂

    The driver pulled up on the opposite shore (no dock) and we jumped out. He waved, backed away and off he went. We were now standing on the shore of Spain with zero direction where to go. Again we laughed until we cried 😂

    This was the beginning of the best day ever. Perfect weather (again), perfect views, amazing second breakfast stop, fun conversations with other pilgrims, another great Albergue with free washer AND DRYER (so no handwashing and line drying today!!)

    I don’t want to jinx it but after a questionable start to our morning, this may be the best Camino day EVER. ❤️
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  • Day 8 - Oia to Baiona

    April 19, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    Today started with a great first breakfast at our cute little Albergue. Pastries were delivered from the local bakery and then Marcus, from Estonia, made us some scrambled eggs. Marcus was one of the kindest, most considerate Pilgrims we have met on a Camino. It’s too bad he is young and fit so he is walking many more kilometers per day than the average pilgrim. That means we will probably never cross paths with him again. 😔

    After 4.5 miles to second breakfast I began getting worried about the hill mapped out before us. We haven’t had many climbs on this Camino so far. But we did a lot of highway walking today so the turnoff to the trail up the mountain was kind of a welcome sight. As it turns out, the climb was the best part of the day. It took us out of the sun and through a beautiful shaded forest with spectacular views of the ocean. On the downhill side, we stopped at the bottom, at another unique place, for a cold drink to refuel and celebrate our success. There we met two gentlemen from Portland who had completed 13 Caminos. We walked the last 3 miles into Baiona with them and heard many stories of their adventures.

    Another good day in the books. 11.8 miles further down the road to Santiago.
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  • Day 9 - Baiona to Vigo

    April 20, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    Today we all woke up a little grumpy and indecisive. Where to find breakfast, what side of the street to walk on, panicked because we had not booked accommodations yet in Santiago and then the worst, what route to take today.

    We chose to do the coastal route of the Portuguese Camino because who wouldn’t want to walk on the coast for two weeks. But we soon discovered that there are many options along the way. Most days we have chosen the road less traveled and glad we did. It is always harder, with more climbing, but usually gets you out of the direct sun and has better views. Today the decision was like being asked what method of execution we preferred 🥴

    Tom finally veered to the right and once again we found ourselves on the road less traveled. But that is where we find all the pretty (old) stuff that peaks our interest; doors, gates, walls, forests, flowers etc. That is where locals shout “Buen Camino!” with enthusiasm from their verandas and store fronts as you pass by, even though they have probably said it a thousand times to a thousand pilgrims in their lifetime. Do they know what a huge encouragement they are? Some probably do because they have walked their own Camino but I think most just have the innate gift of encouragement. Either way, somedays it is all you need to hear to continue to put one foot in front of the other until you reach your destination for the day.

    Tonight we are in the big city of Vigo in a sweet little apartment. Showers and laundry are done and we have a little energy left to explore. 11 miles to Vigo and a taxi ride through the city to our apartment. Tomorrow is another day. 🇪🇸 ❤️
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  • Day 10 - Vigo to Redondela

    April 21, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    Day 10. Somedays are just harder than others. But to be honest, Sundays are usually a more difficult day on the Camino. We spent most of the day walking on a high ridged trail with the city and bay of Vigo in our sights. It was a beautiful and popular trail with many locals hiking and cycling. It was great to see such an active community. We then had a steep downhill into Redondela and stopped at the first bar for a cold drink. We were right at the connecting trails where pilgrims entered from both the Central and Coastal Caminos. From here on out the Camino will feel busier. It was hard to find service for lunch but after an agonizing search and long wait to be served, we got something to eat and made it to our albergue by 2:00pm. We are staying in a room with 10 people tonight in Cesantes (just outside of Redondela) and guess who has the top bunk. 😑

    I already miss our sweet apartment in Vigo where we all had the best nights sleep of our whole trip.

    13 miles complete another Camino day. 🇪🇸
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  • Day 11 - Redondela to Pontevedra

    April 22, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 77 °F

    Today started out hard. Tough hills to climb and as we expected, lots of pilgrims. You can always tell all the newbies to the trail as they look cleaner and smell fresher and they are more chatty. It seemed the 3 of us walked today in unusual silence. Maybe it was because after 11 days of walking together (plus days spent beforehand in Porto) we had run low on conversation topics. But I think we were subconsciously sad because we knew this was our last full day as a walking trio.

    Tomorrow Tom and I veer off on the Espiritual Variant of this route and Miquel will head straight to Santiago. Our route will take us a day or two extra to complete and we may or may not see Miguel before he flys out of Santiago for Barcelona.

    Today’s walk started hard but the whole day was beautiful. By early afternoon the pilgrims were all spread out and we spent the rest of our day on the most amazing trail that seemed to go on forever along a creek, in the shade, in 75 degree weather. Tonight we are in Pontevedra after a 13.8 mile day. This small city looks fun and our last night with Miguel will be celebrated. ❤️
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  • Day 12 - Pontevedra to Armenteira

    April 23, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☀️ 64 °F

    We woke up this morning and Miquel was gone. Like he evaporated into thin air. It was weird to begin our day without him. The morning started very busy with pilgrims again all jockeying for position on the road out of Pontevedra. We were happy when we got to veer off on the Spiritual Variant route. It was a beautiful walk with very few pilgrims. Maybe that is because there was a huge climb on this route today. In fact Tom had me so nervous about it that we decided it was best to pay a transfer service to move our heavy packs for the day. He told me it was going to be the equivalent of climbing Mt. Lassen in the middle of the day. Climbing Mt. Lassen is one of my least favorite things to do. So we readied ourselves with just the essentials; hat, sunglasses, sunscreen, windbreaker, water, phone, poles, our walking credentials and headed out. We made it to an early lunch stop to fuel up for what promised to be a tough afternoon climb. But once we were out of the steep village streets and onto a wide, mostly dirt, mostly shaded road, it was awesome. About 72 degrees today with a cool light breeze. Yes it was a hill, but it was either such an easy grade or we are in amazing shape. Either way, it was a lovely climb (rough downhill) and it dumped us off right into a bar for drinks and a stroll around the Monastery grounds.

    14.5 miles today, on a not so terrifying climb. Let’s see what tomorrow brings. Only 3 days left of this adventure. 🇪🇸
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  • Day 13 - Armenteira - Vilanova de Arousa

    April 24, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 66 °F

    After a great dinner at the Casa Rural B&B last night of garbanzo bean stew, fried artichokes and local wine, followed by homemade coffee and herb liqueurs, we got 10 hours of sleep and woke up today to a light breakfast from our hosts. Today was our second day along the Spiritual Variant. I have to say if you’re a; nature lover, person of faith, enjoy architecture, crave fine foods and local wines, like a physical challenge or seek solitude, the Spiritual route delivers. It is well worth the additional mileage and a couple extra days.

    For most of the day we walked along some form of water. It started with a series of cascading waterfalls then turned into a quiet stream, then a larger river and finally along a beautiful bay into the town of Vilanova de Arousa. It was a wonderful day of hiking that totaled 15.5 miles. Tomorrow we take a boat upriver to start a shorter walk before our final day into Santiago!

    Don’t miss the video at the end. We were invited into a little chapel along the way where a trio sang us a song to bless our day 👏
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  • Day 14 - Vilanova de Arousa to Cruces

    April 25, 2024 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 59 °F

    Today was different in every way. We slept in and woke up to the first cloudy day we’ve had. We had a leisurely breakfast, walked around town and took pictures. I read a book and Tom went for a longer stroll. We talked a long time to a chatty couple from Scotland and waited for our 12:45pm scheduled boat to take us up river as the skies grew darker by the minute.

    Our boat tour guide was very informative and even with his broken English we understood most of it. The minute we docked at our destination in Patron, the skies opened up and it poured on us for about 2 blocks until we could duck into a pub to wait out the rain and grab a quick pizza for lunch. Then off we started, at 3pm, for our day’s walk.

    We made it to our accommodations around 5:30 having put 6.8 miles behind us. Our goal was to shorten our walk into Santiago tomorrow. Hard to believe we have just one day left.
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