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    • TravelerCamino de Santiago 2024
      Day 5

      Beach to Forest

      April 12 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 57 °F

      This morning we were up early and headed out for more adventures. We hiked along the ocean a bit as we left Esposende and then traded the boardwalks for winding our way through sleepy villages on quiet country lanes. The roosters crowed us along and we were visited by several cats and dogs as we made our way north. It was so encouraging to see the many Bom Camino signs that we passed. We are still very careful to spot the yellow arrows that point us in the right way because none of us want to risk getting off track 😂. The recent rains turning to bright sunshine this week and the fact that it’s springtime here has so many beautiful flowers blooming in the small yards- bird of paradise, roses, rhododendrons, irises, wisteria and flowering fruit trees are intoxicatingly fragrant as we walk by but they are rivaled by the riotous display of wildflowers too! We passed wild daisies, ferns of every shape, calla lillies, poppies and sweet clover and they are busting from rock walls and in fields. This afternoon we even saw foxglove blooming in pastures and grapevines blooming with tiny baby grape buds- a real treat! Portugal is especially beautiful now. Angèle had a close encounter with a green snake that poked his head out from the vines so that they were face to face- I almost lost my mind! But she was brave and we kept going. We visited so many churches today- those dedicated to Michael the Archangel, S. Joâo de Monte, Senhora de Miséricordia, S. Sebastio and a very special one, Igreja Santiago de Castelo de Nieva which holds an inscription of dedication of the original church to San Tiago dating from the year 862- it’s the oldest consecration to the Apostle from outside of Spain! We spent most of the afternoon hiking through forest land over rocks and branches and through some mud. It was so hot today as we marched along our 18 miles (!) and we were about to stop and take a rest when we came upon a little donativo cantina in the woods run by a very friendly Portuguese man who sang to us as we accepted his generosity and had some melons and fruit, icy drinks and even a little port wine- yes please and obrigato! Thankyou! We kept going then and passed over the river Lima as we entered Viana do Castelo walking across a metal bridge done by the Eiffel school. We enjoyed a light supper at a bar that had a DJ playing traditional Portuguese Fado music and then had an Uber take us up the mountain to our albergue Santa Luiza- it was 600 steps up some treacherous stairs and we felt it wise to stay safe. I did the stairs last year with Richard and once was enough for me! The Sanctuário de Santa Luzia (also known as Templo do Sagrado Coraçáo de Jesus) is atop of the mountain and an imposing sight! We needed to check in so we’ll visit the Sanctuary in the morning- for now it’s laundry and sleep! We’re in an 8 person dorm room and my 3 sisters are all on top bunks- reminiscent of our childhood days! Tomorrow is our last day in Portugal for awhile and it will be another long day so we’ll get our rest and be ready to hoist up backpacks and leave early.Read more

    • TravelerDos Camino
      Day 14

      Esposende to Castelo do Neiva

      September 25, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 16 °C

      I walked by lots of churches today 💒, but the most interesting was the Parish Church of St Tiago, which was established in the year 862. It has been updated of course, but is possibly the oldest church dedicated to Santiago in this part of Portugal.

      There was also a river crossing with a bridge that would not have passed any safety standards at home. But it was wider than expected and actually quite sturdy. I didn’t fall off 😎.

      There was a wide variation in terrain today. Cobblestones (too many), pavement, rocky paths, and a few forest trails (my favourite). And yes, even some eucalyptus trees.      Read more

    • TravelerCaminho Portugues
      111
      Day 3

      Tag 3 Es löuft

      August 16, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      Ah, Tag 3 meiner heiligen Pilgerfahrt von Vila do Conde nach Marinhas – der Tag begann um 6:00 Uhr, als die Vögel lautstark beschlossen, dass ich lang genug geschlafen habe. Schön, wenn man von der Natur so liebevoll geweckt wird.

      Um 6:30 Uhr brach ich auf, um die Welt zu erobern – oder zumindest die nächsten Kilometer. Mein Frühstück bestand aus zwei Espressi und einer seltsam leckeren "Buchtel" am Strand. Wenn ich die Augen zusammenkniff und meine Vorstellungskraft anstrengte, konnte ich mich fast wie ein Edelmann am königlichen Hof fühlen, der ein extravagantes Mahl verzehrt.

      Aber Moment mal, bei gerade einmal 15 Grad frischem Wind? Ich fühlte mich wie ein Schneemann auf Sommerurlaub, der verzweifelt versucht, an seinem Schal zu nuckeln.

      Die ersten Kilometer verliefen auf der Strandpromenade von Vila do Conde, wo ich mir eine älteren Dame eine Guten Weg wünschte, und mir unverhofft einen zweiten Anhänger – natürlich nicht im Sinne von Anhänger einer Fanbase, sondern im Sinne von Armbandanhänger – überreichte.

      Aber Moment, dann wurde es "berüchtigt". Die berühmt-berüchtigten Holzbohlen. Sie waren so gnädig, meinen Füßen eine Massage zu geben, während ich mich durch den Nebel schneidete der so dicht war, dass es sich anfühlte, als würde ich eine geheimnisvolle Parallelwelt betreten.

      Dann verließ ich den Strand und begab mich in den wilden Dschungel von Wäldern und Feldern, wie ein moderner Indiana Jones, der auf der Suche nach dem verlorenen Frühstückskeks ist. Doch keine Sorge, es gab keinen Tempel des Schreckens, sondern nur das Dorf "Fao", das mich mit offenen Armen empfing.

      Und von Fao aus ging es weiter, immer entlang der Promenade von Espoende. Mit gefühlten 35 Grad und ohne eine einzige Wolke am Himmel fühlte ich mich wie ein Wandervogel, der in der Sonnenhitze schmolz. Und erinnerte mich sehnsüchtig an den Schneemann zurück.

      Schließlich erreichte ich Marinhas und konnte meinen glorreichen Endspurt feiern, als ob ich gerade die Goldmedaille in der Kategorie "Überleben auf Holzbohlen" gewonnen hätte.

      Und was haben wir heute gelernt? Was kann aus dem Rucksack raus? Ist das der Beginn einer spirituellen Konversation oder einfach nur die verzweifelte Frage eines müden Wanderers? Der Körper gibt stille Antworten, mit einem Ziehen in der Schulter und einem kurzen Moment der Hüftklage nach jeder Pause.

      Aber keine Sorge, die Blasen halten sich bedeckt, um nicht das schwindelerregende Tempo meines Pilgerwegs zu stören.

      Doch in all dieser sarkastischen Ironie liegt eine tiefe Dankbarkeit für die vielen netten Bekanntschaften, die diesen Tag unvergesslich gemacht haben. Denn inmitten von Espresso, Buchtel und Holzbohlen ist es doch der menschliche Kontakt, der uns auf unserem Weg begleitet und uns daran erinnert, dass unsere Reise nicht nur physisch, sondern auch zwischenmenschlich ist.      Read more

      See translation
    • TravelerCamino de Santiago
      Day 6

      Senda Litoral it is…

      September 29, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ 🌧 63 °F

      They were no rooms on the central way tonight so I’m staying on the coast until at least tomorrow :) found a path by the coast but not many yellow arrows here. We’ll see how the day goes… Met a pilgrim named Charlton. He said, I’m the good looking one not the dead one 😄 it took me a minute to get itRead more

    • TravelerCamino de Santiago
      Day 5

      We Keep Walking!

      October 20, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 57 °F

      We moved away from the coast today and entered a more rural landscape, walking on cobblestones and dirt paths. The continued rains here have made a muddy mess but at least in the villages, forests and vineyards, while it was chilly, we weren’t battling that stiff north wind. It did rain a lot today but there were also sunny times and a rainbow! The forests were lush and beautiful but some of the ways we went down the mountain would definitely not be approved by my orthopaedic surgeon! We crossed over the river Nieva on a sketchy looking concrete block bridge and I held my breath the whole time! Ultimately we clocked 19.75 miles, 48,515 steps and 58 flights of stairs today- a record for me and I feel it tonight!
      Passing through the villages we visited so many churches and chapels. There is understandably a particular devotion here to Our Lady of Fatima and almost every church has some type of remembrance. At Castelo de Nieva we saw the first church in Portugal ever consecrated to S. James- it dated back to 862 AD. In Viana do Castelo we walked over an iron bridge called the Ponté Eiffel to cross the river Lima- it was done by the Eiffel school and was pretty cool! Before we climbed the 600 feet up to our alburgue (rooming house) we stopped for a Pilgrim meal, a set menu including wine at a cheap price. Delicious! We are staying at the Alburgue San Luzia which is connected to the Sé (cathedral) - the reward of having the most amazing view of the city was worth the effort of the 600 meter climb- there are many sweet pilgrims also now staying here who we now consider our friends- now off to sleep- more adventures tomorrow! Fingers crossed the rain stops!!      Read more

    • TravelerCAMINO PORTUGUÉS DE LA COSTA
      2311
      Day 5

      Day 4 Esposende to Anha

      September 11, 2023 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

      Part 1 Left the Albergue before sunrise, 7:00am. Today was a 20km day over a mountain!! Literally, 140m elevation through cobblestone streets, and forest paths. It was tough, but so worth it. So much beauty and history.Read more

    • TravelerCamino Portugues
      Day 3–4

      Dag 3: Vila do Conde - Esposende

      April 15 in Portugal ⋅ 🌬 23 °C

      Deze ochtend al vroeg uit de veren zodat ik om 7 u kon beginnen aan mijn dag! Mijn kamergenoten gingen allemaal de centrale route op dus ik wist dat ik alleen ging wandelen.
      Toch maar mijn lange legging en lange tshirt aangedaan want de burns were burning!

      Het duurde een klein uurtje voor ik de stad zelf uit was en weer langs het strand kon wandelen. Wel wat meer wind dan gisteren maar gezien ik mezelf had verplicht heel de dag mijn lange kleren aan te houden, was dat eigenlijk ideaal!

      Rond 9 uur werd het tijd voor mijn second breakfast: een espresso en iets wat ze hier een croissant noemen, nu ja ‘t was zonder melk dus kinneke content, en nog eens voor maar 1,5 euro!

      Kort daarna week het pad af van de kust en liep ik door een combinatie van duinen, velden van boeren en kleine dorpjes. Wel lieve boeren, want ik ben slechts 3 keer en evenveel km verkeerd gelopen tot een oude boer mijn de juiste richting aanwees 🙃.

      De laatste 8 kilometer begon ik toch echt last te krijgen. Doordat de achterkant van mijn benen zo verbrand waren en de huid helemaal strak stond, ben ik onbewust anders gaan lopen waardoor ik al snel een blaar ter grootte van mijn duim kreeg. En dan bedoel ik even groot als dat mijnen duim lang is, GROOT DUS.

      Na nog een snelle Pilgrim’s Lunch (soepeke, veggie pasta, kommeke fruit, badkuip wijn en een theetje voor 11 euro) heb ik de laatste 5 km op puur karakter gedaan. Mijn voeten waren er echt klaar mee!

      Gelukkig kwam ik het laatste halfuurtje een ouder Brits koppel tegen waarmee ik al heel de dag haasje-over aan het spelen was en liepen we het laatste deel samen!

      Thank god voor mijn hostel vandaag! Wel weer het bovenste bed maaaaar met gordijntjes, stopcontact naast mijn hoofd en een handdoek even groot als België 💗 Ah ja, en een zwembad!

      Na mijn post-walk pintje ben ik nog even snel de Aldi binnengewaggeld voor ontbijt en wat fruitjes voor on the road.

      ‘K ga nie liegen, ik heb wat schrik voor morgen 😅

      Totale afstand: 53 km      Read more

      See translation
    • TravelerCamino de Santiago 2022
      1
      Day 4

      Póvoa da Varzim - Marinhas (ca. 27 km)

      September 9, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 23 °C

      - Be still. -

      Es ist ok, nicht auf alle Fragen direkt eine Antwort geben zu können oder eine Antwort laut auszusprechen. Es ist okay, wenn du Entscheidungen, Meinungen oder Argumente für dich behältst - gerade dann, wenn es um sehr persönliche Dinge geht und du dich mit der Beantwortung verletzlich machst.

      Lektion 3: Es geht nicht darum, Fragen, Themen oder Entscheidungen mit sich selbst auszumachen. In Jesus kannst du einen Wegbegleiter finden, dem du alles vor die Füße werfen kannst, egal ob Gedanken oder Gefühle. Er sieht dich und statt dir Gedanken darüber zu machen, was andere darüber denken und mit den Infos tun werden, hilft er dir mit deinen persönlichen Themen zurecht zu kommen.

      - Listen to the sound of your inner voice even if others mean to know more about yourself than you do. -

      Zur Route:
      Póvoa da Varzim - Rio Alto - Fão - Esposende ~ Marinhas

      Entlang der rauen Küste Portugals starten wir bei grauem Himmel und Nebel über Sand, Holzwege und Dünen. Später verlief die Strecke durch Feld, waldähnliche Gebiete, durch Städte und Dörfer durch Straßen voller Palmen und alter sowie neuer Häuser bis zum Zielort Marinhas. Unterwegs war ich mit Lucie, die ich gestern kennenlernte. Eines der schönsten Erlebnisse heute war das spontane Testen der Akustik einer Kirche, in der wir sangen und die uns ein paar Minuten Erholung von unseren schmerzenden Füßen bot. Am Abend traf ich auf mir bisher unbekannte Menschen und auf bereits bekannte. Gemeinsam aßen wir zu Abend und genossen die portugiesische Abendsonne - die Pilgerfamilie wächst. Nicht zu kurz kommen durfte natürlich der Austausch über den noch vor uns liegenden Weg, weshalb wir uns die unterschiedlichsten Wegvarianten auf der Landkarte anschauten und unsere ungefähren Routen austüftelten. Auch die Kommunikation mit anderen Pilgern, mit denen man sich auf Grund unterschiedlicher Sprachen kaum versteht, ist oft sehr lustig - da kommt es auch mal vor, dass ich plötzlich das Parfum eines wildfremden Mannes auf den Arm gesprüht bekomme oder die größte Verwirrung darüber herrscht, aus welchem Land der andere kommt. So froh wie heute, nach ca. 27 km und nur einer größeren Pause in meinem Bett zu liegen, war ich selten. Ich merke auch, dass ich demnächst einige Tage brauche, an denen ich ganz alleine unterwegs sein werde.      Read more

      See translation
    • Eileen MitchellCamino Portuguese
      1
      Day 5

      Friday night- Saturday

      October 7, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 63 °F

      I’ve adopted “Narrow Road” by Josh Baldwin as my theme song for this walk. Take a listen!
      Friday night- Made it to Esposende. It is a really nice resort town. The Main Street is all waterfront and park. Staying in a hotel that I at first thought was really nice. Now I think it is really nice- in an Overlook Hotel kind of way. It has lots of character as old hotels do- but there is definitely a creepy element here.
      I took kind of a circuitous route to get here. There are actually 2 different coastal Caminos. The one I thought I was on was the traditional one, but sometime today I noticed that I was no longer on that one. There was a pilgrim from Norway- Vidar. He and I had been taking turns passing each other and had stopped at the same place for lunch. Anyhoo- he saw me looking confused and told me I was on the Senda Litoral, but I should just stay on that cuz it’s the better one anyhow. Turns out Vidar had already done the Portuguese Camino both there and back. Did the traditional coastal and came back the Litoral- so he knows from whence he speaks. (He has also done the French route. Kind of an over achiever if you ask me). So I stayed on the Litoral but then started to wonder if that was gonna end up being longer so decided to cut over to catch the traditional. But that looked really far so I just consulted Google maps and went where they told me. And it ended up being a really pretty walk even though I was on it all by my lonesome.
      Met a couple of angels today, both named Maria. Neither spoke a word of English but we ended up being able to pantomime our way through. The first 2 pictures are of one of the Marias and Vidar.

      It’s Saturday and I’m about 1/2 way through the day’s walk. I started on the coast but the boardwalk had given way to sand, (no me gusta), plus it’s a hot day and no shade on the litoral. So I switched over to the coastal. So glad I switched. It’s been a beautiful walk, through some towns, some woods…. Right now I’m sitting under a tree in the courtyard of a beautiful church. Seems to be a popular pilgrim resting place. But the route has become quite hilly.
      Ya know- people are generally very kind. I stopped at a little cafe to have a cold sparkling water. The owner brought out a jar of biscuits, honey, jam and a little bowl of peanuts in the shell-(and I had just been thinking yesterday about how much I miss peanuts. It’s true what they say- the Camino does provide!). He filled up my water bottle and stamped my pilgrim passport without my even asking. I have met a couple of girls from Miami, a very nice woman (Silva) from the Czech Republic - she was traveling with a friend but the friend had gone ahead. Then another woman from the Czech Republic, Katerina, who was doing her 1st Camino and was on her own. Her son was an exchange student in Kansas last year.
      I am feeling that things I have been thinking about, reading, and listening to are beginning to synchronize.

      On the playlist today- Simon and Garfunkel. Best lyric- “I get all the news I need from the weather report”. (Only Livin’ Boy in New York).
      The church bells just rang and there appears to be some kind of mass. Time to get movin again!

      The pictures of people I meet I am including for me to remember. But there are some more scenic pictures too!

      So I was gonna end this when I left the church but then a mile down the path was this little canopy area and a guy, Albero, who had a whole little supply hut with fresh fruit, chips, beer, sparkling water- even a little espresso maker. He only asks for donations. So awesome!      Read more

    • TravelerCamino de Santiago
      Day 6

      The Boredwalk - Day 3

      April 9 in Portugal ⋅ 🌙 11 °C

      Woke up: Pousada de Junventude (albergue)
      Destination: unknown

      Bored, bored, bored was most of today.

      But I did wake up feeling no where near as bad as I thought I would. So that gave me a good kick of motivation. As well as the mindset I would get as far as I could.

      I headed out alone. And was alone for most of today. There was a never-ending boardwalk that also cut in land which got super lush. Eucalyptus trees. And lots of allotments.

      Oh and I bumped into Julia and Greg, the volunteers from Boston, working in the first pilgrim hostel in Porto. How coincidinks is that? Literally bumped into them - how can you be in a completely different country for 4 days and meet people you know, 50km away, at the exact same time. The Camino, sure lets you know with synchronousity that you doing something right by being here.

      The Camino also Provides - and so it did. Only 20 mins after wishing I’d brought the physio ball for under the feet, a cyclist flagged me down and just randomly gave me a golf ball. No words, no actions with it. Just gave me one. Which came in plenty handy this evening in relaxing my feet.

      I’d changed my footwear not too long in as I felt certain pain. Glad I did as I spotted the beginnings of a blister. So I changed, with much more room, and ventilation to the feet. So tied my boots on to my bag - although little did I know how long I was going to be in them.

      Some signposts along the way LIED! They said from when you started a particular section it would be 12.5 km till Esponede (the ideal destination for the day).

      And so on one boardwalk section, that took inland, taking me (now I know, away from the Senda Literol path to the official coastal) - it made me aware I had only 2.5 km to go. Brillant - I’ll book my hostel then!

      Happy as only previously I was half tempted to stop in a albergue on the path. Was super cute but it felt too rural for what I was after. Especially if the destination was so near.

      I ploughed on. Walking into forest tracks, aware of a female pilgrim not too far behind. The birds chirping in my head cheerleading me on. I came to a cross roads, and it was this point I realised I’d followed Camino signs off the senda litoral and on to the official costal. As I could work out why I was off the path marked on my phone, but the signs were saying different. It was at this point a man on a tractor beckoned me to come towards him, and then shouted “Santiago” of which we replied yes. And so she replied “that way, that way”.

      Camino provided directions too apparently.

      I walked with the pilgrim who caught me up for a while, an Irish woman from Dublin. At this point the cobbled roads were starting to hurt. And some rocky parts too were starting to really be felt by my under foot.

      Coming into a small village, I spotted a church, and veered away from Irish woman. Also wondering whether they may have a stamp, as I’m still needing my first of the day. As I turn, I spotted resting the Dutch lady who was opposite me in the hostel last night. She followed my lead when I asked if there was a stamp, and she said oh we must check.

      With that we headed in, leaving the other pilgrim to walk on ahead. There was a stamp. It was also at this point we realised we were again staying in the same place tonight so we set off together.

      I found out Rianna, is also here on a grief journey and came to be and walk with her mum, three years after her passing.

      We gained on the fellow pilgrim, who was clearly struggling. But she was adamant her town and lodgings was next.

      It was at this point I checked how far we were away. 7.5 km (another 2 hours)! Stupid tourist signboards. Trust issues ahoy now!

      And I’d booked my accommodation. So where I had hoped to walk as far as I could then book a place, that did NOT go to plan. My pace began worsening, the cobbled streets got atrociously cursed. And then to top it off, I had to walk a long bridge, but the pedestrian part was closed off so there was a makeshift scaffolding situation to walk on. That swayed!

      This time I unclimbed my bag belts from me. Can’t believe I hadn’t thought of it last time, yes I can swim, but that back pack is gonna sink a person.

      And so I trudged on. Although the last 20 mins with the help of a friend, won’t lie.

      I arrived. I checked my feet. I showered. I went out for tea with Rianna and finally sampled Portugal’s dish, Fransescina (interesting!

      How much my body can do tomorrow, is anyone’s guess. But I’m hoping it finally finds its rhythm, and this whole the first three days are the worse’s gets put behind me.

      PS - cute check in texts by Angel and Lesley

      Body check:
      O blister behind right baby toe,
      O blister forming to the side of my heel left foot.
      O Bottom of legs sunburnt (legging end and sock start)

      Little things:
      O Concrete / or mud roads
      O Showers not on a timer      Read more

    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Marinhas

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