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El Camino

May - June 2022
  • Roch Pelletier
  • No Cheese
A 610 kilometer walk from Lisbon to Santiago de Campostela along the Portuguese coast Read more
  • Roch Pelletier
  • No Cheese

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  • El Camino

    Day 17/6 Oliveira de Madeira to Grijo

    May 20, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 24 °C

    When we checked into our hotel yesterday afternoon, we were pleased to learn that it was four star rated AND breakfast was included in the room rate.

    As a result, The Core Four took full advantage of the "free" food and, by the time we completed our Uber ride, didn't arrive back in Sao Joao de Madeira to start our walk until 8:45.

    The day started out at 18 degrees and slowly crept up to 27 by the time we arrived at our destination in Grijo. The walk today had an elevation gain of 268 meters, considerably less than yesterday, and a distance of just 19.69 kms. In pilgrim terms: a relatively easy day.

    We spent most of the day walking through residential neighborhoods, but, to add some spice to our trek, on our first rest break at about 7kms, the cafe owner offered us some delicious cinnamon toast to go with our coffee.

    We also had various periods following the ancient Roman road, which somehow always brings me to reflect on how many others have trodden these same cobbles as I.

    At one point, we came across a group of bikers who were leaving their mark on a metal wall simply by writing on it with a finger, and I felt obliged to do the same.

    We arrived in Grijo shortly after 1:00 and took an Uber into Porto so that we can enjoy the charms she has to offer while we overnight here today and tomorrow.

    One of these charms that had Brenda salivating all day was a gluten-free bakery that offers GF Pastel de Nata. However, when we arrived at the shop, there were no Pasteles to be found! Forrunately, we were told a fresh batch would be ready within the hour, so we decided to go for an early dinner. Of course, dining in Europe before 7:00 is out if the question and two vegan restaurants we tried to patronize informed us they were closed until 7:00

    We ended up dining in the first place we found that offered a vegetarian burger and some typically delicious fries before returning to the GF bakery for Brenda's dessert. Although the crust didn't live up to the standard puff-pastry crust, Brenda thoroughly enjoyed the treat.

    We capped off our evening with a round of drinks on an outdoor patio with Anita and Ernie.

    Tomorrow we pick up where we left off in Grijo and will enjoy one more night in Porto before moving onward.    Read more

  • El Camino

    Day 18/7 Grijo to Porto

    May 21, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    We took a very fast Uber ride from our Porto accommodations back to where we left the Caminho in Grijo yesterday afternoon, Mostreiro do Sao Salvador de Grijo.

    Our 16.25km walk was completed under overcast skies on a warm and very humid day. It felt like a storm was brewing all day long. Fortunately, no rain fell until we were back in Porto having lunch, as always, the Caminho took care of us.

    Today we walked along a very lengthy and steep stretch of Roman road, saw a rather erotically suggestive cactus and, before ending the pilgrim trail for the day at the Porto Cathedral, stopped for Port wine tasting at Calem Cellars on the south bank of the river.

    The tasting consisted of two wines from Douro, a red and a white, a white port, a late bottled vintage and a 10 year old tawny.

    We then crossed the bridge to the north bank and climbed many stairs to the Cathedral where we got our pilgrim passport stamped.

    Brenda and I went for lunch at a Brazilian restaurant and had tapioca crepes stuffed with pesto, cheese and tomato and an acai bowl for dessert.

    By coincidence, Anita's sister, Irene, and her husband, John, were also in Porto and we joined them for a pre-dinner drink before meeting Wil for supper at a very authentic Mexican restaurant. Who knew: good Mexican grub in Portugal?

    The Core Four wrapped up what felt like a day off with one last glass of port on a patio with Wil, who will continue his journey tomorrow on the Central route, while we switch to the Coastal route. We vowed to reunite once our paths reconvene further down the road.

    Another marvelous day on the Caminho.    Read more

  • El Camino

    Day 19/8 Porto to Vila do Conde

    May 22, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    Today we set off onto the classic Caminho coastal trail as we make our way north into Spain. Yesterday's weather forecast had called for overnight thunderstorms and light rain all Sunday morning. Brenda and I dutifully put the rain covers on our backpacks and had our umbrellas and raincoats close at hand when we departed Porto at 7:00. Anita went for full protection, wearing her rain jacket and rain pants.

    We had only gone a couple kilometers when lo and behold, we once again came across Wil, who was seated in a bus shelter. Yesterday he mentioned he had developed some pain in his right toe, and had gone to a clinic for some treatment. Sadly, this morning the pain was too great for him to continue and his fifth caminho came to a sudden end. He was waiting for his son to make arrangements for him to fly back to Amsterdam this afternoon. We're not sure if he or we were sadder about this development, but we wished him well and promised to stay in touch before saying au revoir.

    By 10:00 we had felt only one or two raindrops and the skies were turning blue. An ounce of prevention, I guess.

    We had planned to stop for coffee at around the 6 km mark, but made an early pit stop only 4 kms into our hike because we came across a pastry shop where people were lined up out the door. We weren't disappointed. I had the best Pastel de Nata yet, still warm from the oven, and Brenda's Bolo de Arroz was a big hit, much better than the one she had the other day.

    Our next break was at 12 kms at another very popular pastry shop where I couldn't resist having one of their almond tarts.

    The walk out of Porto was very unexciting, mostly through residential areas and industrial parks. We walked a very short distance along a Roman road and eventually came into an agricultural area where corn was growing everywhere we looked. We came across a small free-run farm where chickens, goats, pigs and even a peacock happily ran around the barnyard. It was nice to see animals being treated so well.

    Our third stop had been planned for around 18 kms, but there were no cafes or restaurants to be found, as is often the case on Sundays in Europe. At 22 kms we found a large shopping mall and stopped there for a surprisingly delicious lunch at the supermarket food court.

    The next 7 kms were mostly under bright sunshine and I was very happy when we stopped for a cool one at a patio filled with people only 400 meters from our hotel. We'll all be returning there for dinner tonight to take advantage of their 8 euro pilgrim's dinner special.

    This was my longest day on the Caminho and I was grateful the elevation gain was slight and gentle. Nonetheless, I'm pretty certain I'll sleep well tonight.

    Distance walked since Lisbon: approx. 402 kms    Read more

  • El Camino

    Day 20/9 Vila do Conde to Esposende

    May 23, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

    With another big walk ahead of us, we hit the road at 7:00 this morning under overcast skies and 17 degrees with a forecast of rain from 8:00 to 11:00.

    The first few kilometers of the day ran through residential neighborhoods with little excitement except for a trio of ducks waddling down the sidewalk. But, before we knew it, we were strolling oceanside along the longest boardwalk I've ever seen.

    We had planned to stop for coffee at A Ver-O-Mar, but found nothing open this Monday morning. We pushed on to the next town, Aguçadoura, located at the 10.9 km mark, and still had no luck until Brenda found a "top-rated" pastry shop 8 minutes off the Caminho trail. And that's where things got interesting.

    Yesterday, during dinner, one of Brenda's dental crowns disintegrated. We called our travel insurance provider who confirmed this was not covered by our plan, but gave us the name of a dentist in Esposende. While at the cafe in Aguçadoura, I managed to reach the dentist and, with my one month's Duolingo Portuguese training, succeeded in communicating Brenda's need for an emergency appointment that afternoon. And then the receptionist responded and totally lost me. Brenda turned to the couple seated at the table next to us and asked if they spoke English and they kindly offered to assist us. As it turned out, the woman is from Agaçadoura, but has been living in Toronto with her husband for the last eighteen years! Unfortunately, the dental office had no appointments available, but we were once again treated to the unbelievable kindness of the Portuguese people. On top of that, the pastries were outstanding.

    That little detour and chat with fellow Canadians put us far behind Anita and Ernie, but we caught up with them in Apulia at the 17.6 km mark. While we were chasing them down, the skies opened and we had our first real exposure to rain since I arrived. We walked for about ninety minutes in the rain, which was quite heavy at times. I'm pleased to report that my quick-drying clothing worked extremely well and was not even damp when we started back on the trail for the final 7 kms to Esposende.

    As luck would have it, Brenda managed to book a 4:00 dentist appointment and had a temporary crown installed on her exposed tooth.

    Tomorrow is another long day: 26.4 kms to Viana do Castelo as we get closer and closer to the Spanish border.

    They say that The Caminho will always take care of you and, with all our good fortune today, the proof was in the pudding.    Read more

  • El Camino

    Day 21/10 Esposende to Viana do Castelo

    May 24, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ⛅ 12 °C

    Our walk today started under cloudy skies with a slight wind and a cool 12 degrees. A fairly long 27 km journey was on the agenda along the Caminho's coastal route. Despite the coastal monicker, most of today's travels were on inland trails, with a couple of fairly long, steep stretches over difficult terrain. Other parts were through beautiful forested areas alongside a rapidly moving stream. The final couple kilometers were over a heavily trafficked bridge, high over the river where we were buffeted by extremely high winds. We all breathed a sigh of relief when we reached the north shore.

    Brenda and I stopped for coffee at the 9.15 km mark in Belinho where we rejoined Ernita (our new name for Ernie and Anita) who had taken a route that more closely followed the coast. We didn't stop again until Chafe, 19 kms into our walk. We had a very substantial lunch but were seriously overcharged for the meal we had. On the plus side, it was very delicious and filling.

    On our journey today we saw a cactus on the verge of exploding into fill bloom, a trio of crucifixes where we suspect an annual recreation may take place during the Easter season, a lemon tree laden with grapefruit-sized fruit, several lovely and/or historic churches, a shrine to the Caminho, and, at our destination, Viana do Castelo, a hilltop cathedral, a street adorned with colorful umbrellas and a statue of a monk on his ass (donkey, that is).

    We wrapped up our day with a great meal just a stones throw from our hotel.

    Tomorrow is a short 18 km walk to our next destination. Let's hope it warms up a little before we hit the road on the morning.    Read more

  • El Camino

    Day 22/11 Viana do Castelo to Vila Praia

    May 25, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 19 °C

    After a very cool, windy night, we embarked on our walk to Vila Praia de Ancora at 7:30 this morning under blues skies with a temperature of just 12 degrees. My companions have begun looking at me menacingly for having brought the miserable weather with me from Vancouver.

    Fortunately, after a steep uphill climb minutes into our walk, we all warmed up pretty quickly and began shedding layers of clothing. Soon into the hike we were out of the city and walking Roman roads through some lovely forested areas. Parts of the path were a little rugged, wet or muddy, but overall the morning went by very quickly.

    We made a stop for coffee at about 10 kms into the hike and didn't stop again until we reached our seaside destination.

    The rest of the day was spent eating and drinking. The highlight was our delving into the hot cocktail here: Porto and tonic. The girls had white port and tonic last night and we decided we had to try it with a Tawny. We bought a bottle of Tawny at a local market for €4.70 and killed it with a bottle of tonic water as pre-dinner cocktails. I think we need to bottle it and sell it at home.

    It's an early night tonight as we're all a little tired from today's climbs and the prospect of another 25km day tomorrow, which will be our last full day in Portugal.    Read more

  • El Camino

    Day 23/12 V.P.Ancora to V.N.Cerveira

    May 26, 2022 in Portugal ⋅ ☀️ 25 °C

    Well I'm a walking down down the road
    Tryna lighten my load
    I got seven kilos on my spine
    Four are clothes for wearing
    Two is food for sharing
    One I should have left behind.

    (Sorry Eagles fans, but sometimes the caminho gives you far too much time to kill.)

    Today we set out at 6:50 a.m. under sunny skies with a cool temperature of 12 degrees C. Initially, our goal was to reach Vila Nova de Cerveira after walking 24.9 kms and climbing 523 meters.

    Happily, we discovered an alternate route that runs right along the coast, which allowed us to arrive in Vila Nova de Cerveira in only 22.2 kms with only 73 meters climbed.

    The shortcut was especially appreciated after the difficult and steep climbs we undertook yesterday.

    Amazingly, the majority of today's walk was on a soft bike/jogging track that ran for at least fifteen kms alongside the river that serves as the border between Spain and Portugal. So close were we to Spain, at times my phone was showing the time for the Spanish time zone.

    We stopped for coffee at the 8.9 km mark in Camhina in a town square more reminiscent of Italy than Portugal.

    Our next stop was a very short bathroom break at 16 kms. The path was so smooth and we all felt so energetic, we powered straight through to lunch at our destination in Vila Nova de Cerveira.

    After a shower, we sat down for a round of pre-dinner Port and tonic before heading out for a very delicious dinner of various tapas.

    Oh yeah, Spain is just around the corner.

    Distance walked since Lisbon: approx. 500 kms.    Read more

  • El Camino

    Day 24/13 Vila Nova de Cerveira to Tui

    May 27, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

    Since leaving Lisbon, not once have we pilgrims left for our day's travels wearing less than two layers of clothing on our upper bodies. Until today.

    As we departed Vila Nova de Cerveira at 8:30 a.m. the temperature was already 19 degrees with a forecast high of 32 by early afternoon. Definitely t-shirt weather.

    Fortunately, the path today took us only 19.45 kms into our first stop in Spain, Tui.

    There was very little of interest on the path that runs alongside the Minho river, the border between Spain and Portugal. But as we arrived in Sao Pedro da Torre at the 9.9 km mark for our morning coffee break, that all changed. Approaching the town we were greeted by ancient fortifications and, in fact, the entire town was filled with ancient, well-preserved buildings.

    Since the cafe in Sao Pedro had no Pastels de Nata, we decided on a second stop in Valença for our last ones before crossing into Spain. As it turns out, Valença is contained within an extensive ancient fortified wall complete with battlements. We could have easily spent the rest of the day exploring this fascinating town, but with our destination for the day less than three kms away, we decided to push on.

    It was a good decision as the temperature was rapidly rising and the sun was beating down relentlessly. We crossed the bridge into Spain and immediately lost an hour of our day. We not only crossed an international border, we also entered a new time zone.

    Tui turned out to be equally as fascinating a city as Valença with a spectacular cathedral, well preserved historic buildings and a lively and thriving main drag.

    We had our first glasses of Cava in the main town square and had a dinner of tapas in a restaurant recommended by one of the locals.

    We wrapped up this Friday evening seated among the locals and enjoying some cool libations.

    Life is truly grand.    Read more

  • El Camino

    Day 25/14 Tui to O Porriño

    May 28, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 20 °C

    A short and relatively flat walk today started out at 7:30 a.m. and covered just 15.74 kms.

    The temperature was about 15 C when we started out and felt quite cool as we walked through the early forested parts of the trail. But by the time we arrived at our destination at noon, the sun was blazing and we were glad to be done for the day.

    The walk itself was uneventful, except for when we wandered across a duo of pipers in the middle of a wooded section, happily playing for the pilgrims that passed them by.

    Even though we arrived just around noon, we were able to check in and shower right away and then took advantage of our early arrival to enjoy a very good paella in a pastry shop.

    In Spain, pretty much everything shuts down between 1:30 and 4:30, so after lunch we went back to our rooms for a little siesta.

    Because the forecast is for heavy rain for most of next week, as soon as the stores reopened, we went shopping for rain ponchos. The Caminho looked after us once again as we snatched up the last three available.

    The rest of the afternoon was spent sipping sangria and beer on a patio while we people watched.

    Ernie and I later caught the first half of the Real Madrid vs Liverpool football game before calling it a night. We would have loved to watch the whole game, but the Caminho calls early every morning.

    Tomorrow we'll finish our walk well within 100 kms of our destunation in Santiago. We're all going to be a little sad to see the journey come to an end.    Read more

  • El Camino

    Day 26/15 O Porriño to Redondela

    May 29, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 16 °C

    Another short day on the Caminho with only 17.21 kms to cover on mostly paved roads. There were a couple of fairly long, steep climbs and short, VERY steep descents, but, overall, it was an easy day on the trail.

    Our 7:30 a.m. start was under clear blue skies and a cool 15 degrees. The route was quite uneventful, except for the fact that there now remain less than 100 kms to walk to Santiago.

    A brief coffee stop at Rua at about the 7km mark was the only break we took today before pushing straight through to our hotel in Redondela.

    Unfortunately, we arrived in the lovely little town of Redondela on Sunday, which means that most businesses are closed and the town appears to be extremely sleepy. We nonetheless found a couple of very nice restaurants for lunch and dinner, as well as a 24 hour grocery store where we bought a couple of bottles of Cava to enjoy on the rooftop deck of our hotel.

    We now have only about 84 kms to travel to our destination and the number of pilgrims we encounter on the trail, and in the cities are growing exponentially. It's hard to imagine how many of us will be in Santiago when we get there.

    I guess we'll soon find out!    Read more

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