Camino Portuguese Coastal 2021
Last time I walked the Camino Portuguese I walked straight out of the airport which is 12kms north of Porto and straight up to Santiago in 8 days. This time I am hoping to walk it properly from the Cathedral in Porto along the Rio Duro to the coast and then up the Portuguese coast to Caminha where we hope to bribe a fisherman to take us accross the Rio Minho to Spain. We could of course get the ferry, but the ferry doesn't run on Monday's and that's when we plan to cross.
We should complete this in 11 days, it's about 275kms so an average of about 25kms per day.
This years line up includes three of my boys, Lloyd, Austyn and Josh. This will be Josh's first Camino and if Saturday's performance with him on the Malverns is anything to go by he is going to struggle. My old walking friend Bauke is already out on the Camino Primitivo, hopefully we might catch up with him in Santiago before we leave.
This year's challenges involve Covid testing before we leave along with additional paperwork to be completed with threats of fines if it's not all done properly, and of course the worry that the local Alburgue hostels may not all be open. I have booked ahead as far as possible but a number of hostals have not responded to emails so who know what to expect on this trip?
8th September
The flight to Porto left at 7:45am so we had to be up at 3:30 to get to the airport early. After turning round at Fromes Hill and going back for Lloyds wallet we finally managed to get there on time. The airport was fairly quiet and it didn’t take us long to get through security. Austyn soon realised he had brought the wrong debit card! We had to show all the correct paperwork to get on the plane, COVID vaccine certification and test results plus passenger locator card. Some of the other passengers didn’t have all they needed and Didn’t make the flight.
We finally arrived in Porto and took the Metro into the city to get all the last minute things we needed. Next we headed to the Cathedral where we got our first Camino stamp and then followed the yellow arrows before walking about 5kms along the banks of the Douro and up to our hostel.
Tomorrow we will walk to the mouth of the river and then up the coast 28.5kms to Vila do Conde. There is a pilgrims Albergue there that you can’t book so we are hoping that they are open and have space.
9th September
We left the hostel at about 7:15 and followed the river before heading north along the coastline. 28kms of beautiful long beaches and rocky coves all with nobody on them. We saw the occasional life guard either patrolling or dimly watching an empty beach.
The walking today was very flat on either paved surfaces or raised boardwalks. The boardwalks made it impossible to use the walking poles I had bought in Porto, despite this Josh kept borrowing them when he could. Josh struggled with the walk today due to a complete lack of preparation.
A couple of hours in and we passed a lone pilgrim soon to be followed by a few more. Then we started to pass American’s with tiny little matching Camino backpacks and a large herd of German grannies.
When we finally arrived at the very smart looking Municipal Albergue there was a notice on the door saying it was closed indefinitely due to COVID. We found a cafe that served a menu of the day for €7 each and managed to find a private room above a bar on the bank of the river.
The room is very small with 4 beds crammed in but has its own shower room. It cost us €25 each so much more than we were expecting. Josh and Austyn found a shop selling marijuana and smoked some for medicinal reasons to take away the pain of blisters. Apparently it wasn’t much good as it was too weak for them.
10th September
It seemed like a long hard day today. Another day of boardwalks that went on forever. More deserted beaches. My feet suffered from the heat rash that I have had before but they seemed even worse this time. The pain made me irritable and I was getting fed up of the boys smoking in front of me.
On the plus side I have managed to avoid any blisters so far. I have been wrapping fleece around my little toes and packing out the usual blister spots.
Managed to find a pharmacy and they gave me antihistamine tablets and gel for my feet. We also found a nice gourmet burger restaurant to eat in so are ready for the next day’s walking.
We spoke to a Czech girl, the first pilgrim we have spoken to yet at a bar while we were waiting for our laundry to wash in the laundrette. There aren’t as many people walking the Camino as usual. There was also a Spanish man staying in our room last night who we chatted with.
11th September
We set off at 7am after eating the complimentary breakfast in the hostel, banana, cake and hot drink. We chose the main Camino coastal route which actually took us inland over hills of eucalyptus trees and through villages with their annoying cobbled streets which are hard on the feet.
We decided to take longer breaks today. We weren’t supposed to check in to our hostel until 4pm so no rush. We had a good second breakfast in a nice cafe and a burger later on. Josh was still struggling with blisters and changed his boots for his trainers, then back to boots. He offloaded half his pack to Lloyd and Austyn and kept taking my walking poles. He is now regretting not buying poles when he had the chance in Porto.
Not many other pilgrims again today, just one Spanish man who we met in the first cafe and kept passing and some Polish girls we walked across the bridge into the town with here in Viana do Castelo. We arrived an hour early but they let us check in as the room had just been cleaned.
Tomorrow we are walking 27kms to Caminha on the Spanish border. We then have to decide if we cross the river into Spain and continue up the coast or follow it inland and join the main route through Spain at Tui.
12th September
Last night we heard our door open and close at 10:30. Josh thought someone was trying to get in so i took a look out in the corridor and then locked the door. 5 minutes later someone tried the door again, when I opened it Lloyd was standing there, he had just been to the toilets but nobody had heard him climb out of his bunk. It was funny.
After the first 9kms today we decided to drop back down from the main route onto the ‘coastal literal’ route by the beach. This put us ahead of another group who had passed us when we were sitting at a cafe. They did a double take when they spotted us sitting outside a little church eating a picnic. They obviously couldn’t work out how we had managed to get past them.
We managed to save about 2kms by changing routes and it was a much better path, boardwalks and smooth paths not the cobbled streets of the Portuguese villages.
As we passed along the seafront at Portinho, the only busy beach we have seen, Mass was being broadcast live from the local church through speakers all along the seafront which reminded me that it was Sunday.
We managed to get to our hostel at 1:45, the first ones in so plenty of time for a shower and nap before exploring later.
13th September
We got up at 6am and set off for Tui, a 33km walk along the Rio Minho which is the border with Spain. This was the original Portuguese coastal route and well marked with Camino route markers.
We had worked out how many breaks we needed and pre booked beds in Tui so we knew we would have somewhere to sleep. The path was mostly a modern tarmac foot and cycle path all the way with only a short section along the road. Despite the forecast of rain and disruption due to thunderstorms we ended up with mostly a hot day.
Our host from the previous night drove down to the river to drop off a pair of walking poles for Josh who had regretted not buying some in Porto as I had done and kept borrowing my ones.
We stopped in the town of Vila Nova de Cerveira for a cafe break and increasingly had to take short breaks as it got hotter. There were a few other pilgrims walking the route, one German girl walking in flip flops as her walking boots were too small for her seemed to be doing fine in them in the flat path.
Josh managed to snap the end off of his free Lidl walking poles towards the end of the day but then found some new ones as we were walking through Valenca.
We briefly sheltered from a thunder shower in Valenca before putting on and then removing waterproof jackets and crossing the bridge into Spain.
That evening we went to a tapas bar and had free food with our drinks when the heavens opened as we sheltered under the parasol over our table.
14th September
We got up at 7am Spanish time and ate the complimentary breakfast at the hostel before setting off for Mos just a few kms past O Porino.
It was a much shorter day today, about 21kms. We didn’t book anywhere and weren’t sure if we would go further. It turned out that the weather prediction was wrong again and with full sunshine by midday we were all happy to finish in Mos.
Austyn had remembered this place from our last walk when we got a huge burger in the cafe and had been looking forward to eating there again. Last time we had walked from Valenca and walked on from here another 6kms.
The burger hadn’t changed, still large and cheap and we also shared a Galician delicacy, octopus, as a side dish. The municipal hostel here is the best we have been in yet. For €8 each we have a 6 bed room to ourselves on the ground floor with a kitchen and bathroom. Not like some of the municipal Albergues I’ve stayed in in the past, more like an apartment.
15th September
Last night we found a snake on the patio in front of our door. It may have got cold due to the torrential rain again in the evening. We identified it as an adder and i chased it off the patio with a walking pole.
Despite our excellent room the beds were old bunks that squeaked with every movement. We didn’t get much sleep. We got up at 6am and were out by 6:45 walking in the dark over the first of 3 big hills. There were a lot of pilgrims all day today, some may have stated in Tui, many had little day packs on. it was misty and drizzled for the first part of the day which was fine as it wasn't cold and it stayed overcast all day which suited us just fine.
After we had gone up the second hill and down into Redonela back along the coast for a short whil. Josh finally realised how fit he had become in the past week. He said that prior to doing the walk he couldn’t make it up the stairs without getting out of breath, now he could make it up a 240 metre hill without panting.
We finally made it over the last hill and down into Pontevedra to a hostel I had pre booked by email. It’s a large hostel with lots of pilgrims and one of four that we have seen so far.
Josh was sorting his blisters out after we arrived and says he hates that he can put a thread through a blister without even thinking about it. He can’t remember what life was like before the Camino and he’s never going to do it again. It didn't help when he asked me how far we had walked today taking the gradients into account and the days distance went from 28kms to 34!
16th September
Last night there was an annoying woman in the hostel walking about speaking loudly on her phone until late. She became even more annoying at 4am when her alarm went off and she started making a noise again. Then at 5am a guy wandered into our room looking confused, I think he was sleepwalking.
Just after 6 we decided to give up trying to sleep and get up. We were due an easy day walking to Caldas de Reis and wanted to leave fairly early as it was due to get hot.
We left just after 7, there were a lot of people walking today and in the cool of the morning the Spanish looked like they were dressed for an Arctic expedition with their long trousers and coats on.
Josh & Austyn both struggled with their feet today. We stopped in a cafe that we had stopped in on our previous Portuguese Camino, it had been completely refurbished.
We only walked 22kms and it didn’t get too hot before we arrived and found an Albergue that was really a hotel with bunk beds in the room. It was advertised as €12 per person on a billboard on the way into town but the guy said the prices had changed and it was now €14 each. It’s ok but the annoying woman and all her cronies are in a room a few doors down the hall. None of them carry their backpacks, they pay to have them moved on each day.
We spent a lazy afternoon napping, doing laundry and sitting at a cafe enjoying the nice weather.
17th September
Last night was one of the usual drunken antics of Lloyd and Austyn that you expect to happen at some point. Needless to say not much sleep for me and Josh. Three sleepless nights in a row now so starting to feel a bit sleep deprived.
Lloyd decided to leave early soon followed by Austyn so I walked with Josh all day which was good. Some nice walks through forests and vineyards today. We passed some Californians who had obviously been bussed in from their hotel to walk the more scenic stretches before we passed the waiting busses and walked alongside a busy road out of Padron.
The rain we had been expecting since we started the Camino finally came this morning and we found ourselves putting rain jackets on and off all day. The rain intensified for the final hour and we finally arrived at our hostel at about 2:15. Lloyd & Austyn were already there fast asleep on their beds.
The Albergue is also the site of the local restaurant/ bar located in a barn and decked out with an array of mismatched furniture like the St Michael’s hospice shop in Leominster. The Albergue is a large 30 bed bunkhouse with only 6 of us staying in it.
The sun is back out again now and I am trying to dry out my padded backpack straps which are like sponges. My GPS says we have 16.5kms to go, the signs say 19, either way it will be a nice short day to finish tomorrow.
18th September
The lights in our Albergue automatically went off at 9:30pm and then came on again at 5:40am. We had intended to get up late as we only had about 20kms to go today but still managed to leave by about 8am just before sunrise.
The idiot in one of the other beds was playing music and videos on his phone until late, obviously he didn’t pack headphones. He was a large man so we were reluctant to tell him to shut up.
The weather forecast was good but as has been our experience all along on this trip, completely wrong. Instead of sunshine we had rain and it was very cold. We took an alternative route into the city which was much better than the one we remembered from last time and saved us a km.
We arrived in the Cathedral square at 12:30 with the sun finally shining and took a few pictures. Afterwards we went to the pilgrims office to negotiate the ridiculous new system of QR codes and tickets to get in the virtual queue for our compostela certificates.
A quick visit to the tomb of St James, (no hugging the statue anymore) and several hours later we returned for the certificates, Josh and Austyn both paid for certificates of distance, Josh got 260kms and Austyn 280 so who knows what we actually did. My GPS says 260 but that doesn’t include the extra distance due to the gradients so I have no idea!
Off to Mass this evening and a celebration meal later to finish our Camino.
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