Camino Portugues Itinerary

16 Days and 343 kilometers later, we have completed the Portugues Camino from Porto to Santiago de Compostela!
343 kilometers?
"But John," you say, "most guidebooks say the route should only be 260 kilometers." That would be true, if I was a bird, had food delivered to my albergue, and never veered from the Camino to explore the beautiful towns and cities we passed through. Even if we did those things, we did walk a couple days on the coastal route, then cut over to the Central Route, took a side trip to Bom De Jesus in Braga (in a taxi from Barcelos), then walked and boated the Spiritual Variant, and finished back on the Central Route. Here is our itinerary, with mileage per day:

Over the next few months, I will write blog posts or upload vlogs taken on our May Camino as I work on my next book. If you are planning your own Camino, I hope you find the stories and information helpful. If you are not planning a Camino, I hope you find my stories entertaining and perhaps insightful as we met many interesting people, overcame a myriad of challenges, and saw amazing sights.

Buen Camino!
P.S. The link to my about about our first Camino, From Sarria to Santiago: With Family and Friends, is at the top of the top.

New Video: Camino Portugues Reservations

Debating whether or not to make reservations for your Camino Portugues? Watch my video about what I have found so far in my planning for my Camino starting in Porto this Spring.

Books to Prepare for the Portuguese Camino

I have done a lot of reading for my upcoming Camino Portugues. I had a brief visit to the country over 30 years ago and was impressed with its rugged landscapes, friendly people, and long history. Now, that I will be spending over a week in Northern Portugal, I want to arrive prepared and have a better understanding of the country.

Two books I read that provided alot of history about Portugal, general travel insights, and great pictures were Rick Steve's Portugal and Eyewitness Travel Portugal . Unfortunately, neither book spoke about the Camino. Rick Steve's had one paragraph in the entire book about the Portuguese Camino, Eyewitness had none. However, they both provided the most comprehensive history and travel tips for the major tourists destinations like Porto and Lisbon which is most people's starting points. Also Eyewitness Travel Portugal living up to its DK brand had amazing, gorgeous pictures and diagrams and backstories of places, buildings, and people.

The two books I read that are targeted specifically for the Camino Portugues are Village to Village's Camino Portugues and John Brierly's A Pilgrim's Guide To The Camino Portugues. These two books are great resources for pilgrim's. They both have maps of the Coastal, Central and Spiritual routes. Brierly also talks about the Senda Littoral. Both books have an introduction that includes Portugual's history and customs are broken up into stages. Each stage has an elevation map and lists of places to stay and eat. Village to Village's book is 96 pages, very thin and lightweight. Brierly's book is 272 pages. It's is filled with more detailed information about the routes, places, and stages, with his personal notes, pages for you personal reflection, inspirational quotes, and messages, and more. Looking at chat boards, this is the book most pilgrim's talk about. There is a reason it is the #1 best seller in Lisbon Travel Guides on Amazon. However, it does weigh 9 oz vs Village's 3.6 oz, so if you are a lightweight backpacker it might be something to consider. Of course, you could go 0 oz with the plethora of Camino apps out there, but there is something nice about having a book in your hands.

In conclusion, all the books have their uses. I really enjoyed the Eyewitness Travel Portugal book for its great pictures, stories, and descriptions providing me with solid background on Portugal, and Lisbon and Porto specifically. Brierly's book is insightful, a great planning tool, and really has me thinking about my introspective and spiritual journey. I will probably leave it at home as it is heavy, but have not decided yet. If I carry a book, it will probably be Village's as it has the essential information. I will remove the first half of the book that covers Lisbon to Porto to cut weight.

There are so many great books out there, but only so much time to read. I do encourage you to read at least one book about Portugal before you go, as I feel it will enhance your trip by understanding a little more about the country than what is on the surface.

Bom caminho!

New Video: Portuguese Camino, why?

Posted YouTube video about my upcoming Portuguese Camino. Where my wife and I are we starting from and how it will be different from our Camino in 2022. I will be posting weekly about our upcoming Camino. If you have any questions, let me know. Bom Caminho!

Routes of the Portuguese Camino

There are many ways to tailor the Portuguese Camino to fit your needs. It has three traditional starting points and a number of popular variations. The traditional Portuguese Camino starts in Lisbon, passes through Porto, then onto the border of Portugal and Spain at Tui, ending at Santiago de Compostela after 610 km. The book Camino Portugues published by Village to Village Press breaks down the the Camino into 26 stages, or 26 days.

The most popular spot to start the Portuguese Camino is in Tui, Spain, meaning many pilgrims who walk the Portuguese Camino never step foot in Portugal. Tui is the most popular starting point becuase it sits 115 km from Santiago de Compostela: the minimum distance a pilgrim has to walk in order to earn their Compostela (Certificate of Completion) is 100 km. The other nice thing about this distance is most people can complete this walk in a week so they only have to take off a week of work. This is also the reason why Sarria, on the Camino Frances in Spain, also approximately 115km outside Santiago de Compostela is by far the most popular starting point of all the Caminos. (I wrote a book about my Sarria Camino, From Sarria to Santiago: A 10-Day Camino With Family and Friends, which is available on Amazon.com - see link in sidebar.)

Rosemary and I will be starting our Camino in Porto, 260 km from Santiago, the second most popular jump off point on the Portuguese Camino.

From Porto, there are two popular variants to the traditional or Central Route that passes through the middle of Portugal and into Spain. The first is the Coastal Route. This route has grown in immense popularity in recent years. It had an increase of over 20,000 pilgrims from 2022-2023, while the Central Route's numbers remained roughly the same. The Coastal Route follows the Douro River out of Porto to the coast, then follows the coast until Vigo, then goes upriver to Redondela where it then meets up the Central Route. Rosemary and I will walk two days along the coast before we cut over to the Central Route.

The second variant, is the Spiritual Way. It splits from the Portuguese Camino in Pontevedra, goes to Vilanova de Arousa, then connects back to the Portuguese Way at Padron. This variant adds an extra day to a pilgrim's journey, but the journey from Vilanova de Arousa to Padron is by boat along the Way of the Cross. This was the way St. James' body supposedly travelled to Padron where it was then carried to Santiago de Compostela.

To conclude, there are many places to start the Portuguese Camino, and various options to make it your own. I hope this posts gives you more options and insight into the planning your Portuguese Camino.

If you like this blog, please subscibe and check out my YouTube Channel @johnpetersii and TikTok @jp2writer where I vlog about the Camino. If there is anything you would like to know about our previous Camino from Sarria or our upcoming Camino, please ask in the comments.

Buen Camino!

Travel During the Great Coronavirus Reopening

Cities, states, and even countries are reopening to tourists. Not all, but many. 

On June 15, most European countries opened their borders to residents of its member countries. Spain waited until June 21. And on July 1, the Europeans will tentatively open their borders to international tourist for the first time in four months. 

While there are stipulations like your country's infection rates have to be held in check, sorry U.S., they are allowing tourist.  Similar to the U.S. where certain states are blocking other states domestic travelers. Key West authorities arrested a woman and sent her back to Florida for trying to visit. New Mexico said they love tourist, just not right now.

And cruise lines? Oh, the poor cruise lines. Spain has said no cruise ships can dock in any Spanish port for the foreseeable future. Norwegian cruise lines said all cruises are suspended at least through September. That is the entire summer season. Although they are making exceptions for the Pacific Northwest. And a week ago, the first Danube-Rhine river cruise made it without mishap.

https://www.cruisetradenews.com/first-european-river-cruise-resumes-sailings-post-coronavirus-recovery/

However, Greece welcomed one of its first international flights a couple of weeks ago from Qatar - 12 people on board tested positive for Coronavirus.

We are not out of the woods yet.

Last week, I cancelled my family's 3-week Spain trip that was to depart July 8. I poured over news reports daily about the  Europe's reopening. But with a potential quarantine for travelers, U.S. infection rates increasing, the need for reciprocal travel arrangements (the U.S. is still blocking travel from Europe), and my airline change my flight where I would have to literally time travel backwards three hours to make my flight, I figured it was time.

Fortunately, I was able to cancel everything and get full refunds except one hostel in Spain. Somehow I overlooked their no cancellation policy. If that was all it cost me, plus my hopes and dreams, I was ok with that. 

Are you planning on traveling?

Take care.

Posts Tuesday and Saturday

Coronavirus When Can We Travel

"Americans may be able to take summer vacations, Fauci says," according to CNN 4/9/20.

 

This headline brought a smile to my face when I looked at my phone this morning.

 

Apart from being safe at home, one of my big concerns about the coronavirus is if I will have to or even be able to cancel a trip I have booked this summer. And the most important question, "Will it be safe?"

 

The trip is to complete the Camino de Santiago. Unfortunately, that destination is in Spain, one of the most adversely affected coronavirus hotspots in the world.

 

I have been reading Spain news daily everyday to see how the country's coronavirus rates have changed. Today, Fox News said Spain could be seeing the start of a coronavirus decline. That's good news.

 

Especially since, as of today, airlines are only allowing you to cancel or change your flights without a fee for trips that commence before May 31, 2020. 

 

What happens if travel bans are lifted at the end of May? Would you feel safe enough to travel in June?

 

What if you can only cancel with a fee?

 

Perhaps there may be more travel restrictions put in place as Dr. Fauci suggests: taking temperature readings at airports, wearing masks on planes, continued social distancing, and no handshaking.

 

As of today, if travel bans are lifted I am going. I will mind any restrictions and recommendations by government and travel agencies.

 

I feel that you have to maintain your goals for as long as you can. It gives you something to strive for, a sense of purpose during these murky days. To prepare for the Camino de Santiago, I workout daily in my living room thanks to all the free online content - thanks Barry's and Nike Training Club! I also walk daily practicing social distancing and wearing a mask.

 

I hope that Dr. Fauci's hopeful words come to pass and that we can all take vacations this summer safely.

 

Take care and be safe.

 

Posts: Monday, Thursday, and Saturday