June 23, 2018
We are currently in Tui, Spain, just across the border with Portugal. After 79.4 miles and six days of hiking the Camino Portugues, we are taking a rest day to relax and explore the city.
The Camino Portugues is one of several variants of the Camino de Santiago path. Also called “The Way of St. James,” the Camino is an important pilgrimage route. Beginning in the Middle Ages, pilgrims ventured from their homes to the Spanish city of Santiago de Compostela, where the remains of St. James were said to be buried in the cathedral there.
Hiking the Camino has growth in popularity over the past decade. The number of people walking at least 100 kilometers (62 miles) to the Santiago Cathedral has grown from about 100,000 pilgrims and hikers in 2006 to a little over 300,000 in 2017. The route most hike by far is the Camino Frances, which runs through Northern Spain. We decided to walk the Camino Portugues, the second-most popular path, with a goal of gaining cultural insight into both the countries of Portugal and Spain.
Our Camino Portugues route
The Camino Portugues is actually a descendant of one of Europe’s oldest routes. Known as the Via XIX, it was a major Roman road built in the 1st century AD under the Emperor Augustus. We were mindful of this ancient history as we hiked along the cobblestone paths and stone bridges comprising today’s route.
Exploring Porto
We took an overnight flight to Porto, Portugal from Newark, New Jersey, arriving early in the morning. After landing, we spent the day exploring the city, Portugal’s second-largest after Lisbon. The numerous pedestrian streets made it easy to walk around and admire the stunning tiled churches and even the beautiful train station interior.
Our wanderings included a visit to the Porto Cathedral, where we started the Camino Portugues path the next day. As we left the cathedral, we saw the first of the Camino markings that would guide us on our way.
From Porto to the Countryside
We began our trek on a Sunday morning by hiking down a series of empty pedestrian streets. An older woman walking the other way waved to us and exclaimed, “Bom Caminho” or “Happy Camino” in Portuguese. It was a refrain we would hear often in the coming days, both from locals and other Camino hikers alike.
There was quite a bit of urban walking the first day, as we hiked north from Porto. But being Sunday, there weren’t many cars or people out, so we didn’t mind the density. The biggest issue was lack of bathroom facilities, with many places closed and nowhere no sneak off to do one’s business. Eventually we found an open gas station, bought a Snickers bar, and then used their toilets.
Towards the end of the day, we moved into some countryside, interspersed with small villages. We stopped at a cafe in the town of Giao for a drink before continuing a little further to our accommodations for the night. The proprietor, who spoke almost no English, asked where we were staying, and when we told him, he used a series of hand gestures to make sure we knew how much further we needed to walk to arrive there.
Our overnight stay that night was typical of our Portuguese accommodations – a hundred-year-old farmhouse converted Into a B&B. Our hostess was very gracious and drove to a nearby restaurant to pick up some chicken, cod, potatoes, and salad for our dinner. We enjoyed it, along with spice cake, made by her mother, for dessert.
Settling into our Camino Hiking Routine
During our week in Portugal, a typical Camino hiking day consisted of a large buffet breakfast, followed by a 9:30 am start. At roughly the mid point of the day, we stopped to eat a light lunch, consisting of some bread, fruit, and vegetables that we purchased either the night before or from a village on route. There are also many cafes along the route that served a “Pilgrim Menu” for about 5 Euros ($5.80) per person. Averaging about 13 miles a day, we generally finished hiking between 3:30 pm and 4:30 pm.
We began seeing more Santiago-bound hikers on day two of our trek. Some had begun hiking all the way from Lisbon, which added another two weeks of walking. Most people were other Europeans, with English being the common language for communication. One day at our lunch break we sat talking to a pair of Estonians and to two Hungarians. We also met French, Brits, Irish, Polish and Spanish hikers, along with a handful of Americans.
Many hikers stay at albergues (hostels) to save money, with some costing as little as 5 Euros ($5.80) a night. We booked a series of family-run B&Bs and guesthouses, all with very friendly and accommodating hosts, ranging from 60 to 75 Euros ($69.60 to $85.00) per night for the two of us. Two of our favorite stays were in the small towns of Barcelos and Ponte De Lima, both of which are situated on picturesque rivers.
Cobblestone Paths and Village Churches along the Way
The terrain became hilly with each passing day. Between the villages were small farms growing corn and grain, along with numerous vineyards. We also saw horses, cows, chickens, turkeys, geese, goats, and sheep as we hiked. People we passed generally returned our “Bom Dia” (“Good Day” in Portuguese) greetings with a nod or a smile. It was easy to get caught up in the slower pace of everyday village life.
As we progressed north, the Camino path continued to alternate between small villages and countryside. While we walked mostly on paved and cobblestone roads, we occasionally encountered sections of dirt paths. Every village had a church that the Camino passed by. In some cases we could take a look inside.
We hit a week of above normal temperatures, approaching 90 degrees F (with significant humidity) on most days. There were many fountains along the path, and we took advantage of filling our bottles with cool, refreshing water.
Even though we were hot and soaked with perspiration at the end of our hiking days, we felt pampered in being able to take showers as soon as we arrived at our hotel.
Some Challenging Weather and Terrain
Probably our most difficult day in Portugal was a 13.5 mile hike on day 5, consisting of mostly dirt trails. A steep, rocky climb took us to the Alto de Portela Grande, with an elevation gain of about 1,300 feet in less than 3 miles. Because it was so hot, it felt like hiking uphill in a sauna. There was a fountain and shady benches at the top, and we enjoyed a leisurely break and some much appreciated water to drink.
Crossing from Portugal to Spain
Yesterday we hiked to the city of Valenca, the largest we had seen since leaving Porto, and into its fortaleza (walled medieval city). From its fortress we could gaze across the Rio Minho and see the Spanish city of Tui perched on a hilltop. After exploring the fort, we took our final steps in Portugal and walked across the bridge into Spain, adjusting our watches ahead an hour in the process.
After our rest day in Tui, we will hike another six days and 73.5 more miles to Santiago. The path will become more crowded, as many people walk just the last 100 kilometers (62 miles) needed to record a successful pilgrimage. We are looking forward to both our time in Spain and to the cooler weather forecasted for the upcoming week.
Great review. The transition of buildings from your start and as u got closer to Spain was very interesting. The photo of you two having your dinner reminds me so much of old world photos of families having meals in Europe (or early immigrants in the US).
Glad you liked the story. The architecture of the towns was definitely interesting to us.