Central Portuguese Chans River Option After O Porriño

[TDS]

If you have taken the Chans option along the river just after departing O Porriño on the Central Portuguese Camino, where did you pick it up? Some of it looks like a busy highway before coming to the Camino de Gata road??? Is it worth taking this option?

 

[dougfitz]

I tried finding the Chans option described by Brierley in his Camino Portugues guidebook last year. It doesn't exist, certainly not as described. I ended up following a mix of the N-550 and some minor roads until Camino da Gata, and walking west from there across to Camino do Castro where I rejoined the waymarked route into Mos.

Open Street Maps shows a path along the Rio Louro labelled Senda do Louro Mos. I did see the southern end of this just after Camino da Gata crosses the Rio Louro, but I had already spent some time unsuccessfully trying to find the start point for the path described by Brierley going north from Camino da Serra da Auga, so I wasn't inclined at that point to undertake any more exploratory excursions.

 

[TDS]

I tried finding the Chans option described by Brierley in his Camino Portugues guidebook last year. It doesn't exist, certainly not as described. I ended up following a mix of the N-550 and some minor roads until Camino da Gata, and walking west from there across to Camino do Castro where I rejoined the waymarked route into Mos.

Open Street Maps shows a path along the Rio Louro labelled Senda do Louro Mos. I did see the southern end of this just after Camino da Gata crosses the Rio Louro, but I had already spent some time unsuccessfully trying to find the start point for the path described by Brierley going north from Camino da Serra da Auga, so I wasn't inclined at that point to undertake any more exploratory excursions.

Thanks. Considering the Central Portuguese someday, just apparently lots of road walking. Anyhow, that’s exactly what I see on MAPY.CZ. The Senda do Louro Mos appears to be the river route (Chans) Brierly mentions but only starting at Camino da Gata (N42.1921179° W008.6093314°) and ending at Estrada Puxeiros - Mos (N42.2043634° W008.6040203°). Maybe the main route here, albeit more road, would be fine.

 

[dougfitz]

Maybe the main route here, albeit more road, would be fine.

The marked route is on fairly quiet roads, albeit they are all sealed from memory. Only later in that stage is there some relief. Unlike the two other complementary routes, before Porrino and Pontevedra, this is not an alternative I would recommend, at least not for the faint hearted. Even the short stretches of the N-550 that one needs to walk along aren't pleasant compared to the alternative of the much quieter country road used by the marked route.

 

[lovelyshell]

I don’t know this option specifically but there are several “alternate” routes on the Portuguese to avoid road walking. And they are all lovely. I don’t remember which day it was but there was one alternate route through a wooded area with a little stream winding all the way.

The only time I hated the highway walking on the Portuguese was actually the day walking into Porrino. Just the afternoon bit.