Too Quiet

[Julie Richards-Stanley]

I have just completed the Portuguese Coastal route - or at least most of it. If anything I found the route too quiet! I heard rumours that the Frances had accomadation problems over the Mayday weekend. This was not the case on my route one albergue only had 8 people - I had a whole floor and 4 beds to myself, another only 7 of us ladies. I spent a great deal of time not seeing anyone all day so eventually switched to the central route it was a good choice more people staying in the albergues and ocassionally people to walk with! If you want a quiet route without albergue problems try the Portuguese. At Santiago I queued for an hour at the pilgrims office this was Tuesday 10th May so there were many pilgrims arriving from other routes

 

[jsalt]

I spent a great deal of time not seeing anyone all day so eventually switched to the central route

Hi Julie, I also had to switch to the central route in March. A friend from home had joined me in Porto (I’d walked from Fatima), but she just didn’t get this “camino thing”. “Where are all the pilgrims?” she kept asking. Also, we were getting a lot of rain squalls and wind coming straight at us along the coast. So we took the bus one day from Viana do Castelo to Ponte de Lima, and continued on the central route in calmer weather, instantly meeting other pilgrims. If I was on my own I would have stayed on the coastal route, as “too quiet” doesn’t bother me. The good news is that I will have to go back sometime to finish the coastal route! Jill

 

[jsalt]

Really looking forward to the Variant Espiritual route option.

Hi, the Variante Espiritual is well signposted when you get there. Jill

 

[david g]

I have just completed the Portuguese Coastal route - or at least most of it. If anything I found the route too quiet! I heard rumours that the Frances had accomadation problems over the Mayday weekend. This was not the case on my route one albergue only had 8 people - I had a whole floor and 4 beds to myself, another only 7 of us ladies. I spent a great deal of time not seeing anyone all day so eventually switched to the central route it was a good choice more people staying in the albergues and ocassionally people to walk with! If you want a quiet route without albergue problems try the Portuguese. At Santiago I queued for an hour at the pilgrims office this was Tuesday 10th May so there were many pilgrims arriving from other routes

Well Julie its nice to know it wasn't only me who felt that way. I've done the Frances a couple times and always enjoyed the camaraderie, but I thought it would be good to try something new. I figured, how different could it be on the Portuguese? Experience now tells me, completely different! Quiet doesn't begin to describe it. To compound the lack of other pilgrims, I also found it lacked sufficient markings of the route. A lot of the fun is sucked out of the walk when you're constantly looking for nearly non-existent arrows and there's no one there to confer with as to which way to go. I ended up cutting over to the interior route from Caminha to Valenca and felt relieved to see that there were actually pilgrims there. The rest of the walk felt much more Camino-ish to me. But, on a better note, sometimes a negative situation can lead to a positive one. Struggling as I was one day, feeling lost and alone (I must have looked pitiful) I got invited in to join a Portuguese family who was celebrating Mothers Day. I spent three of the most wonderful hours in their company, drinking wine, eating BBQ, and discussing everything from Trump to travel. That wouldn't have happened had I been in a herd of pilgrims.

 

[Deleted member 56069]

The coastal route seems perfect to me then as I enjoy the solitude very much of walking alone. We are planning the to do the Portuguese route next spring. My wife and I were up and on the Frances Route by 6:30 AM each day this year so we could enjoy a few hours of solitude before the trails got busy with pilgrims making a later start.
Also, walking as the sun came up was our favorite time of day.

 

[rlr9200]

My wife and I also like walking in solitude...while we certainly enjoy talking with pilgrims at cafes and having a cup of coffee, walking is very meditative and we relish the chance to soak in the beauty of the surroundings.

We hope to do the Coastal Route from Porto next June!

Buen Camino, one and all!

 

[faye bettencourt]

The coastal route sounds perfect to me..I will be leaving for Portugal on Tuesday and will be be in portal June 2nd..looking forward to the quite coastal and spiritual beauty.