Camino de Portuguese from Lisbon to Sdc and Finisterre

[anniethenurse]

Today afternoon I reached Finisterre after 29 walking days en route from Lisbon.
Camino Portuguese is wonderful.
It is different from the Camino Frances in a positive meaning. Lots of road walking, many days not much shade, not many cafes, quite many newly opened albergues and hostels, helpful and kind Portuguese people.
I met my first Santiago pilgrims in Santarem so the first 4 days were lonely.
For sure a great Camino and worth going back for walking from Santarem to Fatima, Coimbra, Porto and Braga.
Also - I walked all the boring parts - even if Mr Brierley recommends us to take a train or bus.
I did not book a room/ Albergue after Santarem - just walked in and there was bed for me. Stayed always at the municipal albergues if there was one.
BTW - the municipal/ xunta albergues are GREAT. New, clean, well kept, with central location. What else do you want?
Also - the weather has been wonderful - we have been walking in a heat wave!

 

[Magwood]

@anniethenurse, so glad you enjoyed the CP as much as I did, and walked it in the same way. The only things missing from Xunta albergues are shower curtains as far as I'm concerned!

 

[T817bfc]

Today afternoon I reached Finisterre after 29 walking days en route from Lisbon.
Camino Portuguese is wonderful.
It is different from the Camino Frances in a positive meaning. Lots of road walking, many days not much shade, not many cafes, quite many newly opened albergues and hostels, helpful and kind Portuguese people.
I met my first Santiago pilgrims in Santarem so the first 4 days were lonely.
For sure a great Camino and worth going back for walking from Santarem to Fatima, Coimbra, Porto and Braga.
Also - I walked all the boring parts - even if Mr Brierley recommends us to take a train or bus.
I did not book a room/ Albergue after Santarem - just walked in and there was room for me. Stayed always at the municipal albergues if there was one.
BTW - the municipal/ xunta albergues are GREAT. New, clean, well kept, with central location. What else do you want?
Also - the weather has been wonderful - we have been walking in a heat wave!

Congrats, you are inspiring me! Do I need a sleeping bag or can I get away with a liner? Will be travelling Sept/Oct, hoping to stay in pensions rather than Albergues but probably not always possible?

 

[Camembert]

Congrats, you are inspiring me! Do I need a sleeping bag or can I get away with a liner? Will be travelling Sept/Oct, hoping to stay in pensions rather than Albergues but probably not always possible?

When you stay in pensions and hostal there is no need for a sleepingbag nor a silk liner. You will find your bed ready for sleeping.

 

[gracethepilgrim]

Albertinho, what would you suggest is the best guide for places to stay, mainly the stages from Lisboa to Coimbra?
many thanks, Grace

 

[Camembert]

Albertinho, what would you suggest is the best guide for places to stay, mainly the stages from Lisboa to Coimbra?
many thanks, Grace

On this forum Peregrina2000 aka Laurie Reynolds recently wrote and postedd an excellent guide about Lisbon to Porto which covers your estimated walk to Coimbra with all information you need.
The first stages it is a bit searching and depending on how many kms you walk per day for places to sleep.

We f.ex. started quietly from Lisbon and only walked to the pousada the Juventude in Moscavide 10kms.
From there we walked to Alverca de Rabatejo where we took the train to Azambuja to skip the stage on the hard shoulder alongside a very busy road.
In Santarèm the Santarèm hostal is a must to stay. Great place. Owner Mario posts a lot of information on this forum -Santarem Hostal.


Bom caminho

 

[gracethepilgrim]

Tha

On this forum Peregrina2000 aka Laurie Reynolds recently wrote and postedd an excellent guide about Lisbon to Porto which covers your estimated walk to Coimbra with all information you need......
Many thanks. I'll hunt down Laurie's guide.

 

[Camembert]

Tha

https://magwood.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/lisbon-short-stages-april-with-hyperlinks.pdf

Found Laurie's pdf via Magwood's excellent webside with more interesting information about a.o.the caminho Portuguese and others.

Boa sorte
Abraço
Albertinho

 

[anniethenurse]

Congrats, you are inspiring me! Do I need a sleeping bag or can I get away with a liner? Will be travelling Sept/Oct, hoping to stay in pensions rather than Albergues but probably not always possible?

Thank you for your comment!

Yes, it is very possible to stay in hostales or hotels only. But I love the communal meal experience- the atmosphere- the camaraderie- encounters with pilgrims from all over the world - sharing the good and the bad with fellow pilgrims- deep discussions - the simple pilgrim life. Planning together for the next day comparing different guides in different languages. So I prefer albergue to a single room in a hotel.

I have a very lightweight down sleeping bag (less than 400 grams) which I carry with me on every Camino. No need for sleeping bag between Lisbon and Porto unless you want to stay at the pilgrims albergues which I did when possible. Definitely a sleeping back if you intend to stay with the Bombeiros voluntario.

After Porto the sleeping bag is needed in every albergue I stayed at (mostly at the municipal/Xunta albergues) which all are wonderful.

Neither sleeping bag not liner is required if you intend to stay in the hotels or Casa rurales or hostales - then you will sleep in white sheets under a duvet
Regards from chilly Finisterre

 

[Camembert]

Thank you for your comment!

Yes, it is very possible to stay in hostales or hotels only. But I love the communal meal experience- the atmosphere- the camaraderie- encounters with pilgrims from all over the world - sharing the good and the bad with fellow pilgrims- deep discussions - the simple pilgrim life. Planning together for the next day comparing different guides in different languages. So I prefer albergue to a single room in a hotel.

I have a very lightweight down sleeping bag (less than 400 grams) which I carry with me on every Camino. No need for sleeping bag between Lisbon and Porto unless you want to stay at the pilgrims albergues which I did when possible. Definitely a sleeping back if you intend to stay with the Bombeiros voluntario.

After Porto the sleeping bag is needed in every albergue I stayed at (mostly at the municipal/Xunta albergues) which all are wonderful.

Neither sleeping bag not liner is required if you intend to stay in the hotels or Casa rurales or hostales - then you will sleep in white sheets under a duvet
Regards from chilly Finisterre

On the Portuguese we did not encounter many common meals.
I think Mario from Santarèm hostal supplies common meals. At Hillario's in Mealhada Serdanella we sat together with others , of course at Casa da Fernanda in Vittorino dos Piaës the best experience and at the Refusio de Jerezana in Cessantes just past Redondela. Furthermore hotel A Raina on the coastal route in Oia supplied a common meal for us and some other pilgrims on request.

But I agree with you about the camaderie . However we like the privacy of hostals and hotels more than the albergues .

 

[La Barre]

Congratulations! 29 days to Finisterre is quite an accomplishment in my book. I hope to do the same Lisbon to Finisterre that is, not in 29 days, longer for sure. I will be going in Sept and Oct. Like you I like the albergues whenever possible. I believe you took the coastal/ littoral route? I have yet to decide, will probably wait til I get there.

 

[anniethenurse]

Congratulations! 29 days to Finisterre is quite an accomplishment in my book. I hope to do the same Lisbon to Finisterre that is, not in 29 days, longer for sure. I will be going in Sept and Oct. Like you I like the albergues whenever possible. I believe you took the coastal/ littoral route? I have yet to decide, will probably wait til I get there.

Thank you for your comment!

Yes, I did some long days (and from Santiago to Finisterre in 3 days).
Walking mostly on the central route.
The only time I walked on the coastal route was when I walked down to the river from Se cathedral in Porto and onto Matosinhos, Vila do Conde and then back to the central route in Rates (2 days). All other days on the central route.

I have walked the complete coastal route twice before on two different routes. So this time the central one which was beautiful.

All routes have their pros and cons- they are different! The coastal route can be ruff if it is windy. Let the time show which route when you are in Porto!

 

[gracethepilgrim]

https://magwood.files.wordpress.com/2014/09/lisbon-short-stages-april-with-hyperlinks.pdf

Found Laurie's pdf via Magwood's excellent webside with more interesting information about a.o.the caminho Portuguese and others.

Boa sorte
Abraço
Albertinho

Many thanks again Albertinho. I’ll use this info to cteate a ‘mixed’ camino with a portion from Lisboa - Coimbra and then take up the CPI from Viseu up to Verin. It’s a super helpful resource and Laurie also deserves a hug for putting this resource together. Cheers, grace

 

[anniethenurse]

On the Portuguese we did not encounter many common meals.
I think Mario from Santarèm hostal supplies common meals. At Hillario's in Mealhada Serdanella we sat together with others , of course at Casa da Fernanda in Vittorino dos Piaës the best experience and at the Refusio de Jerezana in Cessantes just past Redondela. Furthermore hotel A Raina on the coastal route in Oia supplied a common meal for us and some other pilgrims on request.

Kitchen and kitchenware were the first things we checked up in the municipal albergues and whenever we could we cooked a meal together.

In addition to those albertinho mentioned:

Agueda - Albergue San Antonio you can cook

3 km after Albergaria A-Velha in the convento of Casa Diocesan an wonderful meal €8 and the albergue is donativo.

Common meal on Grijo 16 km before Porto.

In San Pedro de Rates (albergue - a meal cooked by peregrinos in the kitchen of the albergue)

Quinta da Portela the very kind owner cooked a most delicious dinner for us.

In San Mamede da Portela the hospitalero cooked for us.

Common meal in Herbon (convento).

Several albergues/hostels serve breakfast.

If case you want there are many possibilities for meals together with other pilgrims on all caminoes.

 

[anniethenurse]

Additional information:
The new Brierley guide books are more compact than before.

 

[marbuck]

Additional information:
The new Brierley guide books are more compact than before.

Yes. Just got mine from Ivar's fantastic new all things Camino shop that he has opened on this site. I only ordered it last week and it was delivered to my address in Australia today. How is that for service. Thanks Ivar.

 

[santaremhostel]

Albertinho, what would you suggest is the best guide for places to stay, mainly the stages from Lisboa to Coimbra?
many thanks, Grace

Hi Gracethepilgrim.
Not sure if it the best, but the Pilgrim Association vialusitana has a list where to stay in english here:

http://www.vialusitana.org/en/albergues_eng/

I believe with this one and the list on your guide book you will get the best list.
Also peregrina2000 and Magwood are a great source of information on this forum
Bom Caminho
Mário

 

[santaremhostel]

Hi Annie,
Still feeling that your guys were here (Santarem) last week
Congratulations and good to know you have enjoyed the CP.
Bom caminho
Mario

 

[anniethenurse]

Thank you Mario - we had great time in Santarem with you and Teresa.
And we still keep in touch some of us!
We all back at home now in Canada, Usa, Ireland, Holland, Germany, Japan etc

But hopefully coming back next year in May and start from Santarem.

Bom Caminho

 

[gracethepilgrim]

Hi Gracethepilgrim.
Not sure if it the best, but the Pilgrim Association vialusitana has a list where to stay in english here:

http://www.vialusitana.org/en/albergues_eng/

I believe with this one and the list on your guide book you will get the best list.
Also peregrina2000 and Magwood are a great source of information on this forum
Bom Caminho
Mário

Thanks so much Mario - very useful. I have copied the info to a word doc.
Cheers, Grace

 

[santaremhostel]

Hi Annie
That will be a happening with you all
See you next year and,
Bom Camninho

 

[santaremhostel]

Thanks so much Mario - very useful. I have copied the info to a word doc.
Cheers, Grace

Hi Grace,
If you need any further information/help just let me know
Bom Caminho
Mario