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Thank your peregrina2000 and Friend from Barquinha! You get the Azores.
These beautiful nine islands, the Azores, have hosted me 5 times, and have cajoled me into climbing Mount Pico (on Pico Island which isn't too touristy), the highest point in Portugal. It's only a 7 hour hike (or less) for...
The good people at Azores Airlines have provided me with superb flight and customer service the last decade. They've willingly rearranged flights for me before.
There is a flight I usually take from Toronto to Porto via the Azores and it leaves Wednesday evening on June 5, arriving the next...
Here’s a great resource for walking out of Lisbon. If you google “Elle Bieling, first day out of Lisbon” who happens to be an active member on this site, you’ll find an informative, current introduction to the evolving Camino walk out of Lisbon. She adds an enjoyable perspective to the variety...
At least 15 years ago, a couple of us strolled south from Tui to Fatima, a significant part of your proposed walk. Although it was certainly not a popular route at that time, it was most engaging, even amusing. This was in the day before GPS use, so Brierley’s guide and arrows (blue arrows to...
A few years ago, a French airline dropped this jetlagged Canadian in Paris. At 6:00am I found myself looking for a ticket machine in the Paris underground. The idea was to transfer to a train bound for SJPDP. Long story short, I got off at the wrong stop: three robust, talented young men...
That's a relevant question to which I await an answer. Having walked into Nazare earlier in the day last time, I hopped on a bus back to Fatima, where the Hotel Aleluia was available for 30 euros in December. That said I've stayed there briefly a couple other winters where a decent hotel could...
Yes, it was a glorious walk from Fatima through quaint Portuguese countryside a couple of Decembers ago. You’ll arrive in Tomar with a smile on your second day.
The 4 day Camino from Nazare on the coast to Tomar via Fatima is a delight in either direction. The Camino Ninja app worked well for...
December is a great month to start out from Lisbon. It was surprising that when I did this walk in December 2021, many albergues and hotels were open. Hopefully, my reflective link below gives you some ideas. Hotel Aleluia in Fatima was a highlight as far as a clean, affordable and friendly...
When the ankles feel cobblestone, they start to stretch their horizons, and the feet, well they’re on an adventure – something between dancing and reflexology, and of course the eyes, they’re smitten by the art, a myriad of patterns and so many colours. It’s no wonder that this pilgrim has...
Ah, routes to the second largest city in a country from the second largest city in a province, often slightly less straight forward. I'm 3,000 km north of you so I've already flown to legs of Air North to get to either Vancouver or Victoria. But here's what's worked for me:
Air Transat often has...
Thanks for this upbeat thread that celebrates the sheer excitement of a daily addiction on the Camino. My nirvana is found every morning on the Portuguese in the form of a high grade espresso and one of those heavenly pasteis de natas (Portuguese custard tarts that disappear as soon as you cross...
It’s a wonderful time of year to walk: just a smattering of pilgrims and no problem finding a bed. Last year walking from Lisbon in December, my feet were never wet, but this year we did some inadvertent wading. It’s great to hear from pilgrims successfully walking the cooler, quieter months -...
You know, back in the day, I was a teacher at a maximum security penitentiary - some of the most dangerous people in society. Those who committed crimes against the old and the compromised could not be released into even that prison population. The murderers and armed robbers wouldn’t accept...
Yes indeed. Fabulous. I did it last December, thanks to Nicolas, who punched in Maps.me for me to some great trails near his waterfalls. I wanted to see the stunning church some hours northwest of his place in Valega once in this lifetime - not well known, but so beautiful both inside and out...
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