I can’t imagine missing Ponte de Lima- my favorite stop from Porto to SdC. I loved it so much last year that I brought my adult children there last week to spend a few days enjoying this lovely and lively town on a market Sunday and the quiet beauty of the evenings there. I’m only walking a few...
Hi Lydia, I walked that way last April because of road
Construction and getting a little lost. It was lovely, went along the River then through an old neighborhood and then around a church and monastery. I’m not sure how far I walked on it until turning back north but it was very nice and didn’t...
-Stay in the citadel in Valenca rather than outside the walls or across the bridge in Tui. it is magical after the tourists leave around 6pm.
-Visit or stay in Combarra if you are taking the spiritual variant. It is charming and unusual with lots of stone horreos right along the water.
-visit...
Oh, to be clear, it’s not the hospitaleros pushing the wine. It's pilgrims, usually mature males, in the small sample from my caminos. Btw, Thank you for your generous service and volunteerism, @J Willhaus
As a routine consumer of alcohol-free beer and occasional consumer of de-alcoholized white wine, I attest that producers have made huge improvements in the quality/drinkability of these products in recent years. I didn’t find 0% beers everywhere on the Portuguese central earlier this year, but I...
Thank you for this list- I’ve walked at least parts of a few of these (I’m an Arizonan despite my moniker and current abode, and have walked the R2R and parts of the Az trail and the continental divide in Colorado). I’m planning for pilgrimages rather than hikes now, thus my post title. I find...
Thank you, this sounds amazing!
(I’m intrigued by following Roman Toads and wind merchants but will be satisfied with getting to SdC following yellow arrows- ribbit )
Based on the great info and advice here, I’ll probably go in late spring (April-May) and if I can swing the time off from work, I’d definitely like to add on the Primitivo. I can’t do it in 2024, though. So, will have fun planning for 2025 ☺️.
I read @jungleboy ’s daily posts with gorgeous pictures of this route https://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/via-serrana-nov-dec-2022.77740/ . Putting this one on the list ☺️.
Every route has its joys and every pilgrimage its revelations. I’d love to read opinions and experiences of routes that are more rustic or out-of-the-way than the most-traveled routes (i.e. the frances and the portugues, both of which I have walked, and the norte, which I have not). I’m most...
Hoya saxa ;)
how about you all do one of the shorter caminos as a family vacation? Or do the portugues from porto with your spouse? My husband walked sjpp to SdC solo in 2018 and then we walked in 22 together. It was wonderful and a real gift at the start of our empty nest years. I walked from...
I found the same in April. Like you, I stayed in Combarra and walked to up and across to Villanova de Arousa in one day. It’s long (30ish km) but only the first part is hard/ steep. Stop for a bit in armeteira, see the church and tour the monastery if it’s open for tours. Have a bite in one of...
The Wise pilgrim app was very helpful for my caminos- Frances from SJPP in 2022 and Portuguese from Porto in 2023. Michael, the developer, updates and improves the app frequently/continually. I found it well worth the small cost for the paid version but the free version is good, too...
In summer 2022 the security guard was quite rude to me when I misread my number and had missed my turn (had lost my reading glasses) In 2023 same guard was very abrupt bordering on rude but I knew where to go so didn’t ask him any questions. However, as I waited for a friend, I witnessed him...
I walked the central from the cathedral in Porto. I didn’t mind the city walk and, in fact, enjoyed seeing the neighborhoods and places where porto folks live and work. It was solitary and quiet in a good way that reminded me I’m capable of walking alone with my pack and my thoughts. I took the...
This site is run by Ivar at in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon