katie@camino
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- CF, SJPDP-Finisterre 2016;CP (Central) Porto-SdC 2017;CP (Coastal) Porto-SdC 2018;CF Leon-SdC 2019
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- your post echoes exactly a previous post of mine.I loved the country,the weather and above all the people,but I hated the seemingly endless cobblestones.The people who went out of their way to help and their kindness will live with me forever.Excuse my Australian, but after walking on cobblestones for 2 days, i have a newfound appreciation for tarmac.
On the other hand - the Portugese people deserve a special place in heaven - i have been STUNNED by their kindness. I had read others comments on here saying the same thing but had assumed it was just 1 or 2 lucky encounters. But constantly, Portugese people go out of their way to help and guide and provise support. Incredible. I am not sure if this is the Camino spirit or the Portugese spirit???
- your post echoes exactly a previous post of mine.I loved the country,the weather and above all the people,but I hated the seemingly endless cobblestones.......
Seemingly endless??!! Tell me it isnt so!
Thankyou kiwi-family, such a relief to hear this!Nah, if you've done two days, there's only one more to go - assuming you've just left Porto!!
I remember a few rough days when I swore a lot.
We expect cobblestones in Portugal, that's part of the deal, and the delight.
But on quiet country roads they were unexpected.
Not that they are everywhere because they definitely are not.
But I get grumpy when they are.
Next time I'll take a set of those really really comfy squishy innersoles and pop them in when needed.
Regards
Gerard....a Portugeezer
Ha! Grumpy....love it...Thankyou kiwi-family, such a relief to hear this!
I've been busy attempting to set a new world record for the longest length of time it takes for a pilgrim to walk from Lisbon to Santiago. Just home, a little worse for wear, but had an adventurous time.Good to see ya @gerardcarey
I was starting to wonder if Portugal had swallowed you whole. Prithee tell us a tale.
it's the portuguese spirit -Excuse my Australian, but after walking on cobblestones for 2 days, i have a newfound appreciation for tarmac.
On the other hand - the Portugese people deserve a special place in heaven - i have been STUNNED by their kindness. I had read others comments on here saying the same thing but had assumed it was just 1 or 2 lucky encounters. But constantly, Portugese people go out of their way to help and guide and provise support. Incredible. I am not sure if this is the Camino spirit or the Portugese spirit???
Nah, if you've done two days, there's only one more to go - assuming you've just left Porto!!
They sell them in boxes of 6 here at home. That is one portion, right?And I go back to the important question: how many Pastel de Nata can one person eat in a day?
Depends on how far they have walked and how many calories they have burned on the way....And I go back to the important question: how many Pastel de Nata can one person eat in a day?
Not got a lot of give in them have they? I associate those granite lumps with pain. It's amazing that something so pretty can hurt your skeleton so much after a day of mindlessly mooching along on them.
Tarmac. I love it.
and
Yes, the Portuguese people are lovely and their country is great. Later inthe season I have been inundated with fresh grapes from their vines. And impromptu wine tastings. I want to live there.
it's the portuguese spirit -
have been in Portugal over the decades, unrelated to Caminho - and i've had those heart-warming encounters and experiences in all regions and seasons.
it's just a beautiful heart-quality that lives there. (has shadow sides as well of course, but that is another topic)
sometimes thought that those hard cobbles are to counter-balance the soft hearts
Did you do the Senda Litoral / Caminho Portugês da Costa? Because I had all kinds of hard surfaces much of the way in Portugal. Maybe my imagination but it seemed beter once we entered Spain (or I just got used to it).
One day walking 35 km by myself I made a picture of all the diverse surfaces. I wanted to upload all 5 to show but can only do one. And if I add the wooden boardwalks and mosaic there would be many more!
Yes i have noticed the same thing. Although extremely kind, i have noticed the Portugese seem reserved...perhaps not wanting to intrudeI presume you haven't followed the Senda Litoral, where, for the first couple of days out of Porto you walk on a tremendous surface, a wooden boardwalk! It gives a little back in spring from each step! But I agree, once you hit the cobblestones they are HELL if you have blisters on your soles!"Buen Dia"
And as for the friendliness of the Portuguese, personally, I found the Spanish more likely to respond with a "Buen Dia" to our small group than the Portuguese, possibly because the Spanish recognised us instantly as Peregrino's (we were on the Interior route from Tui by this time)?
This makes me think i need more Nata - have only had 1 in 7 days of being in Portugal!Just completed the CP from Lisbon to SDC. The cobblestone will not end until you reach Spain! Wish I knew about the Hokas before I left. I bought cushioned inserts for my trail shoes, about 5 days into the camino! It only helped a little. It was only the Pastel de Nata and the kindness of the Portuguese that got me through!
I too hated the cobblestones. I fell the first day as I approached the Douro River in Porto and thought my camino was finished...fortunately nothing was broken or severely twisted so I continued on my way but that day May 23rd was 34 celsius at 8:30 am and as I limped along my feet quickly become very sore at the hard unforgiving and uneven surface...thought relief would come on the boardwalks but they were just as hard...all that being said I loved the Atlantic Coast and the Portuguese people were fabulous, so friendly and willing to help even without understanding English.- your post echoes exactly a previous post of mine.I loved the country,the weather and above all the people,but I hated the seemingly endless cobblestones.The people who went out of their way to help and their kindness will live with me forever.
Excuse my Australian, but after walking on cobblestones for 2 days, i have a newfound appreciation for tarmac.
On the other hand - the Portugese people deserve a special place in heaven - i have been STUNNED by their kindness. I had read others comments on here saying the same thing but had assumed it was just 1 or 2 lucky encounters. But constantly, Portugese people go out of their way to help and guide and provise support. Incredible. I am not sure if this is the Camino spirit or the Portugese spirit???
At the risk of being called a pedant they are NOT bloody cobblestones!
Oh I do love that SO much!I've been accused of pedantry now and again. I like to think that is just one of those irregular constructions that are so common in English: "I am correct", "You are being pedantic", "He/she is just being a pain in the ...."
Thr ratio of nata to napkins required is 1 piece to 7 napkins so if you eat a box of 6 thrn it increases to 42 napkins and a long showerThis makes me think i need more Nata - have only had 1 in 7 days of being in Portugal!
I walked the entire Francés 1 and a half time without a blister. Three days here and I look like my feet have been attacked by a giant bear. ( Onay - that's rubbish but I'm too tired and in too much pain to think of a suitable simile !! ;-) I don't care what they are called - they're killing meThe granite setts were a bear to walk on. I walked the entire Frances without blisters, but by day three on the CP I was in agony though I wore the same boots with insoles. I saw many spots where there were piles of these granite stones by roadside where they were clearly going to add more to the route....groan! Did they get this concept of pathway building from the Romans?
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