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Dear Albertinho,Ask Aurélio Simoēs from Lisbon, forum member here.
if you do not succeed, send me a PM
I am in regular contact with him via Whatsapp
Dear Camino friends,
you might know that unfortunately the Associação de Amigos dos Caminhos de Fátima, who were taking care of the Caminho Portuguese for over 13 years, stopped their work due to official "tourism projects" who kept changing the path.
My question now: Does anybody has a contact/ knows who or which official organization/ office will be in charge for the Camino Portuguese (Central)?
Any kind of contact/hints etc would be very helpful and much appreciated!
Thanks a lot in advance! Obrigada!
Bom Caminho
äly
Dear Camino friends,
you might know that unfortunately the Associação de Amigos dos Caminhos de Fátima, who were taking care of the Caminho Portuguese for over 13 years, stopped their work due to official "tourism projects" who kept changing the path.
My question now: Does anybody has a contact/ knows who or which official organization/ office will be in charge for the Camino Portuguese (Central)?
Any kind of contact/hints etc would be very helpful and much appreciated!
Thanks a lot in advance! Obrigada!
Bom Caminho
äly
Thanks for that explanation. I don't know that I completely understand this, but this does reduce some of my confusion.In addition to what @peregrina2000 said, there is a federation (https://fpcsantiago.pt/) in Portugal being responsible for making the routes official / UNESCO heritage.
And then you have Jose Luis from Via Lusitana (https://www.vialusitana.org/) being the president of the association of associations (https://rapp.pt/) in Portugal. It is true they do not have any formal power and also only representing the associations. But they are organising and making common guidelines for their work.
So, it depends a little bit what your official business is about.
And also, the routes from Porto and on is maintained by the Municipal and Tourism Office in Porto with fundings from the EU. And Viana do Castelo, Barcelos etc. is responsible for their areas. They do not have regions as legal entities in Portugal as they do in Spain. So there is nothing like Xunta de Galicia taking care of the camino based on the region like in Spain.
Best
Andy
Thanks for that explanation. I don't know that I completely understand this, but this does reduce some of my confusion.
Tomar seems to be the only municipality in the Ribatejo district (south-central) that is part of this federation.In addition to what @peregrina2000 said, there is a federation (https://fpcsantiago.pt/) in Portugal being responsible for making the routes official / UNESCO heritage.
Tomar seems to be the only municipality in the Ribatejo district (south-central) that is part of this federation.
Their link page, though in Portuguese, is useful because it has a nice local map and lists various accommodation including two low-costs albergues, one of which, Albergue de Calvinos in Calvinos (Casais e Alviobeira) north of Tomar, I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere on the forum, I don't think.
Their information says the new one in Assiceira is closed for the moment, which is a pity!
Caminho de Santiago
O Caminho de Santiago, ao longo da Idade Média foi percorrido por povos oriundos de toda a Cristandade, o que permitiu a circulação e difusão de ideias, usos e costumes. O seu papel na construção de uma cultura europeia é inquestionável. De todos os caminhos de Santiago, o Caminho Frawww.cm-tomar.pt
No idea! It looks like a fairly small town, with just a private person's phone number to call, for space. And I would guess that person doesn't speak English, based on my experience in small-town Portugal. It says "Gerido pela Associação Recreativa e Cultural de Calvinos," which means "managed by the Recreation and Cultural Asssociation of Calvinos," so likely it's some beds in their quite small recreation centre.Do you know if the Albergue de Calvinos is open?
Dear peregrina2000,These are my impressions, but I’m an outsider, so who knows what the ”real story” is.
The Fátima friends did a lot of work on the Camino, but they were never “in charge” of things, nor did they purport to be. And their focus, obviously, was not primarily the Caminho to Santiago, but the Caminho to Fátima. The Via Lusitana,which is the Lisbon friends association of the Caminho to Santiago, is the group that took on the task of marking up to Porto, working with the towns along the way, and running the albergue in Alpriate. They are a volunteer association. They also have no real “power” to be “in charge”, but they have been extremely important in fomenting interest and getting things going. They are the ones who got the beautiful credentials approved, produced and distributed.
For years, the Spanish Galician amigos association took care of things north of Porto, but I don’t know if they are still doing that with the increase in local organizations and interest.
The central government and regional tourism offices have also taken on an interest in marking caminos all throughout Portugal, and from what I read, they are part of the impetus behind the routes from Tavira and Faro that @jungleboy has written about and walked.
I would say that, south of Porto at least, the Fátima group, the Via Lusitana, and the official government offices (both regional tourism offices and local municipal governments) lurched along until a defining moment in which the conflicts could not be smoothed out, and the Fátima group disbanded.
So I guess this is like most caminos — some volunteer organizations, some official government offices work together (or not) to mark the route (with occasional disagreements about where the routes should go, at which point local economic interests kick in).
Hi Andy,In addition to what @peregrina2000 said, there is a federation (https://fpcsantiago.pt/) in Portugal being responsible for making the routes official / UNESCO heritage.
And then you have Jose Luis from Via Lusitana (https://www.vialusitana.org/) being the president of the association of associations (https://rapp.pt/) in Portugal. It is true they do not have any formal power and also only representing the associations. But they are organising and making common guidelines for their work.
So, it depends a little bit what your official business is about.
And also, the routes from Porto and on is maintained by the Municipal and Tourism Office in Porto with fundings from the EU. And Viana do Castelo, Barcelos etc. is responsible for their areas. They do not have regions as legal entities in Portugal as they do in Spain. So there is nothing like Xunta de Galicia taking care of the camino based on the region like in Spain.
Best
Andy
Dear Friend of Barquinha,I know in our concelho (equivalent of municipality), there has been public money spent on marking the "official" path from Golega (the next municipality south), north to the woods south of Tomar (the next municipality north).
Funds have gone to the new concrete/tile standard waymarker signage, and to some large informational signs--the content of which is up for debate--they highlight the usual tourist/cultural/historical features in the municipality, most of which are off the caminho trail and of dubious value to the average peregrino. The signs also don't include information like cafés and shops along the way, which I would think would be useful. But they're a start, I guess.
They also have rehabilitated the bench/water fountain at our roundabout, which is definitely useful to the peregrinos! And one up at Atalaia, as well, I think. All the water is potable in this area.
I think the funding for this is split between the regional tourist office, which has decided that caminho tourism is a "thing," and our local government.
But no-one is "in charge," as far as I can tell. They can signpost where they want, but the peregrinos create the caminho.
Dear Friend of Barquinha,
thanks a lot for the "inside infos".
I unfortunately heard that some parts got confusing due to different routes.
I guess that is what happens when many cooks trying to cook a soup (if you know the saying).
Best,
äly
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