Concern about walking Coastal Route alone

[Ana Maria Manrique]

I walked the Camino Frances from SJPdP last year in April and met so many wonderful people along the way. Although I had intended to walk alone, I found I really enjoyed meeting all the interesting people and sharing dinners, wine and stories. This year I have chosen to do the Camino Portugués, Coastal Route with the variant Senda Litoral for the first part if possible. I will be traveling to Lisbon on April 1st and spending time there until approx April 13th. I will start walking from Porto around April 14-16th. I have some concerns. First that I will not meet anyone along the way. Second, that I will get lost. I don't mind some solitude but was wondering if anyone else will be starting around the same dates. I don't have a good sense of direction at all, but luckily I do speak Portuguese. Are there local people along the way to ask for directions? Last concern is the weather. I hear it can get windy and rain along the coast. Will I need to bring all the rain gear? Main reason for walking Coastal route is that it will be harder to get lost as the ocean will always be on my left if I go North!

 

[Givesome]

Dear Ana Maria My wife and I are starting the Portuguese Camino from Lisbon on 27 March 2018. We should reach Porto between 08 and 10 April 2018 if everything goes according to plan. We will take a rest day in Porto and we also plan to take the coastal route from Porto. So we will be on the road a day or two ahead of you.

 

[Oppis]

You never walk alone, in two meaning. There will be a lot of pilgrims on the costal route during those days. Even us after Redondela.
When on pilgrimidge you always have Him to watch your steps.
Bom Caminho

 

[Camembert]

Caminhar pela costa é muito fácil Ana Maria !
Você vai encontrar muitos pessoas que falam Português. Naturalmente. Você está no Portugal. Mas muitos jovens falam inglês!
Outra coisa Entregar a direção para Santiago de Compostela é muito fácil. Sempre sigue o margem do rio Douro e a beira-mar do oceano Atlântico no lado esquerdo ou sigue as setas amarelas. Então ninhuma razão para estar preocupada ..
O meu amigo e eu -ambos aposentados- começamos a caminhar a partir do dia 16 de Abril que vem de Porto para Viana do Castelo pela costa.
Talvez vamos encontrar-nos.

bom caminho.
Albertinho e João. Holandêses

 

[PilgrimPillar]

There should ber nooo particular concern for walking alone.....just do it!

 

[erith long]

If you speak spanish (from your name I asume that you are spanish descent) you have no problem at all communicating with people in Portugal. Believe me, you speak to them in spanish and they answer back in portuguese and you can have a basic conversation, after a couple of days you start picking up words and in bigish towns a lot of young people can speak english, Portuguese people are really nice and helpfull.
And do not worry about walking by yourself no way to get lost the Ocean always on your left. Buen Camino ,,,

 

[AdaR]

Ana Marie,
No worries getting lost along the Senda Litoral. Though there is a section that is noted in Brierly's guidebook that you should watch out for, as it will deposit you on the beach leaving you searching for a paved path again. I don't have my 2017 route at my fingertips or I would tell you exactly where we veered inland to avoid the sand dunes. A comrade said it was a treacherous day for her to find her path back from there, and she is an accomplished wayfinder.
As for weather, I wish I could comment on what you might expect next month. I'm not sure that even the paid weather forecasters can predict that far out. It was certainly windy in August last year, which was quite welcome when the sun was bright.
With Portuguese language skills, you will never be alone on this path. Even if you only see a few pilgrims, the Portuguese people are the warmest and friendliest I ever encountered. Not only will they point you in the right direction, they may even offer to give you a lift.
Bom Caminho.

 

[Sixwheeler]

I'm genuinely saddened by some of the comments posted in this thread, I would have expected a more open minded and charitable approach. It starts tomorrow night so we can all make up our minds then, once we've actually seen it.

 

[Ana Maria Manrique]

Dear Ana Maria My wife and I are starting the Portuguese Camino from Lisbon on 27 March 2018. We should reach Porto between 08 and 10 April 2018 if everything goes according to plan. We will take a rest day in Porto and we also plan to take the coastal route from Porto. So we will be on the road a day or two ahead of you.

I will definitely look out for you. Nice to know others have similar dates. My dates are flexible so maybe I will see you sooner.

 

[Ana Maria Manrique]

Caminhar pela costa é muito fácil Ana Maria !
Você vai encontrar muitos pessoas que falam Português. Naturalmente. Você está no Portugal. Mas muitos jovens falam inglês!
Outra coisa Entregar a direção para Santiago de Compostela é muito fácil. Sempre sigue o margem do rio Douro e a beira-mar do oceano Atlântico no lado esquerdo ou sigue as setas amarelas. Então ninhuma razão para estar preocupada ..
O meu amigo e eu -ambos aposentados- começamos a caminhar a partir do dia 16 de Abril que vem de Porto para Viana do Castelo pela costa.
Talvez vamos encontrar-nos.

bom caminho.
Albertinho e João. Holandêses

Muito obrigada pela sua resposta Albertinho. Eu estoy muito feliz de saber que voce y seu amigo João vao começar a caminhar o mesmo tempo que eu e a mesma rota. Sera possível conhecer voces en Porto? Eu vou ficar em uma hostel chamada Bluesock Hostel Porto. Disculpa meu Portugues, eu sou Peruana mas morei no Rio, ha muito tempo. Voces sao Holandeses? Como he que falam Portugués? Eu posso enviar voce meu email ou WhatsApp numero. Obrigada.

 

[Ana Maria Manrique]

You never walk alone, in two meaning. There will be a lot of pilgrims on the costal route during those days. Even us after Redondela.
When on pilgrimidge you always have Him to watch your steps.
Bom Caminho

Thank you Oppis, I am more encouraged now after all the kind replies. Not sure where Redondela is, but I hope our paths will cross.

 

[Ana Maria Manrique]

There should ber nooo particular concern for walking alone.....just do it!

Thank you for the beautiful video you sent. The scenery is incredibly beautiful. I can't wait to get started, feeling more confident.

[Ana Maria Manrique]

If you speak spanish (from your name I asume that you are spanish descent) you have no problem at all communicating with people in Portugal. Believe me, you speak to them in spanish and they answer back in portuguese and you can have a basic conversation, after a couple of days you start picking up words and in bigish towns a lot of young people can speak english, Portuguese people are really nice and helpfull.
And do not worry about walking by yourself no way to get lost the Ocean always on your left. Buen Camino ,,,

Thanks for the encouragement. I am from Peru, so speak Spanish and lived in Brazil, so speak Portuguese also.

 

[Ana Maria Manrique]

Ana Marie,
No worries getting lost along the Senda Litoral. Though there is a section that is noted in Brierly's guidebook that you should watch out for, as it will deposit you on the beach leaving you searching for a paved path again. I don't have my 2017 route at my fingertips or I would tell you exactly where we veered inland to avoid the sand dunes. A comrade said it was a treacherous day for her to find her path back from there, and she is an accomplished wayfinder.
As for weather, I wish I could comment on what you might expect next month. I'm not sure that even the paid weather forecasters can predict that far out. It was certainly windy in August last year, which was quite welcome when the sun was bright.
With Portuguese language skills, you will never be alone on this path. Even if you only see a few pilgrims, the Portuguese people are the warmest and friendliest I ever encountered. Not only will they point you in the right direction, they may even offer to give you a lift.
Bom Caminho.

Thanks for the heads up on the Senda Litoral part that is tricky. I have bought Brierley's guide, but haven't read it yet, maybe on the long plane ride from LA? If you come across the information of where you veered inland to avoid the sand dunes, let me know, so I can keep an eye out for it. A little worried about losing the path.

 

[Camembert]

Muito obrigada pela sua resposta Albertinho. Eu estoy muito feliz de saber que voce y seu amigo João vao começar a caminhar o mesmo tempo que eu e a mesma rota. Sera possível conhecer voces en Porto? Eu vou ficar em uma hostel chamada Bluesock Hostel Porto. Disculpa meu Portugues, eu sou Peruana mas morei no Rio, ha muito tempo. Voces sao Holandeses? Como he que falam Portugués? Eu posso enviar voce meu email ou WhatsApp numero. Obrigada.

Bom dia Ana Maria. Muito prazer !
Se você pressionar o meu avatar ,você vê " start conversation"
Envia-me uma mensagem com o seu e-mail faz favor.

we are Dutch indeed. I used to be an international salesman - among others used to work in Barcelona .I have Portuguese relatives and many Portuguese and Brasilean friends and my interest is to play Brazilean music (choro, bossa nova and samba) on my guitar and cavaquinho.
Looking forward to your message and we can exchange our route plan.

Abraço desde lado do mundo

Albertinho

 

[stevov]

I walked the Camino Frances from SJPdP last year in April and met so many wonderful people along the way. Although I had intended to walk alone, I found I really enjoyed meeting all the interesting people and sharing dinners, wine and stories. This year I have chosen to do the Camino Portugués, Coastal Route with the variant Senda Litoral for the first part if possible. I will be traveling to Lisbon on April 1st and spending time there until approx April 13th. I will start walking from Porto around April 14-16th. I have some concerns. First that I will not meet anyone along the way. Second, that I will get lost. I don't mind some solitude but was wondering if anyone else will be starting around the same dates. I don't have a good sense of direction at all, but luckily I do speak Portuguese. Are there local people along the way to ask for directions? Last concern is the weather. I hear it can get windy and rain along the coast. Will I need to bring all the rain gear? Main reason for walking Coastal route is that it will be harder to get lost as the ocean will always be on my left if I go North!

 

[stevov]

I walked the senda Litoral in June. There were other walkers but not many, it got busier after Pontevedra. The senda and inland coastal cut across each other and given that i was not forensic in my prior research and not really bothered about following maps while walking i found myself from time to time on the coastal and not the senda. I didnt mind, it was a great walk and actually i would recommend it now, but if you want to see all the route options clearly thomas flannerys maps on facebook are very good as are Louis Freixos at http://www.caminador.es (ie keeping the ocean on your left is generally a good approach but in some parts its actually quite difficult). However if you are going on the inland route say after Vila do Conde then based on my experience you will avoid the trickier parts of the senda. It can get blowy on the coast and I did have one morning of sea fog but it wasn't a problem for me...i had only one day of rain, in Galicia, (my walk was in a heatwave!), but this is Atlantic facing northern Iberia so rain is a climatic reality. The locals are great by the way, often they kept me on the route. Bom Caminho

 

[stevov]

I walked the senda Litoral in June. There were other walkers but not many, it got busier after Pontevedra. The senda and inland coastal cut across each other and given that i was not forensic in my prior research and not really bothered about following maps while walking i found myself from time to time on the coastal and not the senda. I didnt mind, it was a great walk and actually i would recommend it now, but if you want to see all the route options clearly thomas flannerys maps on facebook are very good as are Louis Freixos at http://www.caminador.es (ie keeping the ocean on your left is generally a good approach but in some parts its actually quite difficult). However if you are going on the inland route say after Vila do Conde then based on my experience you will avoid the trickier parts of the senda. It can get blowy on the coast and I did have one morning of sea fog but it wasn't a problem for me...i had only one day of rain, in Galicia, (my walk was in a heatwave!), but this is Atlantic facing northern Iberia so rain is a climatic reality. The locals are great by the way, often they kept me on the route. Bom Caminho

Correction ...reference above should be Martin Flannery.

 

[Ana Maria Manrique]

Bom dia Ana Maria. Muito prazer !
Se você pressionar o meu avatar ,você vê " start conversation"
Envia-me uma mensagem com o seu e-mail faz favor.

we are Dutch indeed. I used to be an international salesman - among others used to work in Barcelona .I have Portuguese relatives and many Portuguese and Brasilean friends and my interest is to play Brazilean music (choro, bossa nova and samba) on my guitar and cavaquinho.
Looking forward to your message and we can exchange our route plan.

Abraço desde lado do mundo

Albertinho

Thank you for your prompt reply! Would love to hear from you. Many things in common. I use to live in Madrid and of course my first language is Spanish since I am from Peru. I love Brazilian music, have danced samba in Rio's carnaval and currently dance salsa, bachata, kizomba and Brazilian zouk. Will you be bringing you guitar along? It is very kind of you to try to connect with me and exchange ideas. Hope to hear from you soon

 

[Ana Maria Manrique]

Correction ...reference above should be Martin Flannery.

Thanks for the great advice. I will make sure to look at the maps you mentioned, though I am not much of a map reader but I do ask people everywhere for directions. I will plan to go inland as you suggested to avoid the confusing areas on the coast. Nice picture!

 

[The World My Village]

I walked the Camino Frances from SJPdP last year in April and met so many wonderful people along the way. Although I had intended to walk alone, I found I really enjoyed meeting all the interesting people and sharing dinners, wine and stories. This year I have chosen to do the Camino Portugués, Coastal Route with the variant Senda Litoral for the first part if possible. I will be traveling to Lisbon on April 1st and spending time there until approx April 13th. I will start walking from Porto around April 14-16th. I have some concerns. First that I will not meet anyone along the way. Second, that I will get lost. I don't mind some solitude but was wondering if anyone else will be starting around the same dates. I don't have a good sense of direction at all, but luckily I do speak Portuguese. Are there local people along the way to ask for directions? Last concern is the weather. I hear it can get windy and rain along the coast. Will I need to bring all the rain gear? Main reason for walking Coastal route is that it will be harder to get lost as the ocean will always be on my left if I go North!

Please be careful while getting out of Lisbon, that was were I was attacked in September. You can search my posts from that time.
I would recommend that you try to walk with someone, maybe you will meet someone at the hostel in Lisbon.

 

[Jodean]

I will be walking from 6-18 April with my daughter. Browsing through Camino FB pages, found one for Germans walking through Portugal. Had no idea it was so very popular with them. There will be a lot of Germans during April, so you won't be alone. Some will be starting in Lisbon, others in Porto.

 

[Elle Bieling]

@Ana Maria Manrique, if you want to see lots of information, please see my website, PilgrimageTraveler.com/Camino Portugués. There is so much in here to guide you and hopefully, make you feel safe. So many pilgrims also and many friendly and helpful locals!

 

[AdaR]

Thanks for the heads up on the Senda Litoral part that is tricky. I have bought Brierley's guide, but haven't read it yet, maybe on the long plane ride from LA? If you come across the information of where you veered inland to avoid the sand dunes, let me know, so I can keep an eye out for it. A little worried about losing the path.

Ana Maria - I have moved since this trip and cannot put my hands on the Brierly guide where I had all my route notes. I did find this one note though: "Senda litoral is on the sand dunes north of Areosa"
I believe from Viana do Costelo, following the Brierly blue dot route (Coastal, not Senda Litoral) will avoid the trauma of walking and wayfinding on the beach. The only time one of us missed our route was when we were busy chatting and walked on past our evening accommodations. The Portuguese coastal route was well marked.
Bom Caminho

 

[DannyB]

I walked the Camino Frances from SJPdP last year in April and met so many wonderful people along the way. Although I had intended to walk alone, I found I really enjoyed meeting all the interesting people and sharing dinners, wine and stories. This year I have chosen to do the Camino Portugués, Coastal Route with the variant Senda Litoral for the first part if possible. I will be traveling to Lisbon on April 1st and spending time there until approx April 13th. I will start walking from Porto around April 14-16th. I have some concerns. First that I will not meet anyone along the way. Second, that I will get lost. I don't mind some solitude but was wondering if anyone else will be starting around the same dates. I don't have a good sense of direction at all, but luckily I do speak Portuguese. Are there local people along the way to ask for directions? Last concern is the weather. I hear it can get windy and rain along the coast. Will I need to bring all the rain gear? Main reason for walking Coastal route is that it will be harder to get lost as the ocean will always be on my left if I go North!

Anna Maria, I will be hiking with a good friend starting April 4th. We are starting in Porto and we should arrive in Porto April 3. Our plan is to hike the coastal route. I was also on the Camino Frances last April. Feel free to contact me.

 

[Darcy P]

I walked the Camino Frances from SJPdP last year in April and met so many wonderful people along the way. Although I had intended to walk alone, I found I really enjoyed meeting all the interesting people and sharing dinners, wine and stories. This year I have chosen to do the Camino Portugués, Coastal Route with the variant Senda Litoral for the first part if possible. I will be traveling to Lisbon on April 1st and spending time there until approx April 13th. I will start walking from Porto around April 14-16th. I have some concerns. First that I will not meet anyone along the way. Second, that I will get lost. I don't mind some solitude but was wondering if anyone else will be starting around the same dates. I don't have a good sense of direction at all, but luckily I do speak Portuguese. Are there local people along the way to ask for directions? Last concern is the weather. I hear it can get windy and rain along the coast. Will I need to bring all the rain gear? Main reason for walking Coastal route is that it will be harder to get lost as the ocean will always be on my left if I go North!

 

[Darcy P]

Hi Ana Maria, myself and my partner will be arriving in Lisbon on the 4th April before we begin our walk from Lisbon on the 5th. We hope to reach Porto on or around the 16th. Feel free to contact us if you would like to meet either in Lisbon or Porto. Our plan at this stage is to walk the coastal route.

 

[Ana Maria Manrique]

Please be careful while getting out of Lisbon, that was were I was attacked in September. You can search my posts from that time.
I would recommend that you try to walk with someone, maybe you will meet someone at the hostel in Lisbon.

Thanks for the warning. I did intend to go out at nights to explore nightlife in Lisbon, but will follow your recommendation and not go alone.

 

[Ana Maria Manrique]

I will be walking from 6-18 April with my daughter. Browsing through Camino FB pages, found one for Germans walking through Portugal. Had no idea it was so very popular with them. There will be a lot of Germans during April, so you won't be alone. Some will be starting in Lisbon, others in Porto.

Great idea, will browse through Camino FB pages. Bom caminho with your daughter.

 

[Ana Maria Manrique]

@Ana Maria Manrique, if you want to see lots of information, please see my website, PilgrimageTraveler.com/Camino Portugués. There is so much in here to guide you and hopefully, make you feel safe. So many pilgrims also and many friendly and helpful locals!

Thank you for sharing your websites, they are loaded with great information, pictures, maps, even a list of places to stay. I couldn't figure out how to subscribe to your feed, but will try again later on. You mentioned you would be walking in April the Central Route? What are your dates? Would love to meet you along the way if our dates match.

 

[Ana Maria Manrique]

Ana Maria - I have moved since this trip and cannot put my hands on the Brierly guide where I had all my route notes. I did find this one note though: "Senda litoral is on the sand dunes north of Areosa"
I believe from Viana do Costelo, following the Brierly blue dot route (Coastal, not Senda Litoral) will avoid the trauma of walking and wayfinding on the beach. The only time one of us missed our route was when we were busy chatting and walked on past our evening accommodations. The Portuguese coastal route was well marked.
Bom Caminho

I have taken note of your comments and really appreciate you taking the time to try to find your book with your notes. I will follow your advice to be on the safe side and stay on the Coastal at the point you mentioned.

 

[Ana Maria Manrique]

Anna Maria, I will be hiking with a good friend starting April 4th. We are starting in Porto and we should arrive in Porto April 3. Our plan is to hike the coastal route. I was also on the Camino Frances last April. Feel free to contact me.

I am sorry our paths didn't cross on the Camino Frances last April. Since you guys are ahead of me on the coastal route please give me any heads up or recommendations you find useful.

 

[Elle Bieling]

Thank you for sharing your websites, they are loaded with great information, pictures, maps, even a list of places to stay. I couldn't figure out how to subscribe to your feed, but will try again later on. You mentioned you would be walking in April the Central Route? What are your dates? Would love to meet you along the way if our dates match.

Hi Ana Maria, We will leave Porto to start walking on April 24th, the Central Route. My ebook is now available if you are interested at PilgrimageTraveler CP Ebooks I do hope to add the Central Route soon, after I walk it! Bom Caminho, and maybe our paths will cross!