@peregrina2000 and
@J Byrd, beyond checking that it is generally possible to do stages of between 15 km and 20 km, I don't have a firm plan. I have allowed enough days to walk to Finisterre via Muxia at the end, but will use those elsewhere if I need to.
At this stage, Tomar, Fatima, Coimbra, Porto and Valenca are anchor points. You might have others that I should consider. Some I will stay for a rest day, others I will try to do a short day to get in, and leave a little later on the following day. I am not sure how difficult that will be, but I'm not going to get too worried by that level of detail just yet.
ps I am grateful for all suggestions. Please don't hold back on them.
Ha, you may be sorry you told me not to hold back. I have recovered my (overly abundant)
pictures from my walk in 2008, but only as far as Porto. I think
ViaLusitana has the most complete and up to date listing of pilgrim accommodations (albergues and moderately priced places), but if you are looking for private places generally, I would recommend
@cj2003’s list.
I have never stayed in Alpriate’s albergue because it hadn’t yet opened when I walked, but I have been there several times and think it is a perfect first night stop. The village has really opened its arms to peregrinos, and the bar in town serves good quality, home cooked meals and as far as I can tell has resisted the urge to gouge pilgrims, which certainly must be a strong urge given the economy. The nice thing about the albergue is that you can get to meet the group that you are likely to see on a regular basis going forward.
Lots of these little towns are very pleasant places, and if you walk around you will invariably find some old buildings and frequently little praças where the retirees go to connect with each other. Life is pretty slow paced in these places but I would say that the level of contentment is pretty high.
In Azinhaga, you can walk right by the birthplace of José Saramago, Portugal’s only (I think) Nobel Prize for literature. Just a regular old little humble house, it always impresses me that greatness springs up in the darndest places!
Tomar is one of my favorites, not just for the castle up on the hill, which has a very nice stamp and has benefitted from lots of EU funding for renovation and preservation. The little town down around the main square, with a view up to the castle, is very charming.
The old ruined estate at
Cardiga is kind of eerie, but I really enjoyed exploring a bit and sitting in the shade. It is near Golega, just open and unattended for you to walk around. Some Templar connection I think. Right on the camino.
If you stay in Rabaçal, the people in the museum next to the albergue will (or used to) drive you out to the Roman villa whose ruins are a few km out of town. Very nice
place to visit, and the museum is interesting too.
I think the roman ruins in Conímbriga are really interesting, and there is more and more excavation every day. Lots of nice mosaics and information to understand the layout. I see on Via Lusitana that there are two albergues in the vicinity, in Valada and Cernache, so it might be easy to pair a visit with a stop nearby.
Mealhada after Coimbra is famous all over portugal for its leitao (roast suckling pig). There are tons and tons of restaurants all serving the same thing. Pedro dos Leitoes is the one I have in my notes as being most recommended to me by some Portuguese friends.
The town of Águeda has a park up on a hill that is really more of a forest than a park. Looking at a map it must be Parque Municipal de Alta Villa. It is oh so welcoming on a hot afternoon, and is dotted with all sorts of painted pig statues, whose significance I could not find out, but which I enjoyed seeing (my photos have some of them I think). The albergue here, btw, is a long slog out of town. I stayed at the Residencial Ribeirinho but I think it is now closed, google does show a couple of other places in town though.
Sao Joao da Madeira has what looks like a fascinating
hat museum, in the old hat factory. I didn’t see it till I was leaving town the next morning, but if I had known it was there I would definitely have gone. I think I learned from someone here on the forum that the Mad Hatter from Alice in Wonderland came from the fact that the chemicals these guys used to make the hats caused all sorts of psychiatric maladies.
The monastery in Grijo now has an albergue there, and I remember a lovely resting spot on the grounds before the last slog into Porto. I think people have liked their stay there, but I haven’t heard too much about it.
I hope the route into Porto continues to take you in through the “upper level” of Gaia, the town where all the port lodges are. The parque right at the river has a view over Porto that is just jaw-dropping (my avatar was taken there), really one of the top urban views on any camino.
After Porto there is tons more info on the forum, but I should just say I didn’t take the coastal route so I can’t comment on that. Ponte de Lima is one of my favorite little cities in Portugal, the bridge and the central core are really nice.
Tui is right over the river from Valença, and if it were me, I’d stay there rather than in Valença. Valença does have that nice vauban-style fortress, but it has become the Spanish textile shoppers mecca. Store after store after store selling every conceivable type of textile (towels, spreads, curtains, etc etc) you can imagine. Tui, I think, has a lot more to see and is less frenzied because it doesn’t have thousands of Spanish shoppers looking for a bargain.
And Pontevedra is another place where I would consider a longer stay. Beautiful historic core. The albergue, if it’s still in The same place, is about a km before the center, so it is not a great location if you are going to go in and do a lot of touring. But there is no lack of hotels and pensiones because there is a fairly high number of tourists.
I have not stayed in the albergue in Herbón and am not sure when it opens, but it seems like it is one of those not-to-be-missed donativo places if the opportunity arises. I have some friends who have been hospitaleros there and they just rave about the setting and the Monastery. It’s a few kms off the camino, but I don’t know anyone who has regretted doing that little detour. And I am pretty sure it opens in early April, but that would be worth checking.
So those are some of the things that make this caminho so special, but topping the list are the Portuguese themselves. Bom caminho, Laurie
p.s. Are you going to spend time in Lisbon? If so, you could consider my little
walking tour.
) the drop bears legend but hoop snake was new to me. On Googling I was surprised to find that although US in origin, it has taken hold here too! 
