Do I need to speak Portuguese?

[Doodles]

Last year we did the Frances and for 2014 we are considering the Portuguese route (Lisbon to Santiago), but after purchasing Brierley's guidebook and reading the opening notes I'm reconsidering. Here's what he says on page 5 about the section from Lisbon to Porto…

" ..and should only be undertaken by seasoned pilgrims with a flexible approach and a reasonable ability to speak Portuguese."

I'm seasoned enough I think and flexible, but I only speak English. Should I reconsider and do the Northern route, which was our second choice?

 

[wayfarer]

Just learn the basics, hello, goodbye, coffee, beer, wine, etc. it is basic good manners when visiting any country and you will manage just fine. My wife and I holidayed in Portugal this summer and we managed with the basics, the people we met were just lovely.

 

[evanlow]

I don't know about the Portuguese route but the northern is fairly okay for an English speaker although every bit of Spanish language will help.

 

[Diogo92]

I think that this post can help you out with your question:

http://www.caminodesantiago.me/community/threads/spanish-or-portuguese.16398/

Best Regards
Diogo

 

[musicman]

Hi, A group of us walked the Coast, this June from Lisbon tomPorto, and that is a Caminho rarely travelled.We experienced no problems, we had a few basic phrases in Portuguese, as anyone would; Brierley's comments are nonsense.
Beautiful country, hospitable and friendly locals.enjoy it!
Account of journey in my Blog:-
http://ensuitepilgrimblog.wordpress.com/

 

[JohnnieWalker]

I have to say I also strongly disagree with John Brierley's advice. You only need some basic phrases to be polite but you will be srurprised at the high percentage of people in Portugal who speak English.

 

[peregrina2000]

I'll second JohnnieWalker's statement. A higher percentage of people in Portugal than in Spain speak English. (And my anecdotal experience is that the difference is huge). All TV and movies in Portuguese have always been in original version, not dubbed, and as a result, English has a huge presence in the country. In rural Portugal (at least in un-touristed rural Portugal), of course, there will be fewer English speakers, mainly because the Camino is not (yet) as big a presence as it is in rural Spain. But Portuguese people are amazingly kind and helpful and with a few words of Portuguese you will start the conversation off on the right foot and with the right attitude. You shouldn't worry about the language barrier in Portugal.

 

[frdaz]

Last year we did the Frances and for 2014 we are considering the Portuguese route (Lisbon to Santiago), but after purchasing Brierley's guidebook and reading the opening notes I'm reconsidering. Here's what he says on page 5 about the section from Lisbon to Porto…

" ..and should only be undertaken by seasoned pilgrims with a flexible approach and a reasonable ability to speak Portuguese."

I'm seasoned enough I think and flexible, but I only speak English. Should I reconsider and do the Northern route, which was our second choice?

I speak Spanish and thought that would help with the Portuguese, but it really didn't. They're too different from what I found.
Either way, it really doesn't matter. Most of the folks you'll encounter speak "shopkeeper's" English, and we had no problem at all. The CP is beautiful, and you'll enjoy it...

 

[Camembert]

I walked the CP earlier this year. Had no problems at all with the languages neither in Portugal ,nor in Galicia.
I speak spanish and english . I even used Spanish in Brasil and Cabo Verde .

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

There you go - it's all been said.
Go for it!
Maybe ten basic words in Portuguese would be helpful. They prefer to speak English, rather than Spanish! You'll have VERY few problems.
Bom caminho!