Going from Santiago to Porto?

[Victoria Young]

Last year when I did the Camino Frances I walked on to Muxia and Finnesterre so this year I am going to do the Camino Del Norte. I am wondering if it is "acceptable" to walk from Santiago to Porto upon completion of the Camino del Norte? Cheers, Victoria

 

[Camino Addict]

Yes, I've seen people take that trek. The albergues will take you in as long as they have the space.

 

[cj2003]

Absolutely!

You'll also make the pilgrims going the other way happy and give them something to enjoy and talk about

 

[Stephen Nicholls]

....but remember there won't be any arrows showing you the way - they will all be AFTER the junction for the benefit of pilgrims going TOWARDS SdC.

Buen camino!

 

[mspath]

In December 2011 after finishing the Camino Frances I continued to Finisterre, per usual, and then walked to the Portuguese border at Tui/Valenca de Minho. This involved going " backward " along the Camino Portuguese from Santiago. To go backward is more complicated than you might think; since this path is hardly well marked, searching for the famous yellow arrows pointing opposite my direction wasn't easy. Viewed backwards the arrows resembled anchors. Thus it all was a bit of a treasure hunt!

The weather was cold and very WET. The Galician albergues were great and generally well heated; often I was the only pilgrim. I particularly enjoyed walking across the river Minho from Tui on the 19th century bridge designed by Eiffel of tower fame to Valenca de Minho and its Vauban fortress.

Perhaps some of these other web sites will help with your planning.
http://camino.xacobeo.es/en/routes/portuguese-way
http://caminodesantiago.consumer.es./lo ... portugues/


Bom Caminho and Buen Camino!

 

[surya8]

I've met some pilgrims going in the oppsite direction, the most memorable was an elderly Japonese man walking to Lisbon after having finished his Frances. I haven't paid attention to how the way was marked out of Porto in the opposite direction but noticed later in October that it was very well marked from Lisbon. Blue arrows insted of yellow all headed to Fatima. If you see some if them on the way after crossing the border from Spain then you are on the right track. Last year was a big year for Fatima and they tried to make it easily accessible. Ask for some maps leading to Fatima in the info centres and the like, maybe they have it.

 

[jmcarp]

We met several people walking southward when we walked from Porto to Santiago last year. Most were on their way to Fátima. The route between Porto and Santiago going northward is generally (there may be a few variations that I'm not aware of) shared with the Caminho de Fátima going southward. The northward journey is marked with typical yellow arrows, and the southward journey is marked with blue arrows -- often side-by-side. Note: Once in Portugal the route is the "central" route of the Camino Portugués. See http://www.caminho.com.pt/mapas_e.html for additional information.

 

[Victoria Young]

....but remember there won't be any arrows showing you the way - they will all be AFTER the junction for the benefit of pilgrims going TOWARDS SdC.

Buen camino!

Good point...will have to switch the ole brain around! Cheers Victoria

 

[Victoria Young]

We met several people walking southward when we walked from Porto to Santiago last year. Most were on their way to Fátima. The route between Porto and Santiago going northward is generally (there may be a few variations that I'm not aware of) shared with the Caminho de Fátima going southward. The northward journey is marked with typical yellow arrows, and the southward journey is marked with blue arrows -- often side-by-side. Note: Once in Portugal the route is the "central" route of the Camino Portugués. See http://www.caminho.com.pt/mapas_e.html for additional information.

Thanks for the excellent tips! Cheers Victoria

 

[Victoria Young]

I've met some pilgrims going in the oppsite direction, the most memorable was an elderly Japonese man walking to Lisbon after having finished his Frances. I haven't paid attention to how the way was marked out of Porto in the opposite direction but noticed later in October that it was very well marked from Lisbon. Blue arrows insted of yellow all headed to Fatima. If you see some if them on the way after crossing the border from Spain then you are on the right track. Last year was a big year for Fatima and they tried to make it easily accessible. Ask for some maps leading to Fatima in the info centres and the like, maybe they have it.

Thanks so much..invaluable! Cheers Victoria

 

[Victoria Young]

Absolutely!

You'll also make the pilgrims going the other way happy and give them something to enjoy and talk about

That's what I wanted to hear! Cheers, Victoria

 

[Victoria Young]

Yes, I've seen people take that trek. The albergues will take you in as long as they have the space.

Thanks for the encouragement...cheers Victoria

 

[Cary L]

Best thing to do is to take a bus to Porto and walk back to SDC.

 

[lindacube]

I walked from Porto to Santiago the coastal way and then decided to walk back to Porto the central way. As people have pointed out the marking isn't great, it gets a bit better and easier in Portugal. However I did get lost each day on the way back and often the easiest was to keep an eye out for any pilgrims coming towards me and asking them if the last kms were straightforward or if there were any unnatural turns that I might miss. A word of warning: it's much lonelier than you think, meeting everyone just once at night and not meeting the same people over and over. I had a hard time in the beginning, but once I realised that it's actually quite liberating being so alone, I started to enjoy it in a different way. The albergues took me in even if they were full if I slept on the floor except in Pontevedra where I had to stay in a private convent in the end. Very interesting experience. Receptionist/owner at Aloxa Hostel was very helpful if you find yourself without a place to stay there as the stretch is quite long the opposite way.

To sum it up, I'd definitely walk it to Porto, not take a bus, as it was a very different Camino experience. If you have any questions about the walk backwards, feel free to message me directly. Happy to share my experience.

 

[Jim]

Yes! The very first Pilgrim that I saw when I was doing the Camino Portuguese in 2006 was a French woman who had completed the Frances route and was headed to Fatima.
I also wanted to head back to Porto after getting my compostela certificate. Didn't have the time to walk back, so opted to use ALSA bus-- good experience.
Whatever you chose, I'm sure that it would be a good experience.