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Lots of different km estimates

A

Ana Guanabaa

New Member
Time of past OR future Camino
considering (2018)
Ola peregrin@s

I'll be walking from Tui or Valenca to Santiago in late July, and am confused by the different km estimates that I've seen. Other pilgrims (whose threads I've now lost) spoke of Tui being 102 km from Santiago, I've also seen estimates ranging up to 122 km. This last was in the 'Camino Guides: Camino Portugues, 2018, by John Brierly'. I notice that this book will add on additional kms to account for changes in altitude, but the 122 km does not include these

I have limited time and am with my child, so that extra 20 km may be consequential ;-) But I would like to do at least 100 km as recognized by whichever body is responsible for credenciales etc. (which is of particular interest to said child). I also like the idea of walking from Valenca, if only to do a small part of the walk in Portugal itself and walk into Spain.

Can anyone advise on how many km it really is? (or is that question naive, because there's not really *one* camino even within this limited span?)

With much appreciation for all of the insights I've found here!
Ana
 
Camino Way markers in Bronze
The one from Galicia (the round) and the one from Castilla & Leon. Individually numbered and made by the same people that make the ones you see on your walk.
If you go through the different guide books, I use Brierlys, the same destinations can be off by some kms.
When these discrepancys arise in conversation I smugly show off my knowledge and my age by singing a few bars of:

The Kilometers, my freind, are Blowing in the Wind. The Kilometers are Blowing in the Wind.

One foot in front of the other, my freind, and keep on walking, and 'The Kilos...' will be gone.

Maybe they were never there???

Buen Camino
 
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The 2024 Camino guides will be coming out little by little. Here is a collection of the ones that are out so far.
In 2015 I started my Camino Portugues pilgrimage in Valenca do Minho. At the Pilgrim Office in Santiago I purchased a distance certificate and the worker spontaneously wrote 120 km as distance travelled. Valenca is an interesting historic old walled town and the walk across the Rio Minho on the Eiffel designed bridge with Spain/Portugal border marking was impressive.
 
The straight line distance from the albergue in Tui to the Cathedral is 93.1 kilometers. Additional distance comes from twists and turns. Even those twists and turns change as the "official" route changes, and each guidebook may be making up its own twists and turns. At one time, a human walked with a wheel to measure the route. Then humans walked with a GPS, and may have included that one block diversion for a cup of coffee. Now, users of Google Maps can do a trace over what they view as the route.

Every attempt has flaws, and none is accurate beyond those flaws.

It is what it is when you walk it!
 
My Brierley for the Portuguese is 2016 and says 116km from Valença/Tui to Santiago. It indeed depends on how you measure it.

How much time do you have to walk, Ana? And how used to walking is your kid? Because if you are looking for the exact mark of 100km, it would be somewhere between Tui and Porrino. Maybe visit Tui and ask for a taxi to drop you a bit ahead, if really necessary?
 
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Anamya said:
Because if you are looking for the exact mark of 100km, it would be somewhere between Tui and Porrino.
Click to expand...
Google Maps plots a walking route through Padron that is 104 km from the cathedral in Tui to the cathedral in Santiago. If you shorten it much, you may want to contact the Pilgrim Office in Santiago to see what it will accept as a starting point that is 100 km. I doubt that the Office uses Brierley!! The mojones in Galicia now have distance marks, when they have not been stolen, that are from an official government database on distance. I would not be surprised if the Office has access to, and uses, them.
 
falcon269 said:
The mojones in Galicia now have distance marks, when they have not been stolen, that are from an official government database on distance. I would not be surprised if the Office has access to, and uses, them.
Click to expand...

I just mentioned that because I remember seeing the 90-something marks approaching Porrino, so the 100km should be somewhere between Tui and there, right?
But totally agree with you, and the cathedral in Tui is a very nice place to start
 
we just finished the Portuguese Coastal, and found that "book" distances (we had 2), app distances, and our fitbit and the reality never matched. Sometimes they widely varied. Walking the Central you will have town and amenities closer than on the Coast. Just enjoy the walk it will be awesome.
 
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JohnCP43 said:
... and the walk across the Rio Minho on the Eiffel designed bridge with Spain/Portugal border marking was impressive.
Click to expand...
Just an observation regarding the bridge--there are pedestrian walkways along both sides of the traffic lanes, and the view is much better on the right or upstream side walkway. You have a nice view of Tui and the cathedral on the hill from that side.
 
Great input, thank you all. I think that we have enough time to accommodate up to 120 km (or, of course, whatever that illusive distance is that we actually walk), and I won't think too hard on the actual numbers in any case.
I'd love to just walk and let whatever comes, come, without worrying about distance, itineraries etc.... I do find I need to do a bit of that though, taking into account limited time off from work, limited budget, and of course ensuring that the pace is a comfortable and enjoyable one for my son.
Con emoción!
Anne
 


Ana,

"...whatever comes, come..."

Sounds great!

"...limited time off from work, limited budget..."

UH, OH. I sense opposition and tension.

I, for one, will be interested to hear how this all turns out.

For both you and your son, and the 'pace' you wind up walking:

I am happy for you both.

Peace be with you.

Buen Camino.
 
Last edited:
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Hola Ana
I personally loved walking over the bridge from Caminha to Tui there are markings on the ground showing where Portugal ends and Spain begins so at that point my left foot was in Spain and my right foot was an hour in the difference still in Portugal .
Alan
 

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Sorry I meant Valenca as Caminha was before Valenca
 
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