New Years Eve on the Camino

Here I am again, dreaming of all the Caminos I would love to walk if I had unlimited spare time in my life, such as the Mozarabe which hooks up with the VDLP, but realistically it would appear that the next Camino for me will be the Portuguese again over the christmas break.

Last time I was really surprised at how few pilgrims I met along the way. Maybe people have fear at the prospect of walking a winter Camino, but with temperatures reaching 16 degrees Celsius during the day, it was hardly winter at all!

If all goes to plan, I should be in Valenca for new year's eve. I'm definitely looking forward to revisiting the Portuguese route, it was so beautiful. Only 4 and a half months to go now! ;-)

Hi Margaret,

Yes, I remember the fort last time as I rushed by on the way to Tui after starting that morning from Ponte de Lima. That was a tough day.

I regretted not stopping in Valenca last time, but it's something I will be making amends for in December. Thanks for the info, I'll be sure to check it all out.

Bom Caminho

Well I guess that counts Al!

Last year I found myself in the Albergue in Redondela, with a handful of Brazilians, one Italian and a bottle or 2 (if I remember correctly) of bubbly. They imposed a curfew of 8pm on New Year's Eve, but we didn't have any plans of partying the night away anyway. All we needed was some food which we sourced from the local restaurant while one of us held the door open.

The next morning, we wanted a coffee as per usual and stopped in at a local bar quite early, where it was still pumping with revellers from the night before. So much for the tostadas, we ended up with a couple of churos instead... better than nothing.

Later that morning, my 5 day bout of gastro began... say no more.

Should be starting from Porto on the morning of the 28th Dec., heading for Sao Pedro de Rates . Sao Pedro de Rates to Alto de Portela (Tamel). Alto de Portela (Tamel) to Ponte de Lima. Ponte de Lima to Valenca and so on via the new alternative route Camino de la Costa (ao Salnés).

I promise you guys that I'll take plenty of photos and gather as much information as I can! I'm really looking forward to it!!

Hi

clearskies said:

Hi Herman,
Is this the same Caminho Portuguese that you walked in 2013? Or are you taking a different route?

David

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Hi David,


The coastal route out of Porto would be lovely in good weather, but I don't fancy a face full of sand for most of the first day. That I'll have to leave for another time, preferably not in winter. We'll be going one stop further on the metro from Porto though the first morning before beginning to walk. By getting off at Forum Maia last time, I still had to walk through a bit of nasty industrial area, so I think this time it'll be better to take the other line and get off at Vilar Pinheiro instead. Funny though now that I think of it, I stoped in at a cafe in the industrial area last time and it reminded me of the scene from An American Werewolf in London, when the 2 backpackers stop in at the Slaughtered Lamb Inn in the north of England.

It'll pretty much be the same as last year up until Redondela where I'll be taking the new alternative route. I have to show my wife the Portuguese Camino so it'll be a pleasure stopping in again at the great places I did last year. I've researched the route a little more and will be taking some new GPS tracks to steer me more along the dirt paths for the side-trips listed in the Brierly guide.

Once we reach Padron with the boat, it'll be along the main Portuguese Camino which I kind of missed last time due to my illness. I had to retire early and stay at the Albergue in Valga and then stick to the main roads all the way to Santiago in hope of a Cafe with toilet (not going into detail). I will surely be happy about not staying at the "Albergue" in San Mamede da Portela this time again in winter. Yes, it was better than having to sleep in the rain, but only marginally.

Oh and yes, I nearly forgot, this time I'll be taking some rubber tips for my Leki poles!

Cheers,

The German