November --Porto to Santiago

[GerryO]

I am planning to start from Porto on the 6th or 7th of November. Have rain gear and I'm not expecting warmth. Have open comfy walkers (did me on Camino Frances last October) and good Solomon gore-tex walkers for the wet and a great light rain poncho! Can anyone tell me what to expect for weather during mid November, and are the pilgrim accommodations open along the way in November? Thank you for any help! Gerry O

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hi Gerry - I don't think you'll have any problem with albergues being open although in saying that sometimes when numbers are lower they close to get work done etc. The albergue at Rates is run by extremely helpful people who are very knowledgeable about the route - e mail them if you want reassurance or on the ground information. http://www.alberguederates.com/

I've walked in mid November and the weather can be unpredictable - you may be lucky and never wear your rain gear and have to buy sun lotion or you may have lots of rain. You sound as if you have the right gear so I wouldn't worry.

Let us know how you get on.

Buen Camino

John

 

[GerryO]

Thank you John

I will prepare for rain and hope for sun. I am assuming that the best spot to get my "Papers" will be at the Cathedral in Porto? I will contact the Albergue at Rates for more "ground" information.

Last fall was a busy year for the Camino Frances and there was always plenty of traffic on the trail. I am imagining the Camino Portuguese will be a little less busy given the time of year.

I will try to post along the way. Thanks again!

 

[JohnnieWalker]

Hola - yes, credenciales can be obtained at the Cathedral. Although a much quieter time of the year I am sure you will meet at least some other pilgrims on the route.

Preparing for rain and hoping for sun is a good motto for all of us!

Buen Camino

John

 

[GerryO]

Worries about weather were, as usual, in vain. Left Porto November 8th and arrived in Santiago on the 17th. 10 days of walking 3 partial days of rain and temperatures motley between 15 and 20C. Unlike the experience of the Magi as depicted by TS Eliot, this was a very good time of year for a journey, uncrowded, hospitable towns with helpful generous inhabitants.

Loved the Roman roads!

Here is my offering to the Way, along Ancient Roman Roads

Gerry Owen


The Way
On Ancient Roman Roads

Who placed this stone?
The nut brown one, I mean
All the rest are pink tinged granite
On this ancient Roman Via
North of Point de Lima

And just how many oak leaves
Wet and withered from a season’s work
Translating the constant sun into food
Then dying, just in time for the dormancy of winter
Have come to rest in this Ancient Way?

And just how many winters?
Since a boy (perhaps)
Learning the noble trade of road craft
Picked this singular brown stone to place amidst the pink granite
Laid in the high centre where no wagon
Or chariot wheel would wear it down

Are we like the paving stones?
Some placed in the path of the Chariot wheel
To be used up early, after maybe only a century or two
While others of us hide in the center
The unworn, mostly unused places of the Via
Of the Way?

For what shall I pray?
For the long unburdened life of the untrodden stone
Or the intense short and useful life
Of the stone that bears the weight and wear
Of the Master’s chariot?

Gerald Owen
November 2011