Karl Oz
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Via Francigena (2023)
I completed the CP almost two weeks ago - 10 days between Porto and Santiago. My last Camino was 3 years ago on the Frances, and there were some marked differences.
I chose to walk out of Porto through the northern suburbs, and consequently spent the first two days on concrete footpaths and granite cobblestones, The result was blisters and pain in the feet, knees and hips. I had never had first day blisters before, and never any joint pain at all. The third day was mostly on only slightly more forgiving ashpalt, with a few dirt paths. So for what it is worth, I recommend taking either the metro as far north as possible, or utilising the coastal route. There is nothing very interesting to see walking through the suburbs and satellite communities. You will also avoid some frankly dangerous stretches where you are obliged to share the road with traffic. Twice I was caught on a road bordered by high stone walls, with only a very narrow drainage culvert providing any safety. Each time I sought the culvert and pressed myself against the stone wall while a truck passed by barely 18 inches from my face. There is no place for traffic and pedestrians on the same thoroughfare, so I hope some effort will be made by the local community to somehow re-route sections of the Way in this area.
Things improved after a night at the lovely monastery at Vairao.
A surprise awaited at the albergue at Porte de Lima, where a queue of pilgrims was turned away when the place was announced as full. It transpired that people had booked ahead, even using Booking.com. This was new to me, as during the CF the idea of booking ahead was scarcely considered, and actually not necessary, since there always seemed to be something available somewhere. However, I suppose this is a fact of life on the Camino nowadays, and the availability of mobile phones makes it an easy task. Two other pilgrims and I hurriedly found a 3* hotel room to share, and that was fortuitous as it comprised the basis of a small band of wonderful fellow-pilgrims with whom I walked the remainder of the Way to Santiago. The group expanded to 6, and having learned our lesson, we always booked ahead for our night's accommodation. I thought it not quite so romantic as just arriving and finding something, but on the other hand there is nothing romantic about searching in the failing light for a place to stay.
That leads to my other main observation, which is that in my opinion there is insufficient infrastructure north of Porto to support the number of pilgrims. I didn't think the route was crowded; indeed, I was expecting hordes, having read other posts about the issue earlier this year. Not so. It was just that in some places there were insufficient beds for the relatively moderate number of pilgrims, and nothing in the immediate vicinity further down the track that was available. At one place we begged the albergue operator to take late arriving pilgrims and let them sleep on a couch/on the floor/in the laundry because we knew there was nowhere else for them to go.
No tour groups or bad behaviour mentioned in a post this week was in evidence , but that may have been a matter of luck in timing. Almost to a person the pilgrims we met were happy, kind and supportive.
The CP is very different to the CF but I am at a loss to describe exactly how. Pretty countryside once out of Porto and nice local people everywhere. We were even offered grapes as they were being harvested! Some places like Tui and Valenca are also very interesting and picturesque. So it is a Camino well-worth considering. Just avoid that walk north out of Porto....
I chose to walk out of Porto through the northern suburbs, and consequently spent the first two days on concrete footpaths and granite cobblestones, The result was blisters and pain in the feet, knees and hips. I had never had first day blisters before, and never any joint pain at all. The third day was mostly on only slightly more forgiving ashpalt, with a few dirt paths. So for what it is worth, I recommend taking either the metro as far north as possible, or utilising the coastal route. There is nothing very interesting to see walking through the suburbs and satellite communities. You will also avoid some frankly dangerous stretches where you are obliged to share the road with traffic. Twice I was caught on a road bordered by high stone walls, with only a very narrow drainage culvert providing any safety. Each time I sought the culvert and pressed myself against the stone wall while a truck passed by barely 18 inches from my face. There is no place for traffic and pedestrians on the same thoroughfare, so I hope some effort will be made by the local community to somehow re-route sections of the Way in this area.
Things improved after a night at the lovely monastery at Vairao.
A surprise awaited at the albergue at Porte de Lima, where a queue of pilgrims was turned away when the place was announced as full. It transpired that people had booked ahead, even using Booking.com. This was new to me, as during the CF the idea of booking ahead was scarcely considered, and actually not necessary, since there always seemed to be something available somewhere. However, I suppose this is a fact of life on the Camino nowadays, and the availability of mobile phones makes it an easy task. Two other pilgrims and I hurriedly found a 3* hotel room to share, and that was fortuitous as it comprised the basis of a small band of wonderful fellow-pilgrims with whom I walked the remainder of the Way to Santiago. The group expanded to 6, and having learned our lesson, we always booked ahead for our night's accommodation. I thought it not quite so romantic as just arriving and finding something, but on the other hand there is nothing romantic about searching in the failing light for a place to stay.
That leads to my other main observation, which is that in my opinion there is insufficient infrastructure north of Porto to support the number of pilgrims. I didn't think the route was crowded; indeed, I was expecting hordes, having read other posts about the issue earlier this year. Not so. It was just that in some places there were insufficient beds for the relatively moderate number of pilgrims, and nothing in the immediate vicinity further down the track that was available. At one place we begged the albergue operator to take late arriving pilgrims and let them sleep on a couch/on the floor/in the laundry because we knew there was nowhere else for them to go.
No tour groups or bad behaviour mentioned in a post this week was in evidence , but that may have been a matter of luck in timing. Almost to a person the pilgrims we met were happy, kind and supportive.
The CP is very different to the CF but I am at a loss to describe exactly how. Pretty countryside once out of Porto and nice local people everywhere. We were even offered grapes as they were being harvested! Some places like Tui and Valenca are also very interesting and picturesque. So it is a Camino well-worth considering. Just avoid that walk north out of Porto....