Raymond Aquilina
Ray
- Time of past OR future Camino
- FRuture: Camino Sureste (2022)
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Between Tomar and Alvaiazère is nothing in between. You walk partly through the mountains but from Tonar after about 25 kms with a small detour of about 2 kms in Relvas is quinta Catarina. Tel. +352 236 636 314 I do not know what it isl like and what the costs are . from there it is 6 kms to Alvaiazère where we stayed in pensão O Bras. Excellent place with a good restaurant. A little bit further on , nearby the bombeiros volontarios is an albergue too.
The church in middle of the village has a very special stamp for your credential.go for that one . It is pressed in the paper by a very antique kind of machine ! When we where there at saturday the church opended at 18h00 .oposite is a farmacy in case you will have blisters and need something to cure.
Next hike you can split up in two Alvaiazère to Ansião and Ansião to Rabaçal
In Ansião we stayed in hotel Adega Típica. Nice place to stay with good restaurant. During a little stroll at night we passed an old church , looked at it and at once a lady came out a bar oposite , said something to us..??? And came up with a key, opended the door and we had to go in whetter we wanted or not. Nice church by the way.
Hope you are luckier as we were if you to stay in Adega Típica We were there at sunday and the scoccer team of Ansião-what ever it may be - won the world cup or championship of the areabut untill deep in the night fans were celebrating olé olé olé underneath the window where we slept and drank the complete stock of aguardente, cerveja , vinho etc. As we noticed next morning on the streets filled with empty bottles.
In Rabaçal we stayed in the albergue.
Entering Rabaçal is a roundabout and just after at the right side is a bar.
When we were there ,they only sold beer, lemonade, cheese, cheese and cheese. No more.it seemed there was a restaurant somewhere but this was closed (monday)
The owner of the bar asked. Did you call ? Você chamou ? .....? Não ,não chamei ! No I did not ? Who must I call ? Shall I call he said ... ..??? So after finishing our cheese we went on and saw a kind of groceryshop ...we bought a bottle of water and the lady asked. Você chamou ? No I did not call... Eu vou chamar. . I will call.. It seemed you had to call a phone numberand a lady showed up and opened the albergue..
Next morning the cheese bar served us a nice breakfast with cheese and coffee.Very kind people.
So we walked to Cernache where is a school, Colegio da Inmaculada Conceição where you can sleep for free during the weekdays in a house with bunkbeds, and warm showers, toilets. Give them a call on before hand +352 239 940 630 so the concierge knows you are coming. At the administration you get your stamp.
The gate closes at 21h00 so you have to be inside. At 8h00 you are supposed to leave when the students come in. oposite the gate is a kind of bar/ restaurant for a snack and your breakfast.
The concierge only speaks portugese but no worry. It is a nice person, you will have a good laugh and you will be surrounded by many students who will find out how good their english skills are by translating everything the congierce says to you and vice versa. Great place to be.
From there are 12 kms in Coimbra
Muito sorte e bom caminho
You are most welcome. You could take a bus from the Tomar station for about 10 kms . Near the station stand several lines .I remember I heard a bus to Alvaiazère goes every 2 or 3 hours you could go off the bus in f.ex. Solanda or Calvinos and walk from there. Through the dense woods Saint James can't see you cheeting from aboveThank you Albertinho for your useful post.
As you have written the part beween Tomar and Alvaiazere is limited of facilities and maybe it is more worth walking to Alvazaiare than detouring to quinta Caterina (which according to Brierley is invariably closed).
The rest of the journey to Coimbra can easily be split up as there are various facilities in most towns along the way.
I will keep note about the places you stayed at. These are all mentioned in brierly's book however it very useful to have first hand infromation about them from the actual traveler.
I will also remember the stamp from Alvaiazare church!
Kind regards,
Ray
Between Tomar and Alvaiazère is nothing in between. You walk partly through the mountains but from Tonar after about 25 kms with a small detour of about 2 kms in Relvas is quinta Catarina. Tel. +352 236 636 314 I do not know what it isl like and what the costs are . from there it is 6 kms to Alvaiazère where we stayed in pensão O Bras. Excellent place with a good restaurant. A little bit further on , nearby the bombeiros volontarios is an albergue too.
The church in middle of the village has a very special stamp for your credential.go for that one . It is pressed in the paper by a very antique kind of machine ! When we where there at saturday the church opended at 18h00 .oposite is a farmacy in case you will have blisters and need something to cure.
Next hike you can split up in two Alvaiazère to Ansião and Ansião to Rabaçal
In Ansião we stayed in hotel Adega Típica. Nice place to stay with good restaurant. During a little stroll at night we passed an old church , looked at it and at once a lady came out a bar oposite , said something to us..??? And came up with a key, opended the door and we had to go in whetter we wanted or not. Nice church by the way.
Hope you are luckier as we were if you to stay in Adega Típica We were there at sunday and the scoccer team of Ansião-what ever it may be - won the world cup or championship of the areabut untill deep in the night fans were celebrating olé olé olé underneath the window where we slept and drank the complete stock of aguardente, cerveja , vinho etc. As we noticed next morning on the streets filled with empty bottles.
In Rabaçal we stayed in the albergue.
Entering Rabaçal is a roundabout and just after at the right side is a bar.
When we were there ,they only sold beer, lemonade, cheese, cheese and cheese. No more.it seemed there was a restaurant somewhere but this was closed (monday)
The owner of the bar asked. Did you call ? Você chamou ? .....? Não ,não chamei ! No I did not ? Who must I call ? Shall I call he said ... ..??? So after finishing our cheese we went on and saw a kind of groceryshop ...we bought a bottle of water and the lady asked. Você chamou ? No I did not call... Eu vou chamar. . I will call.. It seemed you had to call a phone numberand a lady showed up and opened the albergue..
Next morning the cheese bar served us a nice breakfast with cheese and coffee.Very kind people.
So we walked to Cernache where is a school, Colegio da Inmaculada Conceição where you can sleep for free during the weekdays in a house with bunkbeds, and warm showers, toilets. Give them a call on before hand +352 239 940 630 so the concierge knows you are coming. At the administration you get your stamp.
The gate closes at 21h00 so you have to be inside. At 8h00 you are supposed to leave when the students come in. oposite the gate is a kind of bar/ restaurant for a snack and your breakfast.
The concierge only speaks portugese but no worry. It is a nice person, you will have a good laugh and you will be surrounded by many students who will find out how good their english skills are by translating everything the congierce says to you and vice versa. Great place to be.
From there are 12 kms in Coimbra
Muito sorte e bom caminho
I am so sorry Laurie. I allready posted this kind of things earlier together with amorfati1 (Claudia ) here on the Portugese forum. I thought this was in july 2014. I do not know how to copy the link of the post. Maybe somebody can give me the clue !Hey, Albertinho, I think you've been withholding some important update information from me.I will go to my revisions to add some of this.
I am so sorry Laurie. I allready posted this kind of things earlier together with amorfati1 (Claudia ) here on the Portugese forum. I thought this was in july 2014. I do not know how to copy the link of the post. Maybe somebody can give me the clue !
I read yoyr document, even followed it with the Brierley guide in my hand but could not give you more corrections than some typos.
Maybe I can post the places we have been, also for Raymond Aquillo eventually with some anecdotes. So you can use the information if you haven't this allready.
good morning Ray -Dear Forum members,
I am, currently planning my Camino Portuguese and would like some help with the part between Tomar and Coimbra. Brierley's book allows for for this part three whole days with Tomar/Alvaiazere - 31.3 km, Alvaiazere/Rabacal - 32.5km, Rabacal/Coimbra - 29.5km.
Since I have an extra day I would like to split this part into four days. In this way I will have shorter distances of approx 23kms each day. Could anyone suggest possible alternatives ? I note that the part between Tomar and Alvaiazere has least accommodation on the way.
Thank you and Buen Camino
Ray
quite so - info happily shared way back when ... July 2014 is right.I am so sorry Laurie. I allready posted this kind of things earlier together with amorfati1 (Claudia ) here on the Portugese forum. I thought this was in july 2014. I do not know how to copy the link of the post. Maybe somebody can give me the clue !
I read yoyr document, even followed it with the Brierley guide in my hand but could not give you more corrections than some typos.
Maybe I can post the places we have been, also for Raymond Aquillo eventually with some anecdotes. So you can use the information if you haven't this allready.
You get it dear Laurie. You know you are special to us.. Every time I look at our Compostelas it reminds us to you sitting behind the desk of the pilgrims office and wrote our names upon them.I was REALLY just joking. I do want to add some of the opinions you put in this thread, though, because I always like to have as many first hand opinions as possible. L.
...
From there to Valença do Minho. We could not find the albergue so stayed in hotel Val Flores just oposite the medieval fortress Being at the fortress you have a beautiful view over the river Minho, the famous bridge built by Eiffel and Tuí at the Spanish side....
Yes casa Turismo it was.I thought was the same entrance as the museum. .good morning Ray -
Albertinho already gave good pointers. Which gives an easy insight into my impression/experience than there is much more to any camino than what one finds in guidebooks, biereley and otherwise.
from TOMAR i made use of the ride-out-of-town service offered by the Hostal 2300 in Tomar. that way the very pretty walk to Alvaiazere shortened nicely to 23km or thereabouts.
There I stayed at a new private albergue next to the church "Pinheiro", had a late lunch @ O Bras, quite good.
In Ansiao I stayed at the Adega Tipica and quite liked it. Seems like i lucked out w/ the football fans, there were only a few, even though i stayed there on a sunday as well.
In Rabacal I stayed at the Casa Turismo, next to the museum.
more info as well here @ this link:
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...-on-caminho-portuguese-w-images-part-i.27901/
very wise for opting for shorter stages ...no need to rush and push on
bom caminho!!!
good morning Ray -
Albertinho already gave good pointers. Which gives an easy insight into my impression/experience than there is much more to any camino than what one finds in guidebooks, biereley and otherwise.
from TOMAR i made use of the ride-out-of-town service offered by the Hostal 2300 in Tomar. that way the very pretty walk to Alvaiazere shortened nicely to 23km or thereabouts.
There I stayed at a new private albergue next to the church "Pinheiro", had a late lunch @ O Bras, quite good.
In Ansiao I stayed at the Adega Tipica and quite liked it. Seems like i lucked out w/ the football fans, there were only a few, even though i stayed there on a sunday as well.
In Rabacal I stayed at the Casa Turismo, next to the museum.
more info as well here @ this link:
https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...-on-caminho-portuguese-w-images-part-i.27901/
very wise for opting for shorter stages ...no need to rush and push on
bom caminho!!!
Another one in our memory was the Sanctuario de Nossa Senhora do Socorro just outside Albergaría-a-Velha. A retaîte house where nuns take care of you. I thought we paid 3€ each had a lunch , diner and breakfast. Bunkbeds ,shower etc. Beautiful environs and a beautiful view because you are on top of a hill
Hi, Albertinho, I didn't have this information, so I've put it in the guide and am going to go back over all the pre-Porto comments to make sure I have the rest. Thanks very much for the updates, Laurie
ola ! glad you are finding the thread posting helpful! it's indeed fun to explore.I find this tread very helpful and all the posts have given me a lot of further information how things are done on this route. I thank everyone for the input.
I this way I have already formed a good opinion about the most poular/ best places to stay. However I am not sure if its right to book beforehand as such hostels generally have limited number of beds.
Any opinion about this point?
buen camino,
and best regards,
Ray
how was the cheese? lolBetween Tomar and Alvaiazère is nothing in between. You walk partly through the mountains but from Tonar after about 25 kms with a small detour of about 2 kms in Relvas is quinta Catarina. Tel. +352 236 636 314 I do not know what it isl like and what the costs are . from there it is 6 kms to Alvaiazère where we stayed in pensão O Bras. Excellent place with a good restaurant. A little bit further on , nearby the bombeiros volontarios is an albergue too.
The church in middle of the village has a very special stamp for your credential.go for that one . It is pressed in the paper by a very antique kind of machine ! When we where there at saturday the church opended at 18h00 .oposite is a farmacy in case you will have blisters and need something to cure.
Next hike you can split up in two Alvaiazère to Ansião and Ansião to Rabaçal
In Ansião we stayed in hotel Adega Típica. Nice place to stay with good restaurant. During a little stroll at night we passed an old church , looked at it and at once a lady came out a bar oposite , said something to us..??? And came up with a key, opended the door and we had to go in whetter we wanted or not. Nice church by the way.
Hope you are luckier as we were if you to stay in Adega Típica We were there at sunday and the scoccer team of Ansião-what ever it may be - won the world cup or championship of the areabut untill deep in the night fans were celebrating olé olé olé underneath the window where we slept and drank the complete stock of aguardente, cerveja , vinho etc. As we noticed next morning on the streets filled with empty bottles.
In Rabaçal we stayed in the albergue.
Entering Rabaçal is a roundabout and just after at the right side is a bar.
When we were there ,they only sold beer, lemonade, cheese, cheese and cheese. No more.it seemed there was a restaurant somewhere but this was closed (monday)
The owner of the bar asked. Did you call ? Você chamou ? .....? Não ,não chamei ! No I did not ? Who must I call ? Shall I call he said ... ..??? So after finishing our cheese we went on and saw a kind of groceryshop ...we bought a bottle of water and the lady asked. Você chamou ? No I did not call... Eu vou chamar. . I will call.. It seemed you had to call a phone numberand a lady showed up and opened the albergue..
Next morning the cheese bar served us a nice breakfast with cheese and coffee.Very kind people.
So we walked to Cernache where is a school, Colegio da Inmaculada Conceição where you can sleep for free during the weekdays in a house with bunkbeds, and warm showers, toilets. Give them a call on before hand +352 239 940 630 so the concierge knows you are coming. At the administration you get your stamp.
The gate closes at 21h00 so you have to be inside. At 8h00 you are supposed to leave when the students come in. oposite the gate is a kind of bar/ restaurant for a snack and your breakfast.
The concierge only speaks portugese but no worry. It is a nice person, you will have a good laugh and you will be surrounded by many students who will find out how good their english skills are by translating everything the congierce says to you and vice versa. Great place to be.
From there are 12 kms in Coimbra
Muito sorte e bom caminho
You are most welcome. You could take a bus from the Tomar station for about 10 kms . Near the station stand several lines .I remember I heard a bus to Alvaiazère goes every 2 or 3 hours you could go off the bus in f.ex. Solanda or Calvinos and walk from there. Through the dense woods Saint James can't see you cheeting from above
After Coimbra do not forget Hilario's albergue in Mealhada/Serdanello where you can enjoy a common diner with other pilgrims together. As far I know this is the only place you can do this together with casa da Fernanda further on between Barcelos and Ponte de Lima.
We liked it very much at Hilario's. Had a nice room with a double bed but there were also were rooms with 4 beds.
Another one in our memory was the Sanctuario de Nossa Senhora do Socorro just outside Albergaría-a-Velha. A retaîte house where nuns take care of you. I thought we paid 3€ each had a lunch , diner and breakfast. Bunkbeds ,shower etc. Beautiful environs and a beautiful view because you are on top of a hill
Leaving Albergarìa after 3 kms is a big Maria statue. To the right on top of a steep hill is the sanctuary.
In Oliveira de Azemeís we had the most filthy hostal, Anacleto. Keep far away from it. Disgusting. . If you want to stay in that place choose hotel Dighton for safety.
Solar in São Joáo da Madeiro was a good place to stay.
Bom caminho
Thank you Albertinho, I really appreciate the information - I suspect St James is ok with this plan tooOlá Albertinho , what about Vila Verde with it´s Albergue Heart Way Pilgrim House (donativo) ? As I remember, it´s about 20 km from Tomar.
Bom caminho, Rainer
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