Magwood
Veteran Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- See signature line for links to daily posts to blogs from many caminos
Many people, like me, start their camino adventure with the Frances route and are immediately 'hooked'. The next year, or a few years down the line, we want to walk again, and look for a different camino. Many of us feel that the Portuguese route seems the obvious next step, but are fazed by some negative reports about the long stages when starting from Lisbon, and opt instead to set off from Porto.
I am not an experienced walker - before training for the Camino Frances last year I had never hiked, nor donned a backpack. But I wanted to walk another camino and the Portuguese route seemed to be calling me. I wasn't restricted by time, and I really wanted to start my next camino at what is considered 'the beginning', but like many others I was nervous about the long stages and the lack of company on the early part of the route.
I posed many questions on this forum from those who had already walked from Lisbon, and eventually decided to go for it.
The main deciding factor was that it had become possible to split the first long stages by using the new 'pick and drop' service. It has been talked about before on this forum, but sometimes these threads drop down the list and get a bit lost from sight. A few good people have developed a system to walk shorter stages from Lisbon to Porto either by making use of the excellent train line that runs close to the route or by using the 'taxi' service established by a few of the hostel owners, who will collect you from a pre-arranged point between stages, and return you there the next day. This way you can walk the full stage, but not necessarily all in one go.
I used Mario's service between Azambuja and Santarém where according to my gps there is a stage of 36 km, the entire second half without any bars or drinking water facilities. This was particularly useful in the very hot weather that I encountered this year. And the bonus was that I got to stay two nights in Mario's fabulous Santarém hostel, which pampers pilgrims with top notch facilities and a bar on the huge terrace.
Another of the issues for some is that there are not many other pilgrims walking from Lisbon. I was actually surprised by how many others were walking this stretch of the camino during the early part of May when I walked. I met people from many countries including Germany, Australia, Canada, USA, Malta, Ireland, Switzerland, Netherlands, Spain. Portugal, Brazil, Denmark, France, Italy, Lithuania - and these were all before reaching Porto. There is nothing like the traffic on the camino Frances, but many would consider this to be a bonus. The route is becoming more popular and I would encourage anyone to try it before it becomes crowded.
Although there are not the elevations on this walk that you encounter on the French way, it is by no means a walk in the park. The dreaded cobbles and the road walking are a challenge in themselves, but the stunning countryside and fabulous forest walks more than make up for the hard surfaces. And the 'friends of the camino' are constantly working towards improving the route. There is a 24 hour telephone helpline for anyone getting into difficulties.
The Portuguese are fabulous people who will try their best to help and provide what you need - the food deserves a thread of its own. And don't get me started on the wonders of the local wine - vinho verde has to be the most refreshing (alcoholic) drink available - so delicious.
In honesty, I am very glad I walked the French route first which gave me the courage to try the Caminho Portuguese from Lisbon (speaking as a female hiking novice who reached sixty this year and has never travelled alone before - I needed a little courage), and I would not hesitate to recommend it.
If you are toying with the idea of starting out from Lisbon, but have any doubts or specific questions, just ask here and you will get some honest replies and support from those of us who have travelled this camino and want others to share its delights.
I blogged daily from my caminho Portuguese this year and if you click on the link below this post you will get a good flavour of what to expect. I am also developing a camino resources page with links to lots of useful information and blogs.
I am not an experienced walker - before training for the Camino Frances last year I had never hiked, nor donned a backpack. But I wanted to walk another camino and the Portuguese route seemed to be calling me. I wasn't restricted by time, and I really wanted to start my next camino at what is considered 'the beginning', but like many others I was nervous about the long stages and the lack of company on the early part of the route.
I posed many questions on this forum from those who had already walked from Lisbon, and eventually decided to go for it.
The main deciding factor was that it had become possible to split the first long stages by using the new 'pick and drop' service. It has been talked about before on this forum, but sometimes these threads drop down the list and get a bit lost from sight. A few good people have developed a system to walk shorter stages from Lisbon to Porto either by making use of the excellent train line that runs close to the route or by using the 'taxi' service established by a few of the hostel owners, who will collect you from a pre-arranged point between stages, and return you there the next day. This way you can walk the full stage, but not necessarily all in one go.
I used Mario's service between Azambuja and Santarém where according to my gps there is a stage of 36 km, the entire second half without any bars or drinking water facilities. This was particularly useful in the very hot weather that I encountered this year. And the bonus was that I got to stay two nights in Mario's fabulous Santarém hostel, which pampers pilgrims with top notch facilities and a bar on the huge terrace.
Another of the issues for some is that there are not many other pilgrims walking from Lisbon. I was actually surprised by how many others were walking this stretch of the camino during the early part of May when I walked. I met people from many countries including Germany, Australia, Canada, USA, Malta, Ireland, Switzerland, Netherlands, Spain. Portugal, Brazil, Denmark, France, Italy, Lithuania - and these were all before reaching Porto. There is nothing like the traffic on the camino Frances, but many would consider this to be a bonus. The route is becoming more popular and I would encourage anyone to try it before it becomes crowded.
Although there are not the elevations on this walk that you encounter on the French way, it is by no means a walk in the park. The dreaded cobbles and the road walking are a challenge in themselves, but the stunning countryside and fabulous forest walks more than make up for the hard surfaces. And the 'friends of the camino' are constantly working towards improving the route. There is a 24 hour telephone helpline for anyone getting into difficulties.
The Portuguese are fabulous people who will try their best to help and provide what you need - the food deserves a thread of its own. And don't get me started on the wonders of the local wine - vinho verde has to be the most refreshing (alcoholic) drink available - so delicious.
In honesty, I am very glad I walked the French route first which gave me the courage to try the Caminho Portuguese from Lisbon (speaking as a female hiking novice who reached sixty this year and has never travelled alone before - I needed a little courage), and I would not hesitate to recommend it.
If you are toying with the idea of starting out from Lisbon, but have any doubts or specific questions, just ask here and you will get some honest replies and support from those of us who have travelled this camino and want others to share its delights.
I blogged daily from my caminho Portuguese this year and if you click on the link below this post you will get a good flavour of what to expect. I am also developing a camino resources page with links to lots of useful information and blogs.
