Hi all,
I am Kristof from Belgium and I have been scouting this forum the last 2 months because I was planning to walk the Camino Portugese from Porto in mid May. This will be my first Camino!
I have been seriously confused about the footwear question and eventually bought Hanwag Canyon Wide boots 3 weeks ago which gave me a lot pain in my heel leading to not so healthy tendons. After going back to the shop the gave me support soles and that seemed a lot better although my tendons are still recuperating. A few days ago I had the first walk without pain, just sensitivity in the parts of tendons that are healing. Now I am doing a 3 day retreat so my feet are getting the necessary rest.
I have size 42 and they gave me a size 42,5. I asked them if I shouldn’t buy a larger size and they insisted that this was not necessary. I walk comfortably with my boots now but I am still worried my feet will swell to gigantic ones in some magical ways in the Camino. Does this need to be so? DO you really need so much space in your boots that you buy them 1-2 sizes larger?
I intend to walk from Porto to Vila do Conde and then back inland according to the guide from Cordial Rabe. I think this is a fairly standard route.
The issues with my feet caused me to loose time so I am not the best prepared. I might delay the Camino with one week(as I haven’t book any tickets yet) just to prepare more.
Some other questions:
# Should I feel guilty if I take the metro from Porto centre to Matosinhos to shorten the first day to 20 kms? Can I still get a stamp in Vila de Conde and on the way back to the inland route? Or is this part not an official part of the route to get a compostela?
# Do you need to get 2 stamps every day? What about a rest day?
# Is a sleeping bag necessary? I don’t want to get fleas or bed bugs ;-)
# Do most of you buy a bread and picknick on the road?
# Is it super busy on the Portuguese as it apparently is on the Frances? Because I would feel more comfortable if I know I’ll find a sleeping place every night without having to book in advance.
Thanks for reading. I am looking forward to get some feedback from you guys!
In addition to
@Ahhhs you need to collect two stamps a day if you walk the last 100 km in your situation from Tui in Spain. Go to albergues, churches, gemeentehuizen,
bars etc .etc. enough chances to get your credential full of stamps (in Portugues carimbo-in Spanish sello)
If you should be in Portugal or Galicia now you should need a sleepingbag. It is very cold and wet now here but they predict better wetter from next week friday. We are in the center now around Coimbra at an altitude of about 600 meters and it is freezing here.
We walked three times in Portugal and Galicia and never encountered bedbugs or fleas. But it allways can happen !
You can buy your breakfast at bars, bakeryshops (paderia in Portuguese-Panaderia in Spanish) and restaurants (in Portugal pequeno almoço or café da manha). We pay about 2€50 for a breakfast in Portugal. Coffee or tea brwad, tooadt or croissant with jam(confitura)
From about 14h 00 most Portuguese and Spaniards use a hot meal in a restaurant. In Portuguese "prata do dia" in Spain menu del dia Only on weekdays ! The day before yesterday we had a prata do dia in Viseu. 7€ per person inclusive a drink, a soup and a main dish ,chicken with rice and vegies. In Spain it is slightly more expensive. About 10 €. A coffee in Portugal is around 0,65 €.
You will find a place to sleep everywhere in Portugal. In Spain it is getting bussier from Tui because lots of Spaniards start there to walk the last 100 kms and obtain the Compostela certificate (good for their CV !
But there is no bed race like on the
camino Frances
Last weeks we some hundreds of pilgrims in Pamplona and Burgos on our way to Portugal.
Here today we only saw a group of Portuguese pilgrims walking direction Fátima.
Don't forget to stay at
casa da Fernanda in Vitorino de Piaës between Barcelos and Ponte de Lima The best "albergue"on the entire caminho Português from Porto. And forget the albergue in Redondela but walk 3 kms further to Cessantes where is -well waymarked-the refúxio de la Jérezana. Far better than Redondela
Bom caminho