Robert Long
Active Member
- Time of past OR future Camino
- Camino Frances Sept 2016
Camino Portuguse Oct 2018
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BobMy grammar school buddies and I finished the Camino Frances last year, all 500 miles. Last week was the one year anniversary of our arrival in Santiago.
We are considering another Camino, but this time the Portuguese Route. I am concerned about accommodations and the amenities we grew accustomed to on the Camino Frances. We are all over 70 so we enjoy a warm shower every night and choose to eat out rather than prepare our own meals. What are your collective experiences walking this route?
Buen Camino
Bob
Did the Francis in '16, Portuguese in'17. The Portuguese is much different; about 80% on paved roads. The pavement and the 4x4 blocks of granite are killers. With that said, the only place we couldn't find a bed was in Azambuja. We waited for 3 hours and no one ever showed up to open the albergue. We then took a train to Santarem. We had no issue with food/coffee places.My grammar school buddies and I finished the Camino Frances last year, all 500 miles. Last week was the one year anniversary of our arrival in Santiago.
We are considering another Camino, but this time the Portuguese Route. I am concerned about accommodations and the amenities we grew accustomed to on the Camino Frances. We are all over 70 so we enjoy a warm shower every night and choose to eat out rather than prepare our own meals. What are your collective experiences walking this route?
Buen Camino
Bob
My grammar school buddies and I finished the Camino Frances last year, all 500 miles. Last week was the one year anniversary of our arrival in Santiago.
We are considering another Camino, but this time the Portuguese Route. I am concerned about accommodations and the amenities we grew accustomed to on the Camino Frances. We are all over 70 so we enjoy a warm shower every night and choose to eat out rather than prepare our own meals. What are your collective experiences walking this route?
Buen Camino
Bob
Which route did you take, the coastal or inland?Did the Francis in '16, Portuguese in'17. The Portuguese is much different; about 80% on paved roads. The pavement and the 4x4 blocks of granite are killers. With that said, the only place we couldn't find a bed was in Azambuja. We waited for 3 hours and no one ever showed up to open the albergue. We then took a train to Santarem. We had no issue with food/coffee places.
Bob
My friend and I (both 62) just finished walking the Camino Portuguese October 2; we also walked Frances 2 years ago. The coastal route is beautiful- we started in Porto and walked out of the city meaning we didn't take the metro. We carried our packs which provided flexibility and we didn't have any problems finding accommodations. There are not as many albergues as you are used to but there were some nice little hotels ,(45 euro for 2). Also it is not as well marked as you are also used to so one morning leaving Apulia for Esposende we walked for 4.5 km and went in a big circle, or so it seemed, ended up on a busy roadway, saw a bus stop and hopped on...1.5 km down the road the markers began again, we hopped off and continued through Esposende. The walks are very different but both great experiences.
In case Alpriate is closed there is an obvious shortcut to Alverca. I marked it in caminhomap.comYou won't have a problem finding a bed, hot shower and a meal (with much better food and wine than the usual C.F. pilgrim meal). We walked all the way from Lisbon to Santiago in April. We used mostly albergues but the odd cheap hotel occasionally. There's enough facilities on the CP, just sometimes you have one bar instead of three.
Think of it this way;
Frances = second bar is always best.
Portuguese = there is no second bar.
Maybe a bit of an exaggeration but you get the idea.
I recommend staying in Alpriate about 20km out of Lisbon the first night.
You can check out our experience on our FB page....
https://www.facebook.com/Jackie.Craig.Adventures/
My husband and I are also planning to do the Portuguese way next year Sept. Both in our 70's. We have done the Francis twice before. We prefer to stay in albergues as we are on a tight budget and like staying and eating with the other pilgrims. We would prefer to not walk more than 15\17 km a day. Will this be possible on the Portuguese? How far apart are the cheaper acommodations/albergues? And also, will we be able to take public transport if it is too far apart?
My grammar school buddies and I finished the Camino Frances last year, all 500 miles. Last week was the one year anniversary of our arrival in Santiago.
We are considering another Camino, but this time the Camino Portuguese Route. I am concerned about accommodations and the amenities we grew accustomed to on the Camino Frances. We are all over 70 so we enjoy a warm shower every night and choose to eat out rather than prepare our own meals. What are your collective experiences walking this route?
Buen Camino
Bob
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