Alert WARNING - indecent exposure leaving Ponte Lima 5 Jan 2024

[Tahikiwi]

I am a solo female traveller. I do not want to frighten anyone by sharing my experience but I am sharing so others following me can make plans and decisions.

Over the bridge in Ponte de Lima I thought the arrows took me to walk along a small river edge. I walked along here for about 10 minutes before it became flooded. I jumped across the river into a field area that had a lot of scrub and what seems to be a path. I couldn’t get through the scrub and as I turned around to backtrack I saw a man I had passed as I had come over the bridge. He had followed me, he had his penis out of his pants and when he noticed I had seen him he started masturbating. I phoned 112 immediately and started running to get away from him. It was an extremely frightening experience because I was isolated and alone. I ran to the nearest road, about 400mtrs away. The police came and I lodged a report.

That evening the host of the Albergue I stayed in said it had happened “many” times before and that she had had a number of upset and frightened pilgrims with the same story.

I have marked on the map where I first saw the man and the X is where it happened. As you can see the path is not by the river but the arrows were.

I refuse to allow this experience to damage my Camino and I have chosen not to give it any energy. I did however feel a responsibility to warn others. Stay safe.
P.s police were fantastic, don’t hesitate to call if you need to

 

[Luka]

Oh my... I am so sorry for you! And thanks on behalf of all female pilgrims to report this dickhead to the police.

¡Buen Camino, peregrina! Enjoy and stay safe.

 

[Sue127]

Totally agree with @Luka So sorry you had to witness this but hats off to you for reporting and going forward with such a positive attitude. Buen Camino, you have my respect and best wishes.

 

[lvf]

What a terrifying experience for you. Thank you for letting us all know , and thank you for reporting it to the Police. You’ve handled this horrible experience in the bravest and most responsible way possible. I hope you heal quickly from this and reap strength and joy from the rest of your Camino.

 

[truenorthpilgrm]

That evening the host of the Albergue I stayed in said it had happened “many” times before and that she had had a number of upset and frightened pilgrims with the same story.

Ooof, that's troubling ...how many pilgrims and how long has this occurred? I hope the albergue host helped those frightened pilgrims file police reports.

Regardless, thank you for filing a report and alerting us.

 

[Shazzza]

I am a solo female traveller. I do not want to frighten anyone by sharing my experience but I am sharing so others following me can make plans and decisions.

Over the bridge in Ponte de Lima I thought the arrows took me to walk along a small river edge. I walked along here for about 10 minutes before it became flooded. I jumped across the river into a field area that had a lot of scrub and what seems to be a path. I couldn’t get through the scrub and as I turned around to backtrack I saw a man I had passed as I had come over the bridge. He had followed me, he had his penis out of his pants and when he noticed I had seen him he started masturbating. I phoned 112 immediately and started running to get away from him. It was an extremely frightening experience because I was isolated and alone. I ran to the nearest road, about 400mtrs away. The police came and I lodged a report.

That evening the host of the Albergue I stayed in said it had happened “many” times before and that she had had a number of upset and frightened pilgrims with the same story.View attachment 161874

I have marked on the map where I first saw the man and the X is where it happened. As you can see the path is not by the river but the arrows were.

I refuse to allow this experience to damage my Camino and I have chosen not to give it any energy. I did however feel a responsibility to warn others. Stay safe.
P.s police were fantastic, don’t hesitate to call if you need to

Disgusting and disturbing. I’m so sorry you experienced this. Thank you for sharing!! And thank you for involving the police! Sending you good vibes and calm for the rest of your journey.

 

[peregrina2000]

@Tahikiwi, first of all, I just want to add to the sentiment that we are sorry that you had to experience this disgusting incident. But also I want to send thanks to you for having reported it to the police, that is such an important step.

I hope the hospitalera encourages all peregrinas to report these incidents to the police. Building a record creates a sort of drum beat that gives the police some more to go on. It surely sounds like this is one man, used to stalking solo women on this stretch. I know that the Spanish police take these reports very seriously. Though they are not likely to have the sanction of the criminal law system to use against the perp, you can be sure that more reporting will intensify their efforts to find and deal with him.

For me, having experienced this at least 8 times on the Francés and the Norte, I remember the sense of disgust that took a while to shake. But the Camino is a great place to recuperate your sense of well-being, and it seems like you are well on your way to that, so congrats!

Wishing you a very buen camino from here on in, Laurie

 

[MaineSally]

I echo everyone’s sentiments! Continue to be vigilant and safe!

Buen Camino!

 

[henrythedog]

I am a solo female traveller. I do not want to frighten anyone by sharing my experience but I am sharing so others following me can make plans and decisions.

Over the bridge in Ponte de Lima I thought the arrows took me to walk along a small river edge. I walked along here for about 10 minutes before it became flooded. I jumped across the river into a field area that had a lot of scrub and what seems to be a path. I couldn’t get through the scrub and as I turned around to backtrack I saw a man I had passed as I had come over the bridge. He had followed me, he had his penis out of his pants and when he noticed I had seen him he started masturbating. I phoned 112 immediately and started running to get away from him. It was an extremely frightening experience because I was isolated and alone. I ran to the nearest road, about 400mtrs away. The police came and I lodged a report.

That evening the host of the Albergue I stayed in said it had happened “many” times before and that she had had a number of upset and frightened pilgrims with the same story.View attachment 161874

I have marked on the map where I first saw the man and the X is where it happened. As you can see the path is not by the river but the arrows were.

I refuse to allow this experience to damage my Camino and I have chosen not to give it any energy. I did however feel a responsibility to warn others. Stay safe.
P.s police were fantastic, don’t hesitate to call if you need to

I and - I am certain - the overwhelming majority of men ( as well as women, obviously) are appalled at this outrageous behaviour.

Thank you for taking the time to make a report to the policía and I hope you have a great Camino experience from now on.

 

[David Tallan]

I know that the Spanish police take these reports very seriously. Though they are not likely to have the sanction of the criminal law system to use against the perp, you can be sure that more reporting will intensify their efforts to find and deal with him.

I hope and expect that the Portuguese police take the matter with equal seriousness, as the Spanish police don't have jurisdiction in the area round Ponte de Lima.

 

[peregrina2000]

I hope and expect that the Portuguese police take the matter with equal seriousness, as the Spanish police don't have jurisdiction in the area round Ponte de Lima.

Oh, dang, @David. Of course I know that. So sorry to have messed up. Thanks for the correction. We have seen some reports of region-wide police efforts to enhance female safety on the caminho in Portugal, but I don’t have the same amount of personal knowledge about Portugal as I do about Spain.

 

[Luka]

For me, having experienced this at least 8 times on the Francés and the Norte, I remember the sense of disgust that took a while to shake.

My goodness... incredible that you had to go through this 8 times already...
I wish you a very buen camino too, peregrina!

 

[AidaYYC]

I am a solo female traveller. I do not want to frighten anyone by sharing my experience but I am sharing so others following me can make plans and decisions.

Over the bridge in Ponte de Lima I thought the arrows took me to walk along a small river edge. I walked along here for about 10 minutes before it became flooded. I jumped across the river into a field area that had a lot of scrub and what seems to be a path. I couldn’t get through the scrub and as I turned around to backtrack I saw a man I had passed as I had come over the bridge. He had followed me, he had his penis out of his pants and when he noticed I had seen him he started masturbating. I phoned 112 immediately and started running to get away from him. It was an extremely frightening experience because I was isolated and alone. I ran to the nearest road, about 400mtrs away. The police came and I lodged a report.

That evening the host of the Albergue I stayed in said it had happened “many” times before and that she had had a number of upset and frightened pilgrims with the same story.View attachment 161874

I have marked on the map where I first saw the man and the X is where it happened. As you can see the path is not by the river but the arrows were.

I refuse to allow this experience to damage my Camino and I have chosen not to give it any energy. I did however feel a responsibility to warn others. Stay safe.
P.s police were fantastic, don’t hesitate to call if you need to

 

[Tahikiwi]

I hope and expect that the Portuguese police take the matter with equal seriousness, as the Spanish police don't have jurisdiction in the area round Ponte de Lima.

In my opinion they did. They showed me photos, they went to check a suspicious car in the area whilst I waited, I felt their concern was genuine. I regret not taking a photo of the guy but in the moment I wanted to get away. If it happened again I’d like to think that is what I’d do.

 

[peregrino_tom]

Tahikiwi, thank you for reporting this to the police and taking the time to communicate this to the forum. Very unpleasant for you, I hope you are recovering well. What makes me most angry is that the hospitalera said this has happened many times before.
The forum has discussed whether this kind of behaviour is treated as criminal or not in Spain. Not sure we've had a similar conversation about Portugal. But either way, everyone knows this is bad, but pilgrims passing through don't appear to have the power/traction to change anything.
I wonder if the Portuguese pilgrim association Via Lusitana can get involved? Pressure from them or other pilgrim bodies on the civil authorities (who would want to protect the tourist reputation of touristy Ponte de Lima) might create the necessary leverage to remedy things here.
If anyone has personal contacts with Via Lusitana then they coud open a channel. FWIW I just looked at their website (which has a 'contacto' form) but my anti-virus (Norton) detected a threat it had to neutralise before I could proceed.

 

[nathanael]

I echo everyone’s sentiments! Continue to be vigilant and safe!

Buen Camino!

I believe we all have to be vigilant. I stopped taking Camino trails that go through wooded areas. I had an older man follow me with his car. I finally climbed down a ditch to go onto a regular road. Low and behold he followed me on the road for about half an hour until I stopped and crossed the road where there was a building with workmen and just stayed there. The guy got out of his car and pretended to walk around his car, finally, he left and I continued. A lady had a similar experience with a guy on a motorcycle in a wooded path. She ignored him and continued on her way.

 

[jidiculous]

This happened in November 2022 in the same area to a peregrina that I met, just north of Ponte de Lima, pretty much in the exact same spot you marked on the map.

 

[ivar]

Thank you for letting us know about this, and also for reporting it to the police. I will close this thread now, since there is not much more really to discuss.