The Route

We have arrived in Porto, a beautiful city & the start of our Camino walk. A relaxed evening watching a wonderful Fado performance…. “A recognised symbol of Portugal. In its essence, it sings the feeling, the heartbreak, the longing for someone who left, the daily life and the conquests”. 

Our first night’s accommodation was at the Rosalma Hostel, old & renovated with care to bring out the charm of the old building. A great first night hostel. 

Tomorrow, our first day, we’ll walk 17 miles of our 11 day 175 mile pilgrimage.

17 miles of sun and rain along the stormy Atlantic coastline from Porto to Vila Cha. Porto was a friendly, entertaining city, but loving walking the sandy beaches and boardwalks, lashed by stormy winds and rain. Our hostel hosted just 3 in total. Travelling out of season has it’s advantages! We explored the village and ate at Cafe D’licious - pork and chips with a large carafe of red wine, with Portuguese football league on the TV.

13 miles of sun and rain. Ponchos are such a great idea! Boardwalks and beaches, sprinklings of rain, but a great day’s walking. We arrived to find our hostel closed! Coffee at a nearby cafe and an interesting ‘no Spanish…no English’ exchange resulting in directions to ‘Sandra’s’, luckily a B&B rather than anything less salubrious. Sandra’s also provided food - ‘meat or fish’? Which turned out to be a huge plate of pork, chips, rice, fried egg, bread, beer and a fab meal.

13 miles of sun and rain. Ponchos are such a great idea! Boardwalks and beaches, sprinklings of rain, but a great day’s walking. We arrived to find our hostel closed! Coffee at a nearby cafe and an interesting ‘no Spanish…no English’ exchange resulting in directions to ‘Sandra’s’, luckily a B&B rather than anything less salubrious. Sandra’s also provided food - ‘meat or fish’? Which turned out to be a huge plate of pork, chips, rice, fried egg, bread, beer and a fab meal.

16 miles today. 

24 miles

Easy day & a chance to recover

Massive waves today - impressive!!! 20 miles walked with heavy rain this afternoon. Loved every second! I’m enjoying the companionship of my brother, the friendship and encouragement of all around us. ‘Bon Camino!’, people honking horns, fist pumps! I’m happy to be here, enjoying the moment

Early start and another lovely coastal route. It felt like a long day today. Blisters and a sore hip not spoken about - we both gritted our teeth and put the miles in. Vigo is an interesting port city, but we’re both too tired to explore!!! Food … No Spanish & no English is an interesting combination in a restaurant - lots of animated talk resulting in - meat or fish!! We’ll have one of each thanks :)

A daunting prospect! We hobbled out early today, 2 hours in the darkness watching Vigo wake up. Despite our apprehension, spirits were high and we limped along at a very respectable speed! We’re inland now, the sound of crashing waves left behind. Bright sun kept us motivated and 22 miles was completed with relative ease. Loving it!

A sleepless night with 2 happy snorers providing a trumpet & trombone snoring chorus throughout the night - prompting an extra early start. Today will be just 14 miles, a welcome shorter day after yesterday’s 22 mile stomp. Cities have a special calmness when they are still asleep & Pontevedra has a historic charm. 2 hours in the dark was followed by a sunny day walking along ancient roads through vineyards. This Camino attracts thousands of pilgrims each year - we see a handful during the day. Walking out of season is a very different experience.

Short & very wet! Rain can’t dampen our spirits. Enjoying each others company and the friendly, positive comments and encouragement from local people.

Today we walked 15 miles to Santiago de Compostela, the end of our pilgrimage, through the rain, meeting lots of walkers after days of just me & my brother John. Congratulations to all the special people we met along the way. It’s been a fabulous journey. I’ve enjoyed my brother’s company (the longest time we’ve spent together since we were teenagers). Portugal and Spain have both had their delights & charms; big surf, friendly people, great food & lots more to reflect on. On to the next adventure - Cuba by bike!