You've probably heard of this by now. The Camino consists of the well trodden pilgrimage trails leading from all over Europe to the burial place of Saint James in Santiago de Compostella in Galicia, and in use for about a millennia.
Pilgrims of many different stripes tackle this; there are probably still people doing it for religious reasons but the tourists are an increasing segment.
There are many different caminos with many different starting points. The Camino Frances, the classic, is something like 800 km from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago, and another 200 km to the capes at Finisterre or Muxia. The symbol is the sea shell, which is supposed to point towards Santiago, but which often does not.
I signed up for a section of the Camino Portugués with three friends. We flew to Lisbon and took the train to Porto where we started at the cathedral. Blue arrows point to Fatima, yellow to Santiago. We carried day packs and had a luggage service bring our spare gear, for about €7 per bag per trip; some pilgrims carry their full load on their backs.
Here is an overview of the main Portuguese route. We skipped the Lisbon-Porto segment, and followed a parallel coastal route until joining the main route at Redondela.
The walking is great fun, even in poor weather; we got some rain most days but only one or two soakers. A good backpack and hiking shoes are essential, and you need to be sure to deal with chafing before it becomes a blister.
The classic approach to logistics is to stay at so-called albergues (auberges, or inns) for pilgrims. These expect a donation of about €8 per night, and provide a bunk in a (possibly co-ed) dorm with shared WC and shower. Combined with the pilgrim meals available in most locations (€10 for lunch or dinner) it is possible to do this pretty cheaply. Alternatively you can book one or two star hotels or AirBnB accommodation as you go, but this can lead to frustration if you need to spend a lot of time on the phone or online due to overcrowding (such as over Easter weekend, as we discovered). Booking ahead is less frustrating but it means you are locked into a schedule and can't stop for weather or a blister, or do a longer day if you are feeling strong. A reasonable compromise is to book a couple of days ahead, and to do this every night; booking.com is a very useful tool for this.
The Portuguese coastal route takes you along the beach and up into lovely forested areas. In towns, the route tends to follow side streets and you may need to walk a block or two off-route to get services (groceries, coffee shops).
Some of the prettier pictures follow.
View over Porto from the square in front of the cathedral.
Typical beachfront route over boardwalks, well marked and easily walked.
Lots of narrow lanes between high stone walls of indeterminate age. This bricked-up entrance leads to a large forested estate of some type.
A lovely spot to while away a summer afternoon...
The coast in Spain is wilder than the sandy stretches in Portugal.
Lots of old stone work, in both Portugal and Spain.
Monument to Jules Verne in Vigo, a bustling port and quite a lot busier than the other towns along the way.
View over the Bay of Vigo.
An older bridge than the one at Vigo; there were several bridges of Roman origin. Lots of history in this part of the world.
One of many lovely wooded paths.
Roman road XIX was apparently a main road through here, and the route follows it as closely as possible. Elsewhere we saw grooves made in granite by centuries of carts.
This is probably the best picture of the whole trip: early morning mist after a night of steady rain.
There were lots of rundown buildings, including churches, in both countries.
The destination: the cathedral at Santiago after dark. This one was not rundown.
Way points and markers:
You will need a phone with a GPS, Google Maps and downloaded maps for the stretch you are walking, because markers vary along the way. New Portuguese markers are lovely blue ceramic tiles, older ones are steel cutouts. Both are visible here.
Spanish markers common in the countryside tend to be granite slabs. These are easy to spot, obviously, but hard to move for detours due to road construction or other reasons.
In built up areas you have to be more careful as the markers will vary, and the real estate may not be available at every street corner for the granite Spanish slabs. Spray paint, metal markers embedded in sidewalks or curbs, stickers on utility poles... there are several approaches.
After Santiago I went on to Bilbao and Bordeaux. Historically, Bordeaux was apparently a key stop in the camino from Tours. I found this at the entrance to the city.
Saint Seurin (Saint Severin) Basilica was a stop in Bordeaux. A brass pointer in the pavement showed the way:
This is a very old church on the site of buildings going back to 350 AD. Inside it is pretty austere compared to some.
Exit from Bordeaux was via the gate known today as la Grosse Cloche and on to Rue Saint James:
Pointers were spotted as far away as Soest, Germany, where the Canadian Armed Forces had a base during the Cold War.
Would I do it again, or do another section? Maybe ... but the frustrating parts, of spending hours organising logistics every night, would have to be simplified.
