Camino Portuguese

With joy in my heart and a Compostela in my pocket, I have returned home from my adventure on the Camino Portuguese. It was an amazing experience and, in many ways, so much more enjoyable than I could have ever predicted.

There were so many contributing factors, the scenery along our route, the food and the people we met along the way all contributed to my experience. But hands down, the best part of my Camino was our group, who we christened “4 Cheeky Chicas”. Smart, funny and like-minded, we came together quickly, prompting another pilgrim to comment, “You’ve clearly been friends for a long time.”, when in fact, none of us knew each other well and some of us met for the first time in Porto!

I have always been a little hesitant to consider walking with others just because it adds an additional layer of, I don’t know…stuff…personalities…complexities… that I wasn’t willing to take on. But since I really had no choice other than to walk alone, with Steven out of commission due to plantar fasciitis, you can imagine how much of a relief it was to know that our group was going to get along just fine. It made it so easy to focus on all the other things that really matter, like planning, packing, our route, food, accommodations, foot care, laundry and all those things that become all-encompassing on a pilgrimage.

In the beginning, the most difficult question for us to answer was “Where are you from?”, because combined we are a mishmash of nationalities and residencies. It didn’t take long to distill our answer down to a quick one, pointing from one to the next: “American-Irish, living in Budapest (Erin), Danish-American living in France (Nina), English-American, living in Spain (Kate) and, American, traveling full time in Europe in a motorhome, (me). Whew.

Our departure day out of Porto was a real soaker, but the following days along the Atlantic coast were stunning. We walked on a boardwalk, which was so soft on our feet. There were a few breaks where we walked in the sand, but not many. On day three we left the Coastal route by taxi (to avoid a particularly busy and dangerous walking section right next to the highway) and took a 15-minute ride to the town of Rates on the Central Route. We would stay on this route for the next nine days before making our way to the Spiritual Variant and then into Santiago de Compostela three days later.

Rather than recount each day, I thought I’d address some of the most asked questions I get, plus share a few photos. Okay, more than a few, but I will try not to overwhelm you. If you’re left wanting more photos, at the end of this post there is a link to a video slide show that represents our entire journey.

What’s in my backpack?

I have to brag on myself in the packing category because I nailed it on this trip. And by that I mean my pack felt perfect and I never felt any physical pain due to the weight of it. I think I walked out the door at 14 lbs., not including water. Did I still bring some crap I didn’t need, or even use? Yes. I didn’t pack too many fears, but I just can’t seem to get away from packing a few “just in case” items. That said, I have come a long way from the days with young children when I packed enough stuff to feed four and take care of everything just short of a severed limb. You should have seen my kids’ diaper bag!

I had a few luxury items this time, one of which was my fuzzy pyjama pants. Eight ounces is a lot to give to a luxury item, but OMG, I loved having them! Other than that, I had three sets of clothes, two for walking, one for evening. Four undies, two pairs of merino wool socks, three pairs of Injinji toe socks. Also, my beloved shower dress, a towel which is the size of a horse blanket 🙄, my Sea-To-Summit Sleep sack, a shower kit and a pair of flip flops. I definitely need to up my game regarding after-hiking footwear.

One thing I had not given much thought to was my rain gear. My system of a Columbia rain jacket, rain pants when needed, buff, ballcap and a pack cover had always been my go-to and I loved it. But it became clear on our first day walking out of Porto that my rain gear had deteriorated and was now inadequate. I had tried to re-waterproof it before I left for Porto, but it clearly didn’t work because I was wet through and through. Fortunately, there was no wind and the temps were cool, but not cold, so I survived. A day or two later I bought a cheapie poncho which ultimately provided a little help, but really not much, as it was not designed to cover my pack. You can bet that an upgraded rain system is at the top of my shopping list in the months to come!

What did we eat, and did I lose weight?

Let’s face it, food is one of the reasons we walk. There is no other time in daily life when I can stuff my face with any food I desire, as much as I want, without consequence. And by consequence I mean weight gain. We ate so much food, even I am shocked. Pastel de nata, that famous Portuguese egg custard pastry? Yes, please! Two for now and one for later! Second breakfast? Sure, why not! Third breakfast? Go ahead, twist my arm! French fries for the table? Hell, yeah! At one restaurant the server kindly informed us we had ordered too much food. Apparently the extra French fries were a bridge too far since they were already included in the three mains we had ordered (to follow our tapas…) There did come a day when we started to miss vegetables, but we toughed it out.

For our celebratory dinner in Santiago, we had made reservations at a nice restaurant famous for its tapas and beef steak. I warned everyone before we arrived that I planned to eat the biggest steak on the menu and that they should not be shocked at the amount of meat I can put away. As is typical for me on a Camino, I felt protein-starved. Steven and I shared a one kilogram ribeye, yep, that’s 2.2 pounds of beef and it was delicious. I have zero regrets. Everyone else also had a big steak, except Kate, who had fish.

In the end, I did not lose a single pound on this Camino, nor did I gain any. I consider that a win. Now the trick is not to give in to the continuing hunger. Just because I have stopped walking does not mean the hiker hunger has gone away. One good thing in my favor is that I came home to an empty fridge. Also, I came home sick, as most of us had caught a cold in the last day or so. I have spent my first days at home sleeping nearly 16 hours a day.

Where did you sleep?

The choice of lodging along the Camino Portuguese ranges from municipal albergues (hostels) to boutique hotels and private apartments. In all categories I found the quality of accommodations along the CP to be superior to the other caminos I have done. Maybe upgrades were made after Covid, but most seemed newer, with upgraded furnishings, more comfortable and with better amenities. My litmus test, of course, is whether or not there is sufficient hot water for all pilgrims and if there is a hairdryer available. Portugal never let us down. Spain was a different story, but only in the hairdryer category. Laundry facilities were also nice to have and we never had an issue, something was always available every day or two. After a long day of sweaty walking, we combined all our laundry into one load and got it done. I’ve said this before, but we carry so few things with us, that having everything clean is the best feeling ever! That, and French fries for the table. That feels good, too.

Along our Camino we stayed in all kinds of places, including dormitory-type albergues where many people sleep in bunk beds all in the same large room. Because we were a group, sometimes we would get a private room. Two places stood out as memorable, first, Casa Ana in Barcelos and second, Casa Fernanda, somewhere out in the Portuguese countryside. Casa Ana was a boutique hotel and it was as lovely as it sounds. Right outside was a beautiful little square with a couple of restaurants serving food and drinks. The sun was shining and it was just a glorious day. Of course, I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you that I had my worst meal in Barcelos. It was a hamburger at a swanky little place just down from our hotel and it was awful. It didn’t even come with French fries!

Casa Fernanda is in a category all to itself. The beds were in a dorm-style room, but, upon arrival, we were offered accommodations at a different location, “a friend’s house”, she said. We were so tired we just sat there, unable to make a decision. Kate and Erin thought it sounded good, I thought we were being sent to an inferior place and I didn’t know what Nina was thinking. Finally we agreed to go and lo and behold! We were given a three-bedroom villa all to ourselves along with a fellow pilgrim we had met earlier who we invited to join us. It had a washing machine and a sunny balcony from which to hang our clothes. Amazing! We walked back to Fernanda’s for a community dinner, which was great fun with lots of drinks, food and camaraderie. Out came the guitar and singing in multiple languages ensued. Because Nina (who is Danish) had made our reservation, they thought all four of us were Danes and Fernanda begged us to bust out some Danish drinking songs. Alas. After a while, as folks racked their brains for new songs to sing, I knew we were headed into the dreaded “Kumbaya” territory, so after a lovely and rousing evening, we all made our escape back home to our private villa.

How much did it cost?

In a nutshell, walking a Camino, eating with abandon, buying what you need and want, sleeping in both community and private accommodations costs about €50 per day, per person. That is really at the upper end, because it can be done for half that if you watch your pennies. We didn’t have any budgetary limitations, that’s just what we spent and that is the same as it has been for Steven and me in years past.

What really was fantastic about the financial part of our walk was an app that Erin brought to the group called “Settle Up”. Holy cow, what a great app! One person would pay for, say, dinner, then input the amount into the app. It would automatically assign 25% of the bill to each of us. (We had all agreed that no matter what anyone else ordered or bought, as long as it was a group expense, we would just split the bill four ways.) As we went along, only one person paid for each meal, or accommodation, drinks or groceries. When we opened the app, each of our names appeared in a pink bubble of different sizes. Whoever had the biggest bubble owed the most money and would then pay for the next group expense. We were all connected using the app simultaneously on our phones and we were constantly checking in. No one wanted to have the biggest bubble so we kept expenditures pretty even. In the end, Erin owed the group less than €2 each. Amazing! Using this app on our trip relieved us of a huge burden and made it all so easy. If you are ever in a group and need to track expenses, this is the app for you!

What was your daily routine?

In general, our daily routine was pretty much the same throughout the 15 days of our walk. I got up around 6:30 am, which in most cases was about half an hour earlier than everyone else. Whether or not they actually got more sleep depended on if we were in a private room or in a dorm room. In the latter, most people tend to get up and out very early. My reason for getting up earlier was so I could tape my feet. It’s what I do to avoid blisters and it is a big pain in the ass! At the end of one very long and tiring day, I very angrily told Steven during one of our phone calls that I was done with walking because I was sick to death of taping my feet. I am going to have to change shoes, or do something, because I am so over taping!! That said, I’ve never had a blister….🤔

Once we were packed and ready to go, we might have breakfast if we were in a private room or apartment, but most likely we headed out to walk a bit before stopping to have coffee and first breakfast. Except Nina. That girl cannot take one step out the door until she has had a coffee, preferably two. And she could sniff out cafes like no one else! By lunchtime we had already had at least two breakfasts and some snacks, but lunch was also in the cards either along the way or soon after we checked into our place for the night.

We usually walked between 17-22 kilometers, although we had a couple of shorter days and a couple of longer ones. We had all read the Camino Portuguese was flat, but that is complete BS! We had a few good climbs and when the sun is beating down on you and you’re pouring sweat, any elevation can seem daunting. Simple things made us happy, like finding a nice place to sit in the shade by a stream, or the lady selling empanadas. Yum. Even better is finding a cafe right at the end of a difficult section. We always made time for photos and we took the long road when there was something lovely to see. No one ever complained. Haha, I’m kidding, we all complained.

Once we arrived at our destination, we may or may not have been able to check into our accommodations. If not, we went for lunch. If so, we checked in and then went for lunch. In either case, we were driven by our search for food. After that, we had showers, did laundry and then we rested. Most of us spent time writing our daily posts for social media and uploading photos. We decided early on that we would share photos and that we could all use them without giving the other credit. So not all the photos in this post are mine. I am not the greatest photographer so I felt very lucky to have others along who not only took wonderful photos, but were willing to share!

This was the time of day when, as I like to say, we were watered, fed and laundered. Before long, it was time for dinner. I’d say this was my least favorite meal of the day, mostly because I was just too tired to enjoy it and probably still a bit full from lunch and afternoon snacks. That didn’t always stop me, of course, but there was a couple of times I stayed behind and had a Snickers bar and a banana for my dinner. I love crawling into bed after such a long day. It’s when I feel most accomplished.

That said, my favorite time of the day is early in the morning, those moments when we prepared to step out the door and begin walking. There is just something I feel when I slip into my boots, hoist my pack onto my shoulders, unfold my sticks and take my first steps into the coolness of the morning. Steven likens it to putting on a uniform. It transforms me and I feel empowered. A pilgrimage is different for each person and believe me when I tell you there is a lot of time to think when you walk for hours, day after day. It is also a physical challenge, which to be honest is what drives me the most. I am at my strongest when I am on a pilgrimage and it’s a great feeling.

How did you feel when it was over?

Relieved. Jubilant. Accomplished, and maybe a little bit sad. On the final morning, day 15, as we prepared to walk into Santiago and claim our compostelas, we were not quite ready to embrace the end, so we stopped for lunch about a kilometer from the square. We then followed Nina to her favorite overlook for a glorious view of the cathedral. It was after 1 pm when we arrived and were met by Steven and Chris (Erin’s husband) who were waiting for us among throngs of happy pilgrims who had arrived from all directions after walking one of several Camino paths.

It’s always a relief to arrive safely, without serious injury. We all started off with doubts about whether or not our bodies were physically capable of such a challenge, so in that respect, the feeling of completing a Camino is off the charts. But there is also a feeling of “now what?”. A body in motion wants to stay in motion and the idea that we will no longer be walking with purpose can be a little depressing. I always try to spend a day or two in Santiago among fellow pilgrims to help ease myself back into normal life. It can be a bigger transition than you might imagine!

Would I walk with the group again and, what’s next?

Absolutely yes, I would be thrilled to have another “4 Cheeky Chicas” adventure in my future. What adventure that might be, I have no idea. As for another Camino? Too soon!! 🙂 We will just have to wait and see what happens. Until then, enjoy more photos below, or make yourself a cup of tea and head over to YouTube to watch our journey unfold. Thanks for making it this far, and Buen Camino!

Up Next: On the road again…

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