Many of you have heard of the Camino de Santiago. It’s a traditionally religious journey through the north of Spain, originating in western France.
There are, however, many variations of this walk. No doubt you are familiar with “all roads lead to Rome”. It may be just as apt to state that “all roads lead to Santiago”, including one that originates in Rome.
During the months of September and October I took the opportunity to explore one of the caminos traditionally walked in Portugal, known as the Caminho Português.
Commencing a bit over 600km to the south of Santiago in the capital of Lisbon, it is a 20-30 day trek by foot. Though shorter than the ~800km “French” route, it is arguably a more difficult journey.
Much of the first half of the walk takes place along busy roadways, pounding pavement on sidewalks and sidestreets, with long days between sleeping stops and hard-to-follow signage along the way.
Once reaching beautiful Porto the amount of pilgrims increases perhaps ten-fold. A day and half north by foot and the hard ground walkways transitions to more forgiving dirt and back road pathways, and a variety of smaller towns and villages.
Eventually you make your way up to the border with Spain, where the final 100km marks the minimum distance those walking are required to continue on to Santiago in order to receive what is known as a “compostela”, a prized verification of one’s pilgrimage.
It becomes very busy at this point; though many will note the majority of the newcomers are Spaniards out for a leisurely stroll in their backyard.
If you’re interested in a quick daily excerpt of my recent journey you can find it here: Caminho Portugues 2023. It is compiled in reverse order, so I recommend you scroll down to the bottom and start there.
Bom caminho!
