Camino 2024 – coming soon !

The rain fell like stair rods for  most of the day, Ponchos and waterproof gear being deployed very early on.

Our route to the Port city  of Vigo lead us through some quite varied terrain. Crossing  sandy beaches, then ascending through narrow winding lanes for an hour or so before reaching a very beautiful, but rather damp wooded area. 

Arriving in the suburbs of Vigo, the rain eased, giving the three of us an opportunity to chat and reflect on our week.

We predicted that this , our third Camino would deliver a number of firsts and we were right: 

• It was newbie pilgrim Adrians first Camino
• The first time we had walked 4 consecutive days suffering 30 degree + temperatures.
• Crossing a time zone for the first time 
• Our first High speed boat trip on the Camino 
• Our first swim  in the sea.
• Beach and board walk sections for the first time .
• The first Camino without Dr John, and therefore …
• No spanners purchased (so far) for the first time on a Camino.

Walking stats from Adrian:

20.4 Km (12.7m)

90 Average BPN

2450 Calories burned 

25800 steps 

370 m assent 

After this, our first week on the Camino Portuguese we have walked over 150Km in 7 days . This leaves a distance of 130 Km or so before reaching Santiago next time.

The week has been challenging to say the least . No bedbugs thankfully, but we did have some nasty blisters and blistering temperatures to contend with. Having said that , we are all in no doubt it has been and amazing and very enjoyable week.

Until the next time ….Buen Camino !

On the surface of it going to bed last night , the privacy curtain enclosing Marks individual bunk bed night seemed a quite natty innovative. But awakening to the sound of buzzing in his ears, the enclosed accommodation cockpit had filled with some unwanted guests – around half a dozen house flies. Heaven only knows what was attracting them …possibly a dead mouse under the bed or maybe a even a dead pilgrim who knows , he didn’t wait to find out and soon shot out of bed,

Losing an hour the day before as we crossed the border to Spain , our penultimate day meant an extra hour walking in the dark.

Adrian’s blisters had calmed thankfully and  was walking quite normally. However as dawn broke it was clear Richards had developed a gangly hobble  now, reminiscent  to Dr Johns labored technique – his blisters had turned into a rather nasty fleshy mess. 

This prompted a call to Dr James his son for advice, who helpfully began by advising Dad that prevention is better than cure.

Determined as ever , Richard struggled on of course albeit at a slightly slower pace. Thankfully it was a few degrees cooler again today and much of the terrain was flat with only the occasional rocky hill climb.

We arrived at Nigrán early afternoon , had a quick dip in these sea and then rested ahead of our final day which was forecast to be very wet and rainy.

Walking stats from Adrian:

22 Km (15 miles )

29000 steps  

Average bpm 87

Calories burned 2250

Distance climbed 275 m

This turned out to be our longest day and greatest distance covered so far as we crossed the border from Portugal to Spain , here are the stats:-

32.3Km ( 20miles) 

8 hours

91 Bpn

2230 calories burned

370 m climbed

38600 steps

Much of our route today followed the rugged coastline, the jagged rock formations reminiscent of the Pembrokeshire coastline back home .

There was also a lengthy road section , well actually a cycle lane which no doubt would once again provoke Adrian to grumble later “ guys you know this would be much easier in a bike!”
Well in places this is true of course, but we have tried to explain to him, the Camino is not a holiday – it’s a pilgrimage to Santiago and it’s not meant to be easy…as Brother Geoff would say if he were here – “it’s all about the deprivation you know”

When reaching the estuary in Caminha, we had the challenge of somehow crossing this wide expanse of water, the main ferry was closed but fortunately there was a local offering passage in his small vessel -it was a rather dented metal affair with a large out board motor. After helping him load up another passengers bicycle, we navigated the rickety steps and clambered aboard…we we’re certainly not expecting what followed. He immediately opened up the throttle to maximin and we took off at brake neck speed – it was exhilarating , it felt just like we were in a James Bond movie. After a couple minutes we reached land once again – we had arrived in Spain !

An hour or so later we found a delightful Galician cafe in the town square and enjoyed a hearty breakfast of Tostadas with tomatoes and a slice of cake washed done with Cafe con leche and orange juice .

Free of blisters , Mark steamed ahead to our planned destination of ‘Oia’ his first priority was to find a bar. Once this was done Mark, an hour or so ahead by now and feeling rather smug sent a photo of his cold beer and free tapas to his slower blistered pilgrim friends – True to form, Richard sent back a strongly worded message “BEDS”….a reminder that as per usual we had no where booked to sleep and, as he was so far ahead that should have been his number one priority .

As it turned out all Albergues and Hotels were now full so we had to walk another hour or to the next town.

After eating a delicious Pilgrims dinner of Lentils with Octopus followed by stewed chicken and Hake we all felt exhausted and were tucked up in bed by 8:30pm.

Buen Camino !

With the temperature dropping just a few degrees, and the benefit of dappled shade provided by the natural woods; today was to be a much more manageable trek.

Having said that, in the absence of Dr John, Richard has graciously stepped in to take up the role of ‘Tail end Charlie.’ After 4 days walking in the intense heat he is struggling quite badly with heel blisters and bruised feet…perhaps wishing now he had spent more time breaking in his new boots.

Newbie pilgrim Adrian is a close second on the blisters front. With a rather colorful example developing nicely…he may have the physique of a gazelle, but is dead set against applying Vaseline for some reason which he may be regretting now.

Arriving back on the coast , the sea beckoned – our bed for the night was in the beautiful seaside town of Acora. Within minutes we once again found ourselves back in the sea acting like teenagers and doing our best to dodge the crashing waves of the Atlantic Ocean.
The evening delivered an amazing sunset which we enjoyed ahead of our meal – delicious mussels followed by a large plate of grilled sardines.
Walking stats from Adrian:

• 19.Km walked
• average heart beat 87BPM
• 1500 calories burned
• 400m climbed

A short blog today !

Leaving before 7:00am again we embarked on what was to be our longest and most grueling day so far.

Now trekking in the ‘Official’ Coastal route (which strangely is not on the coast ) we encountered a wide variety of terrain. Roads made of uneven granite sets lead us into a beautiful wooded forest with meandering soil paths made from a patchwork of tree roots and small stone bolders.

Walking stats for the day speak for themselves :

• 20.3 miles ( 32.75km)
• 39500 steps
• 81/2 hours
• 2500 calories burned 
• 400 m climb 

Arriving at around 3:30 pm , Adrian managed to find us a fully air conditioned 4 star hotel with two swimming pools and a Jacusi – all for the bargain price of 43 euros for the three of us …Not sure what other guests thought of our washing draping over balcony but who cares!

Today would be our last day walking directly adjacent to the sea. Our Alburgue host advised  that beyond this stretch there would be no shade, it would be difficult to find lodgings and there would be limited refreshment options.

We very soon discovered that the board walk was poorly maintained in parts, this required some delicate foot work. Significant breaches in the wooden structure forced us to trudge through the deep sand . This was extremely tough,  the sand in our boots mixed with the Vaseline we had carefully applied to our feet a few hours earlier was a rather unpleasant combination to say the least. 

The local natives we met along the way seemed to find this all rather amusing (see pic below)

Today for some reason there appeared to be more individuals along our path intent on saving souls and protecting us from the impending Armageddon . Rather sweaty , suited and booted Jehovahs witnesses  braved the heat in the hope they could help us to see the light. At one point we thought we had lost Adrian all together – a charismatic  young Christian lured him in with the offer of a glass of fresh cool water. Richard and I left him to it and carried on walking – feeling rather smug in the knowledge that our sins had already been forgiven twice over having completed two previous Camino’s.

In contrast we also met other locals on route who provided much more practical help to us. With less arrows to mark our way it was easy to miss a turn and in fact three times today friendly locals shouted after us as we missed a turn, marching confidently in the wrong direction.

After 19 miles we arrived at the beautiful seaside town of Apulias. The private three bedded room in our Albergue  was a real treat, we quickly dumped our rucksacks and headed to the sea for what may well be our last swim as our route moves in land after today .

After a refreshing our dip the three of us relaxed  on towels to dry off and soon fell in to the normal chit chat you would expect from men of a certain age. 

After some discussion and careful analysis we agreed that Richard had the lawn mower bragging rights following his purchases of a fancy ‘Hayter’ cordless model and Marks recent investment in a top of the range ear and nasal hair trimmer was very sensible , avoiding alternative more painful hair removal methods which certain wives far too eagerly adopt with tweezers.

Walking Stats for today :-

19.3 miles (31Km) over 6 hours.

1880 calories burned 

34,150 steps 

In an attempt to limit our exposure to the 30 degree + heat we left Porto at day break. Trekking up hill half an hour from our Hotel, we began our Camino from the official pilgrim start point – Porto Cathedral . We then immediately headed  straight back down again carefully negotiating what seemed like a 1000 or so uneven granite stone steps ( back passed our hotel!)  finally reaching the river which we then followed for a while . 

At 7:30am we stumbled across a group of late night revealers still partying at the local Night Club. With the sound of Drum and Base disappearing into a distant Porto, we reached the infamous boardwalk walk which this Coastal route is best known for .

Around 6 hours later we had had enough, falling a couple of miles short of our target destination, finally surrendering to the to the blistering heat. 

We met a very friendly bunch of young Pilgrims – Anna who had been walking from Lisbon and Donna and Danny who started from Porto like us . After a short wait we checked into our Albergue, a converted school house and then all went for a swim in the Atlantic Ocean – heaven .

Some late arrivals had no option but to sleep on the floor as the Albergue was at full capacity, at Adrian’s suggestion we briefly contemplated demonstrating true pilgrim like behavior by giving up our beds for them….then quickly  came our senses.

Adrian presented our walking Stats as we drank a cold beer in a  nearby bar :

26 Km walked (target was 33Km)

29150 steps

Average heart rate 101 bpm

1800 calories burned 

The local restaurant ’Rubens’ served us a very delicious seafood supper – which we eagerly washed down with beer and red wine.

All in bed by 9:00pm we drifted off to sleep with the sound of snuffles and snores from our 15 or so  fellow pilgrims .

At the crack of dawn we left for our Camino start point in Porto – waving good by to our lovely wives in the dark , we taxied to Lagos train station.

As the sun rose it became clear Richard had dressed in the dark – his much cherished  “Whale Print “ cotton shirt clashed quite  badly with his baggy checked shorts …attracting some strange looks from the early morning  Portuguese commuters .

Our 12 hour journey from Lagos to Porto was rather exhausting to say the least .

In our excitement at reaching Lisbon , we peaked too early it seems and both got off one station too soon which resulted in us missing our train connection to Porto.

The surly customers services lady (we rudely interrupted  her book reading) gave Richard short shrift as he concocted his half baked tail  about the train connection arriving late into Lisbon. She explained that our train had in fact arrived at the adjacent  platform and they had in held our connecting train and it’s passengers for 16 minutes …thankfully she took pity on two stupid British pilgrims and begrudgingly provided us with free passage on a later train .

Newbie trekker and latest recruit to the Band of brothers – Adrian, (Richards better looking baby brother ) only took 5 hours to reach Porto from Kings Hill . Adrian , known for his cycling prowess and fetish for Lycra stepped up to the plate and procured pilgrims passports from the cathedral in our absence which was a huge relief .

The Band of brothers , represented this year by Mark , Adrian and Richard were finally united .  As tradition dictates we drank beer and dined liked kings in the local busy bars. 

A rather animated  and well oiled Adrian – three beers ahead of us by now waxed lyrical about his near death escapades with older brother Richard and bragged  about his minimalistic  approach to clothing – reaching  a record breaking 5 Kg back pack . Sporting  his favorite one and only tee shirt – a “Cycle Print” affair, he went on to dribble garlic prawn juice down his front front as he downed another pint. Buen Camino !

In October we embark on our next Camino adventure. As things stand we plan to complete this in two stages (see draft plan below)

Watch this space for daily blog updates!

Stage 1 – 2023

– Follow Camino Costa in most parts with around 90% of our week close or on  the coastline from Porto to Vigo

– Around 102 miles in 7 days 

Stage 2 – 2024

– 5 – 6 days walking inland on the Camino Central to Santiago which gives an opportunity for a couple more days to the reach sea in Finistere – the classic destination for ‘super pilgrims’

Stage 1 October 2023

Day 0

Fly to Porto stay overnight / Mark and Richard already there at campsite nearby.

Day 1  (17 miles)

Porto – Vilarinho (Vila do Conde)

Day 2 (15 miles)

Vila do Conde – Esposende

Day 3 (16 miles)

Esposende – Viana do Castelo

Day 4 (17 miles)

Viana do Costelo – Caminha

Day 5 (14 miles)

Caminha – Porto Mougas

Day 6 (10 miles)

Mougas – A Ramallisa ( via Baiona)

Day 7 (13 miles )

A Ramallisa – Vigo

Day 8 

Travel home