Our first walking holiday, Camino Portuges! Also, our first visit to the beautiful country of Portugal. We trained for this but just incase hired a group to pick up our luggage each day and transport it to our next overnight stay. Little did we know how strong and brave we were.
DINK Details
We did the central route for 4 days. Very flat.
Difficulty: Easy Date: Nov 2019 | Time: 4 Days Distance: 45 mi Elv. Gain: 5,630 ft |
Obstacles N/A | Prep Luggage service¹ Choose Costal or Central Route |
1. There are services that transport luggage from one hotel to another. Good for popular paths. 2. There are two main routes. We went with central so we could learn about the country more.
What don't you get? The rooster yelled and now you can't hang the priest.... Yes, I'll have another pastel de nata.
The Start - Porto
Our first visit to Porto, Portugal, and the Camino. We went with our couple friends, Ryan and AF, who share our passion for food and an acceptable amount of nature.
After 2 days in Porto, we were ready to some more Portugal. We studied the path, performing training exercises to spot Camino arrows, crosses and other signs. We loaded up on espresso and bread things (AF was in-charge of breakfast bread). We were ready to go!
On this map we took the central trail (grey) for 4 days. Our path went though many towns and was easy to follow. The Camino is marked well. We have family who have done the coastal route but I think we made the better choice.
To Gião
Distance: 15.32 mi
Elev. gain: 1,621 ft
Time: 8 hours
Leaving a large city and watching it slowly shrink in size as you leave is a unique experience. Soon we saw fields, and gothic looking churches. About half way through the trail, we came across what looks like an abandoned carousel. It ended up being a little café with food.
Hotel - Casa Mindela
Our first stay is an experience. The rooms have an old timey, monastic feel with a suffering Jesus watching you from every corner. To mellow the mood, we opened our Grahams 40 year and toasted to our first achievement of many.
Booking: https://www.casamindela.pt/
Map
All Trails: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/caminho-portugues-central-porto-rates-a2137a2?u=i&sh=gzd745
To Arcos
Distance: 7.8 mi
Elev. gain: 1,030 ft
Time: 5 hours
Walking really puts you out at night. On our second walking day, we were awakened early by the residential raven. Ryan made friends with it.
Still a cloudy day, we made our way between narrow paths with tall, overgrown stone walls and fancy brides over water. A light rain started as soon as we found a tiny town with a snackbar.
Hotel - Quinta São Miguel de Arcos
The drizzle followed us into Arcos where we found shelter in a villa turned hotel. A sit down dinner awaited us, followed by our game of cards and, of course, wine.
Map
All Trails: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/caminho-portugues-central-giao-arcos-8900faa?u=i&sh=gzd745
To Barcelos
Distance: 12.5 mi
Elev. gain: 1,730 ft
Time: 7 hours
Our third day was sunny. Our spirits are high, we had a big town to reach today. The town with the gnarly church was fun to walk around, just interesting vibes because no one was out. There was a small snackbar for resting which the server seemed surprise that there was business. Food was great.
At the end of this short day, we reach Barcelos, famous for a specific rooster, that has become a symbol commonly associate with Portugal. We found out that the rooster's fame came when a pilgrim who was falsely accused of stealing was condemned to hang. Before hanging, the pilgrim pleaded for his life to the judge. He claimed that if he were innocent a rooster would crow, and sure enough, when the time of the hanging came, it did!
Dinner- Restaurante Galliano
In Barcelos, we had a fancy sit-down dinner waiting for us at restaurant (different from the usually B&B experience). We walk around town after, to the night life on R. Bom Jesus de Cruz. We picked a random dive bar where Neas discovers her new favorite drink, Licor Beirão.
Our Hotel was Hotel Do Terço but I don't remember anything about it.
Map
All Trails: https://www.alltrails.com/explore/map/caminho-portugues-de-santiago-arcos-to-barcelos-aeecc5a?u=i&sh=gzd745
To Balugães
Distance: 9 mi
Elev. gain: 1,250 ft
Time: 5.5 hours
Our final day started off today with a large choice of cafes. We come across some pigs and birds at someone house. Then olive fields with some rain. The rain luckily appeared as soon as we reach a town.
After waiting out the rain, we crossed some railroad tracks and headed into a bog. A little dog saw us as we enter and followed us across the trail. We made friends but let him know we must part ways. Soon we hit our final B&B!
Hotel - Quinta da Cancela
We opened the large doors to another villa Hotel. The courtyard has many doors, each with cats to guard them. We treated ourselves to a wonderful modern shower with plenty of hot water! Dinner was in a warm, cozy traditional style kitchen with a wood stove, followed by the owners treating us to some bottles of wine and leaving the place to ourselves. We played cards, shared pictures, and pet so many cats and kittens. AF let Ryan keep a cat in their room for the night, so cute!