Walking the Camino in Portugal » Portugal http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal Judy and Greg walking through Portugal on the Camino Portugués Thu, 07 Mar 2013 09:07:41 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.8.1 Day 26 Rubiaes to Valenca http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-26-rubiaes-to-valenca/ http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-26-rubiaes-to-valenca/#comments Sun, 27 May 2012 15:12:29 +0000 http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/?p=562 Continue reading ]]> 18km. Our last day in Portugal, and we’re feeling a bit sad that we’ll be leaving tomorrow. We had a ‘simple’ breakfast at O Repouso do Peregrino Pensao with our fellow pilgrims, then packed up and were on the road before 9am. Early for us, but we were still the last ones to leave the Pensao. A fairly easy day’s walk, on forest paths and quiet country roads …. apart from the group of men and boys on their quad bikes who roared up to the cafe at Fontoura Fuente while we were having a chat with a German pilgrim, then roared past us a couple of kms further up the road after they had finished their beers.

It was cold and cloudy, but like yesterday it never really rained for longer than a couple of minutes. Enough to make us drag out the wet weather gear, walk for a while and get hot, then take it all off again.

There are more pilgrims on the road now, as we get closer to Santiago. Interestingly, many of them feel the same way about pilgrim albergues as we do – tried that, not doing it again.

We have arrived in Valenca early enough to be able to spend some time walking around the Fortaleza, the old fortress on the Rio Minho, which marks the northern border between Portugal and Spain.

Valenca and the hills of spain in the distance

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Day 25 Ponte de Lima to Rubiaes http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-25-ponte-de-lima-to-rubiaes/ http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-25-ponte-de-lima-to-rubiaes/#comments Sat, 26 May 2012 14:30:21 +0000 http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/?p=559 Continue reading ]]> 16km Not a long day,but it involved climbing a 450 metre high hill. When we woke up it had rained, and was cloudy. The Pensao we stayed at did not provide breakfast, so it was of to the Pastalaria across the square for some pastries from breakfast. When we emerged it had stopped raining. We crossed the medieval bridge across the Rio Lima, and then past the albergue, and along muddy tracks until past Quinta Arquino. While we were wlking there was music playing from a hilltop above Ponta de Lima. The music must have been pretty loud because we could still hear it for 4 or 5 km as we climbed the hill.

We climbed slowly, past some of what seemed to be abandoned farms. We crossed the bridge  over the Rio Labruja, which had previously had a “falling down” bridge and which had been replaced with a new concrete bridge. Under the A-3 freeway, again with not many cars on it.Portugal must be one of the few places on the planet that built freeways before it had enough cars to fill them. We wnt through Revolta, but the cafe was closed. We passed Arcozelo and the hill got really steep. We certainly needed our walking poles to help us get up the hill. We got passed by a couple of camino cyclists pushing their mountain bikes up the hill.

We reached the cross near the summit, where there was a brass plaque commerating the death of a pilgrim who had died in a plane crash in Moree Australia. We reached the summit, which we recorded as 458 metres.

Then it was down, down, down towards Cabanas on dirt tracks, until we reach quiet roads, where we were passed by a Canadian pilgram who had also left from Lisbon (9 days after us). We reached the Residential at Sao Roque, where there were already pilgrims in residence. There was an Alberque up the road, but there were at least 8 pilgrims staying at the Residential. There was no Restaurant so at 7pm they ferried us up the road in several loads to a restaurant about 2km away, where we had a meal of …pork.

Medieval bridge at Ponte de Lima

Muddy paths out of Ponte de Lima

replacement bridge for the falling down bridge (right)

climbing the hill

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Day 24 Casa do Rio to Ponte de Lima http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-24-casa-do-rio-to-ponte-de-lima/ http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-24-casa-do-rio-to-ponte-de-lima/#comments Fri, 25 May 2012 20:59:15 +0000 http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/?p=545 Continue reading ]]> 20km. Stage 2 of splitting the Barcelos to Ponte de Lima 33.6km stage into two parts. After a fabulous breakfast (see Judys post here), we left at a late 11am. The morning had started cool and misty, but no rain. We headed the 1km back to the Camino route from Casa do Rio (large map with directions here, detailed map here),

We met  a Swiss pilgrim who like us had started from Lisbon, except that he had started about ten days after us!

We walked on a lot of farm tracks, we passed the church at Vitorino do Plaes, but missed the turnoff to the cafe. We climbed up over a saddle and then dropped down into the Lima valley, getting a view of the 400m high hills we will be climbing tomorrow. We stopped at a cafe, then continued along a string of villages towards Ponte de Lima. We noted how many women drove tractors. South of Porto we had never seen a woman drive a tractor.

We followed the banks of the Lima River to arrive at Hotel Imperio de Minho to find it ws closed for renovations, the second hotel on this camino that we have found closed.

We looked for Pensao Beira Rio, but could find no sign or indication that anyone wanted guests. So on further to Pensao Sao Joao where we found a room and settled in. We went out later to a Pizzeria near the river, and walked back to the Pensoa in light rain, more of which is expected tomorrow.

Dry stone walls

Grape vines over the road

 

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Casas do Rio http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/casas-do-rio/ http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/casas-do-rio/#comments Fri, 25 May 2012 18:03:31 +0000 http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/?p=535 Continue reading ]]> I don’t think I can find enough words of praise to describe our overnight stay at Casas do Rio at Cossourado, near Barcelos and Braga in Portugal, but I’m going to try.
When Greg was looking for ways to break a 33.6km Camino stage into 2 more manageable stages, he did a search on booking.com to see what accommodation was available at or near the halfway mark. Casas do Rio came at the top of the list, thanks to their amazing rating of 9.6 (out of a possible 10). We wanted to stay there, just to see how good this place was. The fact that it is located just 1.5km from the Camino route, at the half-way point of the longest stage, was a bonus.

So …. what’s so good about this place? Well, everything. I know, this is going to sound like some tacky travel promotion, but we want to write it all down so we remember our stay there, plus give the owners of the 16th century Casas do Rio some well-deserved publicity and encourage anyone going to Portugal to plan a short or long stay at this wonderful haven. As well as being a beautiful place, the customer service is outstanding.

Jose and Cristina Amaro have owned Casas do Rio for the last 9 years and have spent a lot of time renovating both the buildings and the grounds. The 6-room boutique hotel is  managed by their daughter Sofia, who originally suggested that it should be opened to the public. It’s only been open for 7 months, but judging from the reviews and feedback, it has been an outstanding success. Our bedroom with ensuite was on the 1st floor of the stables. There are a total of 4 double bedrooms, plus a family room and a suite. The large grounds have lots of fruit and nut trees, chickens, ducks, geese & swans, and a sparkling clean pool which we spent some time swimming in, and lying beside.

There are a couple of restaurants nearby, but we just didn’t have the energy to walk to any of them, so our very kind hosts offered to cook us a meal, and we gratefully accepted. We ate on the terrace just outside the stables and chatted with Jose and our fellow guests, a couple from Germany who have travelled a lot in Portugal and who also thought that Casas do Rio was one of the best places they had ever stayed at.

The following morning, we had the most incredible buffet breakfast I have ever seen, anywhere. All homemade, from home-grown produce, cooked on one of their two wood stoves. At least 3 different kinds of cake (Greg’s idea of the perfect breakfast), a vegetable quiche, a chicken and tomato pie, 3 different kinds of home-made jams, home-made yoghurt with red-berry jam, a platter of fresh fruit, breads, meats and cheeses. And 3 home-made juice combinations. Our hosts encouraged us to take any leftovers with us for our lunch, so we made some ham and cheese rolls and enjoyed them later in the day.

I was very sorry to leave Casas do Rio after such a short stay, but walked out of there feeling relaxed, rested and reinvigorated, and ready to do a day’s walk. And I’m already planning our next holiday in Portugal, with at least a week’s stay at Casas do Rio! It’s the perfect place for pilgrims, foodies, tourists and travellers.

Casa do Rio (click on image for larger version)

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Day 23 Barcelos to Casa do Rio http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-23-barcelos-to-casa-do-rio/ http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-23-barcelos-to-casa-do-rio/#comments Thu, 24 May 2012 21:38:42 +0000 http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/?p=519 Continue reading ]]> 17kms. After the traumas and exhaustion of 30km yesterday, we had an easy day today. The section from Barcelos to Ponte de Lima is 33.6km, much more than we want to walk in a day. So we split it into two, detouring 1km (see map) to Casas do Rio at Cossourado, near Sao Bento close to the half-way mark of the stage.

It was market day (every Thursday) in Barcelos so we spent time wandering around an enormous market, that had been set up in the town square. Everything from fruit and vegetables, to furniture, to clothes to handicrafts. We left at 11:00am, walking out in warm weather about 26C. We were passed by another pilgrim from Spain. We are meeting pilgrims everyday, when in the camino before Porto, we were lucky to see a pilgrim once a week. It was all quiet roads and farms tracks until we reached Portela, where we saw the new Alberque that has been built, and bought 3 litres of cold bottled water from a cafe (they gave us two glasses to drink it).  We crossed Ponte das Tauas, where we met a pilgrim from Amsterdam who (with his dog) has been on the road since last August (walking all the way from Amsterdam to the Camino Frances, and then backwards along the Camino Portuguese).

We then left the camino at San Bento to walk to Casas do Rio, which without doubt is the best place we have stayed at on the whole camino.

Directions from the Camino Portuguse (red) to Casas do Rio (green). It is 1 km (click for larger image)

Detailed map with directions to Casas do Rio (click for larger version)

Walking along farm tracks (click for larger version)

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Day 22 Vilarinho to Barcelos http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-22-vilarinho-to-barcelos/ http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-22-vilarinho-to-barcelos/#comments Thu, 24 May 2012 21:17:55 +0000 http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/?p=501 Continue reading ]]> 30 km. It was a long day that we could not avoid because we are behind schedule and cannot have too many short days. We were up early at the unprecendented time of 6:30am. The pilgrams in the other room had to eat breakfast in our room (we had the kitchen) and they wanted to eat at 7:00am. We were on the road by 7:45am. It was a short walk to the centre of Viarinho, where we found a pastalaria open, so we had a chance to have a bit of extra breakfast. Breakfast at the hostel was only coffee and biscuits.

We walked a kilometre up the road, which thankfully had a footpath, then left the main road for quiet country lanes. However we were soon back to the main road, with stone walls at the sides facing oncoming traffic. Greg donned the safety vest and his flashing headlight torch. It lasted about 1km and then we had a footpath, and left the main road again. We had forest paths most of the way to Sao Pedro de Rates, where we stopped at the local bar/cafe and had an icecream and drink. It was warm, and sunny, about 26C, and we enjoyed the shade under the umbrella. We left Sao Pedro de Rates and went through quiet dirt tracks through farming country.

As we approached Petra Furada we were forced back to N-306. This section of road had large signs warning drivers to be aware of pilgrams walking on the road. However it was narrow again with stone walls either side, and we were forced to walk on the road. On the first corner we faced a semi-trailer and several cars behind it (who could not see us), and we squeezed ourselves against the stone wall while the truck and cars went past. This section was probably 1km long, but half-way along, while a tractor was travelling the same way as us on the other side of the road, a hoon in an Audi overtook the tractor at high speed squeezing between us and the tractor missing us by centimetres.

When we reached the end of the road, Judy was all for us taking a taxi the rest of the way to Barcelos, she thought it was just too dangerous. We stopped at the Restaurnt at Petra Furada where the proprieter, who has been trying to improve safety for pilgrims, convinced us that the road ahead was much better, and that if we took a scenic detour (over a large hill) it would be a quiet walk into Barcelos.

We took up his suggestion and climbed up 290m to Capela de Sta da Franqueira along a quiet tree-lined shady road. We had great views of the Atalantic ocean from the summit.

We decended down from summit to walk though the suburbs of Barcelos, over the bridge, and along to our hotel. We were pretty exhausted for the day. However we managed to both limp about 800metres to a nice restaurant that did not have any other customers, but provided a nice meal of veal stroganoff (no pork involved).

 

Greg in his road walking safety gear

Walking up to the summit at Capela de Stada Franqueira (click for larger version)

 

 

 

 

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Day 21 Porto to Vilarinho http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-21-porto-to-vilarinho/ http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-21-porto-to-vilarinho/#comments Tue, 22 May 2012 18:38:01 +0000 http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/?p=492 Continue reading ]]> 26km. A really horrible day’s walking, probably our worst of either Camino. The first half was spent walking through Porto’s northern suburbs on cobblestone paths and roads.It’s very well-marked, but on the N13, a busy major road. At the 10km mark at Araujot, the camino route used to  leave and go on a smaller road, but pilgrims used to have to cross  dual carriageway with a central barrier dividing the road! Yikes! The new alternate route goes along the busier N13, and requires no death-defying road-crossing feats. Those come later in the day for everyone regardless of which route they take at Araujo.

We did a total of 20kms on cobblestones, then the remainding 6km on sealed roads, through the villages of Mosteiro, Vilar, Giao and finally to our destination, Vilarinho. We had been somewhat unexcited about staying at Vilarinho as our guidebook listed a pilgrim alburgue as the only accommodation. The thought of sharing a room with up to 15 other people, at least one of whom snores, sleeping in bunk beds and being woken by the endless rattle of plastic bags at 5am just isn’t our idea of what a camino is all about, so we were delighted to meet a gentleman at Mosteiro who told us about his ‘hostel’ in Vilarinho. It’s actually a self-contained unit at the back of his house with space for up to 4 people. There is a double bedroom, kitchen-loungeroom with another double bed and a shared bathroom. 10 euros per person including breakfast, and there are also washing and drying facilities.

So we were pretty happy about finding some nice accommodation, and after the horrors of the last 4km of the day, we needed it! We had to walk on a road that was barely 2 lanes wide, with absolutely no margin at all. Stone walls on either side, fairly busy road that we had to keep on crossing to avoid meeting oncoming traffic on blind corners. I’m amazed that the camino route hasn’t been changed to quieter, safer roads – if today had been my first day of walking a camino, it might also have been my last – really scary walking conditions.

Scary road no room stuck between two stone walls. Trucks semis and cars speeding along this road

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Rest day Porto http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/rest-day-porto/ http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/rest-day-porto/#comments Mon, 21 May 2012 21:33:27 +0000 http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/?p=485 Another cold cloudy day in Porto, but we got to see some more of the city.

Stairs at Lello bookshop

 

Narrow lanes down near the waterfront

Eiffel's bridge

 

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Day 20 Grijo to Porto http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-20-grijo-to-porto/ http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-20-grijo-to-porto/#comments Sun, 20 May 2012 21:23:13 +0000 http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/?p=469 Continue reading ]]> 18km. A very cold start to our walking day, with rain on and off for most of the morning. We didn’t get breakfast at the Residencial we stayed at last night, so we walked 3+km to Grijo and got coffee and cheese rolls at a little cafe there. Most of the day’s walk was on paved roads through the southern suburbs of Porto, with one section of unpaved and cobblestoned Roman road. Of all the surfaces we walk on, cobblestones have got to be The Worst! Hard, uneven and unpredictable. I’m sure they are rough on the cars that drive on them as well.

We stopped a couple of times for snacks along the way, but it was too cold to sit for too long, so we just kept on walking and reached our hotel in Porto by 3pm. We’re staying at the B&B Hotel Porto Centro, a gorgeous new hotel in an old cinema. There is a large B&W photo of Ingrid Bergman on the wall of our room.

Rest day tomorrow, which will give us a chance to see a bit of Porto.

Walking in the rain again on a Roman road

Flowers on every grave

 

 

Judy at the Pont Louis I bridge (click for larger version)

Porto and the river (click on image for larger version)

 

Porto stage options: If you are walking to Porto there is another hotel that has been built about 7km north of Sao Joao Da Madeira. It is the Hotel Feira Pedra Bela. This would make the leg to Porto a more manageable 28km.

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Day 19 Sao Joao da Madeira to Grijo http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-19-sao-joao-da-madeira-to-grijo/ http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/day-19-sao-joao-da-madeira-to-grijo/#comments Sat, 19 May 2012 18:01:31 +0000 http://www.gregspurgin.com/walking-the-camino-in-portugal/?p=458 Continue reading ]]> 18 km. The final stretch to Porto according to John Brierleys Camino Portuguese guide is a gruelling 34.3km. The only option to break it into smaller chunks is to stop at Grijo, which we aimed to do. It rained on us last night when we went to dinner, so this mornings dark clouds made us expect that we would be walking in rain today.

After a nice breakfast we packed up and headed out, down the road to Pingo Doce (a supermarket) for some fresh bread for lunch. We are walking to Porto on a Saturday and Sunday, and have learnt from experience that not many places are open Saturday, and even less on Sunday, so extra supplies are required. It was cold overcast, but it was not raining , so it was a meander through the suburbs, including another long steep hill, until we found a bar open (at the 4km mark) where we stopped in the warm for some drinks and rest. It was then our favourite highway the N-1. However because it was Saturday there was less traffic on the N-1, and a lot less trucks. We left the N-1 at Malaposta where we walked along the old Roman Via XVI road, with a short stretch of original Roman road.

Through long stretches of villages including Ferradal and Vergada. At Vergada we stopped for an icecream to think. We had a 5km stretch to Grijo, and then we had to backtrack east about 1.5km to get to the only hotel in the area. We pulled out our GPS and worked out it would be only 3.3km to go straight up the road to the hotel rather than the long detour. After 30 minutes it finally started raining. It rained for about four minutes and then stopped. We made it to the slightly run-down Residencial  Sobreiro Grosso. Tomorrow we have 18.3km to walk into Porto.

 

Tiled church

A piece of original Roman Road

 

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