Portugal to Spain - El Camino de Santiago
Day 1-3 Lisbon
We began our 15 day journey from Portugal to Spain by flying to Lisbon and spending two days to recover from jet lag. We traveled with Kay and Randy (Montie’s sister and brother-in-law), and Pattie and Frank (friends of Kay and Randy). After two nights in Lisbon, we joined a tour group called Backroads. Backroads curates active tours all of the world. Our tour was a walking/hiking adventure covering 85 kilometers between Porto, Portugal and Santiago de Compostella, Spain. After this spiritual and challenging experience, we returned to Porto to further explore this beautiful city. We rented a house for five nights and lived like locals. Finally, we returned to Lisbon for one last night before flying home.
In Lisbon, we stayed in a beautiful boutique hotel with only six guest rooms, Palacete Chafariz Del Rei. The young men who ran the hotel took such good care of us; preparing breakfast, serving wine before going out for dinner and port when we got home. The exterior of the hotel was the location for one of the first public fountains in Lisbon and was a stop for many tour groups including the cruise ships that docked nearby. It looks a bit like a church, but it was always a hotel. However, it did have a small chapel right next to our room. It was beautiful.
We walked to the top of the hill in the Alfama neighborhood where the São Jorge Castle is located and meandered our way downhill stopping at a few outdoor bars along the way and touring the Cathedral Sé. We ate at a chic restaurant called Bahr . The second day, we took a Tuk Tuk tour. Our guide showed us several neighborhoods (Alfama, Baixa, Chiado) and many parks with beautiful viewpoints. Tuk Tuks are a very popular way to see Lisbon, but they clog up every street of an already congested city. Americans were everywhere because of the cruise ships and everyone spoke English. Our guide suggested that we have dinner on the “blue” street which is a lively pedestrian street where Don and I shared traditional Portuguese comfort food…salted cod and potato casserole.
Our first night on the town with our traveling friends: Kay &Randy and Pattie & Frank
Hotel in Libon
Palacete Chafariz D’el Rei
Touring Lisbon
Day 4-9 The Camino
On day 4 we traveled by train from Lisbon to Porto and checked into The Lodge Porto hotel which was actually across the river from Porto in Gaia. The Lodge is a chic hotel with excellent service and our room had a great view of the Ponte Dom Luis Bridge. We tasted a few port wines along Ave. Ramos Pinta and had a nice traditional Portuguese dinner at Stramuntana. On Day 4, we met our Backroads tour leaders and began our “Camino” journey to Cathedral de Santiago Compostela. Our journey was a “taste” of The Camino. The true pilgrims who make this journey are required to walk at least 100 kilometers along one of the many routes to the tomb of St. James and collect stamps along the way as proof. We never really intended to be true pilgrims, but we did walk approximately 83 kilometers and we collected many stamps as proof of our journey. Pilgrims are required to get at least two stamps a day and we had fun gathering those marks of our accomplishments. We got our stamps at coffee shops, hotels, restaurants, shops, etc. Our taste of The Camino took us on three different routes: Portuguese, Frances, and Finisterre. We met our three Backroad guides: Davide, Maribel, and Emily. The guides made our “pilgrimage” fun, educational, and spiritual. We also met the other 15 members of our group. When you walk 83k over five days, you have a chance to get to know everyone. We enjoyed these interactions and found everyone to be easy travel companions. We were with these folks all day for five days for walking, breaking, eating, touring, swimming…everything. It was fun! We began each day with a little meeting to discuss the day’s route and available options. Each day, we usually had an optional easier route, but we only took the easier route once…and kind of regretted that choice. The routes were challenging, but never too difficult.
Sunday, September 22 - 9.3 miles - The Portuguese Way. Beautiful vineyards and hillside villages. We were treated to a magical lunch in the forest by the owners of an estate…18th generation! At the end of a long day, we walked into the charming town of Ponte de Lima. We explored town and shopped the market along the Rio Lima. We were shuttled to the hotel where we would stay the next two nights…Torre de Gomariz. We had a welcome reception and very nice dinner with typical Portuguese dishes
Monday, September 23 - 11.9 miles - The Portuguese Way. We began the day, by walking back into Ponte de Lima, but only to cross the Roman bridge for which the town is named (watch the video below). After walking across the bridge, we were given our scallop shells to show that we are pilgrims on The Camino. Some pilgrims wear their shells and some tie them to their backpacks, but you see them everywhere especially as you get closer to the cathedral. We tied our’s to our backpacks and will hang them on our Christmas tree each year to remember the journey. We had a lovely picnic lunch along a picturesque creek prepared by our guides and were given an option to either go back to the hotel for a relaxing spa day or take a challenging hike with a bit of a climb through an eucalyptuses forest . We took the challenge along with about half of the group and celebrated our accomplishment.
Our walk over the Roman bridge Ponte de Lima
Tuesday, September 24 - 9.9 Miles. We walked into Spain today! We generally had great weather for our entire trip, but there were two days on our walk when it rained. However, pilgrims trudge on and so did we. Watch the video below. In A Gaurda, Spain we climbed to the top of Castro de Santa Trega for a nice view. A Gaurda is in the Galician region of Spain. The view was a little in the clouds, but still very nice. We saw ancient Celtic ruins and sculptures of the Stations of the Cross. We had a nice coffee break at the top and were served Portuguese almond torte and orange cake by a local cafe owner. Our second walk that morning was along the Portuguese coast line…again in the rain. We had a seafood feast for lunch in Cádiz and the sun finally came out for our afternoon walk that continued along the coast line. We stayed in a Spanish Parador called Parador Baiona. There are close to a hundred of these Parador hotels that are former castles, monasteries, convents, etc. and are owned by the Spanish government. Just like all the hotels on the Backroads tour, this stay again exceeded our expectations. We had a great view of the sea and a beautiful room. The town of Baiona is the site where Christopher Columbus’ first ship, The Pinta, returned after discovering the new world. The people of Baiona were the first to learn of this amazing discovery!
Wednesday, September 25 - 8.7 Miles. Our second day of rain. It rained so much that our guides had to completely change the plan for the day. We were scheduled to take a ferry ride to the Ceis Island for the entire day, but the wind and rain made this impossible. Our guides quickly found us an alternate walking route that included probably the best meal that we had all week. It was a happy surprise. This little restaurant is normally closed on Wednesdays, but they opened for us and let 21 completely soaked pilgrims come inside for a fabulous meal of scallops, octopus, cod, shrimp, lots of wine, and so much more. After lunch, we were given the option to continue walking to the hotel, Quinta de Auga, or spend the afternoon in the spa. We took the spa option this time and so glad that we did. The five people that chose to walk encountered harder rain / wind and even had to climb over trees that had fallen in the storm.
Thursday, September 26 - 12 Miles - The French Way. Today, our guides took us to a beautiful section of the Camino called The French Way because it originates in France. The day started out a little wet, but we dried out pretty quickly and enjoyed the beautiful countryside. We had another guide prepared lunch at an estate called Pazo de Sedor . After lunch we began our final approach to Santiago de Compostella called The Finisterre and the route got a little busier as pilgrims merged in from various routes. We walked into the city and gathered in front of the cathedral to celebrate with pilgrims from all over the world. We did not go into the cathedral just yet…that will happen tomorrow. We were living on adrenaline, so we decided to walk three miles back to our hotel, Quinta de Auga. A quick rest, then cocktails and the final dinner with our Backroads group.
Friday, September 27 - 4.3 Miles. We finally got to go inside to see the point of our pilgrimage…The Cathedral de Santiago which is built over the tomb of St. James the Great. Beautiful architecture and opulence. After our tour, we had a final lunch with the group, said our goodbyes, then loaded up on a bus and traveled three hours back to Porto to continue our adventure.
We cannot say enough good things about the Backroads tour company and especially our guides.
Yellow Arrows Guide The Way - Yellow arrows are used to guide pilgrims on their journey to The Cathedral de Santiago. We passed hundreds of these arrows and found them to be comforting reminder that we were on the right track. We always looked forward to the next arrow and enjoyed the many variations. These arrows are discretely seen all over the region, so the next time you are in Europe and see a yellow arrow, you will know you are on the Camino de Santiago.
Day 10-14 Porto
After we finished our Backroads tour at the Cathedral, they bused us back to Porto where we rented a VRBO house. Our place, 22 Oporto, was a good-size place with four ensuite bedrooms and a surprising outdoor area. The homeowner, Fernando, greeted us and provided information about his beloved hometown, Porto. We had a great dinner at the corner restaurant, Churrasqueira Paraiso. The restaurant was casual, busy, and loud…so much fun. The best part was when our friends from England, Chris and Mo, showed up! The surprise visit was planned for weeks by Mo and Kay. Chris and Mo stayed at another place just across the street and joined us in exploring Porto.
Douro River Cruise
We spent an entire day touring the Douro River Valley which is where much of the grapes used in Portuguese wine are grown. This is where you see those fantastic terraced vineyards on river cruise advertisements. The Douro River Valley has just a few small towns, but lots of vineyards and tasting rooms. Our tour included a van ride, boat ride, two tastings, lunch and lots of wine. It was a fun day.
Day 15 Lisbon
We took a quick train ride from Porto back to Lisbon to catch our flight home. We didn’t do anything special for this last night, but we stayed in a hotel near the Lisboa Oriente train station which was designed by the famous architect, Santiago Calatrava. The station was beautiful from everything angle and we were glad to see it up close and in person. Several of these photos were take from our hotel...what a view.
Adeus a portugal!