5/18/2023 0 Comments Boondocking mapMuch like all the Camino routes it has a strong season to it too, with summer being the most traveled and winter the least (in fact many Albergues even shut down over winter). Of the latter 93,193 walked a central route while only 30,609 walked along the coast. In 2022 (which was a Holy Year mind you) 438,000 pilgrims requested their Compostela (completion certificate) in Santiago of which 123,802 arrived via the Portuguese Way. In fact it’s the 2nd most popular route to Santiago de Compostela and the numbers are not insignificant. The Portuguese Way is the 2nd most popular Camino The Camino in Portugal is just one of thousands of routes to Santiago de Compostela It’s A Popular Route TooĪlthough the French Way is the most well-known Camino, the Portuguese Way doesn’t track far behind. The other routes see far less foot traffic. The majority of pilgrims chose either the coastal or central route (the two most popular trails) walking from either Lisbon (longer route, ~30-35 days) or Porto (shorter route ~12-15 days). You can walk the entire thing along the coastline, or do the whole thing inland you can start at the bottom or half-way up you can crisscross between coast and trail or you can veer waaay inland or you can do a mix of them all.Įach of these paths has their own name too the “Central route” (goes through the middle), the “Coastal Route” (as you’d expect), the Spiritual Variant” (a new little squiggly bit in the north), the “Fatima Route” (an alternate inland stretch from Lisbon), the “Camino Nascente“ (a less-travelled route starting in Tavira) and so on and so forth. This is because the Portuguese Way is not just one path, but a multitude of them. We’ll be starting in Portugal and walking south to north, but in addition to that we’re also combining several different trails. This year is going to be quite different. It was IMO the perfect path for a first Camino. There are hundreds of paths, thousands of them even, and last year I walked the most popular (and well-known) route, a ~780km trail that starts in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port in France, commonly known as the “French Way”. Those of you who’ve been following the blog a while already know that the Camino is not just one path, but literally any pilgrimage that leads to Santiago de Compostela in NW Spain where the remains of the Apostle St. Lots of ways to walk the Camino in Portugal Here we go… Let’s see how this goes, eh? The Portuguese Way Is More Than Oneįirst things first, I thought I’d talk a bit about the path itself. My bags are ready, my flight is booked, many of our Albergues are already booked (it’s Easter Week, so it’s likely to be busy) so I thought I’d take this opportunity to test my toes in the waters of blogging again and tell you a bit about what we’re going to do. The Camino gives you what you need, not what you you want. Yet I really hope some parts will be, and I also know I must open my heart to all the new things it can be, because one thing is certain and constant: I know it won’t be the same as last time, I know that. The hope that I’ll actually be able to fly out of France next Thursday (there’s a few disruptions going on here at the moment, as you may know) and the anticipation of what this Camino will be like. The fact that this time I’m walking in a new country with folks I’ve planned with beforehand. Maybe there’s a happy middle-ground somewhere? Time will tell what this Camino brings I want to record this trip for myself (and for those who dream of doing the same), but I’ve really come to dislike the shallowness and grind of the online world. It’s no secret to my readers that I’ve struggled with social media these past months. Since I’ve done this, since I’ve blogged and told stories, since I’ve shared my life online. In fact I might be a little too chillaxed about the whole thing? I haven’t trained as hard and am not nearly as fit. I don’t have same the fears as I did last time mostly because I’ve already done it, but that’s also made me a smidgen lazy. Life distilled down to its simplest elements, strangers turned friends by a common goal and your body pushed to acknowledge both its hidden strengths and obvious weaknesses. It’s strange and familiar all at the same time.įamiliar for the routine that I know is to come. Wheeeeee! Hello world, hello Camino training Four nights before I (hopefully) get on a plane and sail through the sky to Portugal for my 15 day adventure on feet.
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