Hiking the Camino de Santiago Portuguese Route – Part 2

After hiking 9 days and more than 86 miles (138km) from Porto to Tui we were ready for a break. A zero day in our first Spanish city gave me a chance to catch up on work and all of us some time to rest our hiking legs. We enjoyed the respite in Tui, but on the morning of day 11 we donned our packs and set out to finish our pilgrimage, hiking the Camino de Santiago Portuguese Route from Porto to Santiago de Compostela.

Previous Post: Hiking the Camino de Santiago Portuguese Route – Part 1

Camino de Santiago Portuguese Route Film

For anyone interested in our Portuguese Route pilgrimage and more inclined to watch the journey than read about it this film covers our hike from Porto to Santiago de Compostela.

DAY 11 – Tui to O Porriño

Ready to get a good start on the day we woke early, made coffee, and left the apartment before sunrise. Tui being a good place to start a shorter pilgrimage the trail was packed with lots of new hikers. We walked out of the city under the golden light of the rising sun, endured some busy roadside traffic, and after 4 miles stopped in a crowded cafe for coffee and snacks.

By midmorning we reached a fork in the road with the option to take a shorter path through an industrial zone or a longer trail through nature. We picked the longer direction.

The afternoon turned hot and humid and in one exposed stretch we sought out the only shade available by sitting in a roadside bus stop to cool down. Soon the trail ducked back into the forest and we appreciated the cooler temps and tree canopy.

Arriving in town we devoured a large fried egg and potato lunch and checked into our hotel at 2 PM. After sink laundry, showers, and relaxing we walked around the city center of O Porriño. I picked up a new Spanish SIM card for my phone and following a hearty dinner in a restaurant bustling with pilgrims we retreated to the hotel for an early night.

DAY 12 – O Porriño to Redondela

The sunrise hike out of O Porriño was stunning. We set out early to beat the traffic but the trail was still full of pilgrims. It wasn’t bad having so many other hikers around us, but it did mean that finding tables at cafes in some of the smaller villages was increasingly difficult. By 9 AM we passed the sign post noting less than 100km to Santiago and we could feel the finish getting closer.

While in Tui I was catching up on work and asked Tyler and Dad to take care of booking the accommodations going forward. By midday we walked into town and sat down for lunch before heading to the local hotel they had booked. Tyler opened Google Maps and said “uh oh” when he realized that the place they booked was actually 2 more miles outside of town. Slightly bummed by the additional distance, but mostly because of the unappetizing platter of dry toast we ordered, we grabbed our packs and continued hiking out of town.

The trail followed a busy road full of fast drivers seemingly not keen on giving hikers any space. By midafternoon we checked into our small 3 bed hotel room with shared showers, cleaned up, did laundry, and walked next door to sit in the cafe and book the rest of our accommodations together.

DAT 13 – Redondela to Pontevedra

After listening to the rain all night we packed everything extra carefully in layers of plastic bags to stay dry. While having a quick coffee at the cafe next door the rain stopped just in time for us to start our hike. The morning turned out to be beautiful, cooler from the clouds and the sunrise illuminating the countryside, perfect weather to start the day with a steep climb.

In the next town we found a cafe and sat for crossiants and coffee. Walking north we reached the Ponte Medieval de Pontesampaio bridge over the Verdugo River. The villages on either side were absolutely beautiful and the bridge over the water was so picturesque it had me looking up long-term rentals online for a future visit. The steep climb out of the river valley on the other side was not quite as enjoyable, but totally worth it.

We continued up a long steep climb for several miles past pop-up cafes, snack shacks, and food trucks in the remote forest serving the fast growing throng of pilgrims. Crossing the crest we reached the bottom of the hill by noon having 7 miles of hiking behind us.

We pressed on across the valley, took a scenic route along a winding river, and finally walked into Pontevedra having hiked 9 miles over the mountain without taking a single break. A bit faded from lack of calories we collapsed in a Mexican cantina and devoured an absolutely delicious dish of spicy nachos. After lunch we made it to our hotel, cleaned up, repacked, and spent a relaxing evening in the old city.

DAY 14 – Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis

With the trail getting busier we set our alarm for before sunrise, made coffee in the hotel, and headed out to cross the Ponte do Burgo bridge in the dark. It was a beautiful morning, cool and crisp, and the city streets gave way to rural roads lit by gold as the sun rose over Spain.

By mile 6 we arrived at the first trailside cafe but it was bursting at the seams with pilgrims. We walked another mile and a half and found a cafe with an empty table and sat for coffee and snacks. The trail was increasingly busy not only with hikers but also pilgrims on bicycles, and surprisingly many of them had absolutely horrible bike etiquette.

The weather forecast called for light rain and strong winds and while we lucked out on the rain the wind definitely showed up. Fortunately it was mostly a tailwind that helped push us past the 50km to Santiago sign as we made our way to Caldas de Reis.

We reached town, sat down for a gourmet hamburger lunch at a cafe, and checked into our hotel just in time to stay dry from a sudden deluge of rain. We’d covered more than a half marathon while only taking our packs off once to rest, it seemed that we’d definitely built up our hiking legs. Mostly sequestered to the room due to the monsoon we cleaned up, used the hotel laundry machine, and relaxed until we sprinted across the street for a hearty dinner before bed.

DAY 15 – Caldas de Reis to Pardon

The rain continued to fall all night but it had subsided by the time we set out just before sunrise. We crossed the quiet countryside while the sun tried to poke through looming clouds but the rain stayed away. We stopped for breakfast and then later for snacks as our route took us through the quaint landscape before becoming more industrialized closer to town.

In Pardon following a hearty pilgrim lunch of eggs, potatoes, and fried peppers we walked to our apartment on the north side of town. There we did laundry and prepared for the next day. Being within striking distance of Santiago instead of splitting the final stretch into two days we decided to do it all in one. The alarm was set for before sunrise and we drifted off to sleep.

DAY 16 – Pardon to Santiago de Compostela

Bags packed, headlamps switched on, we set out for our final, and longest, day on the Portuguese Route of the Camino de Santiago. We left the apartment pretty early but already there were lots of other pilgrims on the path with the same plan as ours.

By 8:15 AM we’d covered 3 miles and by 9:30 AM we stopped for coffee and snack with nearly 6 miles behind us. Sufficiently refueled we started a 700 foot climb that would take the rest of the morning and put us within 10km of the finish. Just before 1 PM we crested a hill and caught our first glimpse of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela, the finale of our trek.

We still had a few miles to go so we pushed on down a narrow river valley and then back up to the outskirts of the city. Dirt paths gave way to concrete sidewalks and we crossed the highway heading into town. At 2:30 PM and 2km from the church we stopped for one last break and a pre-celebratory beer. We didn’t linger though, we were ready to go.

Under a bright blue sky and after our longest day on the route we made our way into the central plaza in front of the Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. In 16 days we’d hiked 164 miles (264km) from Porto, Portugal to Santiago de Compostela, Spain and Dad and Tyler had just completed their first Camino pilgrimage.

After hanging out in the plaza taking it all in we ventured off for a celebratory drink and then to check into our apartment. The next day we picked up our transferred luggage from Tuitrans and me and Dad prepared to catch a bus to the coastal town of Muxia.

Following a day of rest we returned to the plaza before sunrise to watch Tyler set out on his second stretch of the Camino, hiking from Santiago to Finisterre and then on to Muxia to meet us 4 days later.

Dad had loved the hike so much that he immediately ordered the French Way Camino guidebook to start researching future treks.

Combined with hiking the French Way in 2017 I’d now covered 700 miles along Camino routes through France, Spain, and Portugal. After my first finish I hadn’t really considered coming back, but a random late night text to my Dad and Tyler’s sabbatical from work made returning to the Camino on a Father-Sons trek truly a once in a lifetime experience. This time, after completing my second Camino, I was already daydreaming about returning to the scallop shells for another pilgrimage.

DAILY DISTANCES

DAY 1 – 13. 1 Miles – Porto to Vilar do Pinheiro
DAY 2 – 6.5 Miles – Vilar do Pinheiro To Albergue de Peregrinos do Mosteiro de Vairão
DAY 3 – 8.9 Miles – Albergue de Peregrinos do Mosteiro de Vairão to Rates
DAY 4 – 10.5 Miles – Rates to Barcelos
DAY 5 – 9.9 Miles – Barcelos to Balugães
DAY 6 – 11.75 Miles – Balugães to Ponte de Lima
DAY 7 – 6.5 Miles – Ponte de Lima to Labruja
DAY 8 – 12.9 Miles – Labruja to Cedral
DAY 9 – 6.5 Miles – Cedral to Tui
DAY 10 – 0 Miles – Tui to Tui
DAY 11 – 11 Miles – Tui to O Porriño
DAY 12 – 12.2 Miles – O Porriño to Redondela
DAT 13 – 11.5 Miles – Redondela to Pontevedra
DAY 14 – 13.8 Miles – Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis
DAY 15 – 12.25 Miles – Caldas de Reis to Pardon
DAY 16 – 15.75 Miles – Pardon to Santiago de Compostela

Porto to Santiago Total Distance = 164 miles (264km)

Trekking With Tractors Film

Always one for a bit of comic relief during long endurance adventures I found it fun to film each encounter we had with tractors along the Camino de Santiago Portuguese Route. Enjoy!