Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage journey to Santiago de Compostela, Spain.

This blog post is going to be about our journey on the Camino de Santiago Portugal route. This will be in a different format as well as this journey is more of a ‘thru hike” in more of a modern fashion. It will be laid out as a daily journal entry with more informative points for anyone who is interested in doing this camino route! Some tips will be listed at the end! 

We started our Camino de Santiago journey on Wednesday, October 6. The Camino de Santiago is a pilgrimage that leads to the city of Santiago de Compostela, Spain. 

It is known in English as the Way of St. James, a network of pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostleSaint James in the cathedral. Since 2013, the Camino de Santiago has attracted more than 200,000 pilgrims each year, with an annual growth rate of more than 10 percent. Having gained its popularity back a few years ago, in 2019, about 280,000 pilgrims have finished their journey and earned a certificate. To earn a certificate (compostela) you must walk or horseback the last 100 km or bike the last 200 km and get your credentials stamped twice daily! What are credentials? Credentials, the "pilgrim's passport", provides pilgrims with a record of where they ate or slept and serves as proof to the Pilgrim's Office in Santiago that the journey was accomplished accurately. 

Routes to Santiago de Compostela

So let the journey begin! There are 17 official routes that all lead to Santiago. We decided to take the Portuguese route from Porto, Portugal. From Porto it is about 280 km (180 miles) and takes about an average of 12-14 days to finish. 

**this will be a longer post than usual because the entire 2 weeks of our journey is in this post! 

Leaving Porto!

Day 1

The weather was AMAZING! Praise the Lord!

8:25 am - started from the Porto Cathedral down to the riverside. 

9:05 am - stopped for a quick breakfast at Confeitaria Portilho (a meat and cheese sandwich) 

9:20 am - started back on our Camino! 

10:50 am - stopping for a quick break, watched some surfing! 

11:00 am - started back on our Camino!

11:25 am - earned our first stamp in our credential!

1:00 pm - stopped for lunch at Ondaa sobre o mar. The sandwiches were amazing! Portions were great as well. 

1:35 pm - back to our Camino!

3:20 pm - arrived in Labruge, Portugal! Stayed in 

Casa de Praia guesthouse 60€ for a triple room with a shared bathroom.

The first day was amazing! This was our first time being on the coast of Portugal! The weather was amazing and everyone was wishing us a great walk by saying “BOM CAMINHO!”, Good way in Portuguese. We met a sweet girl from Germany and split a guesthouse room with her to split the cost. 

We ended our day with watching the sunset 🌅. What a wonderful first day on our pilgrimage. My foot started to form blisters….

25 km: Porto to Labruge

Following the yellow arrows all the way…

Day 2

Pretty chilly morning! 

7:00 am - had breakfast in Labruge. Our breakfast was included in our stay.

7:40 am - started our Camino! 

10:15 am - stopped for a short break for an espresso ☕️ 

10:40 am - Back to our Camino! 

1:15 pm - stopped for lunch at Mor do Norte (sandwich and a burger! Super tasty and the owner was so sweet!)

2:05 pm - back to our Camino! 

4:00 pm - ended our day in Apuila, Portugal. Seeing the sunset while having dinner. 

We made it to tonight’s accommodation. We stayed in Home of the Pilgrims in Apuila! For a double bed with a private bathroom, we paid 30€. We asked another pilgrim and he said that for a private albergue it is a really good price!

The host (Luiz) was super friendly and offered us dinner, however we already had dinner. He spent time with us in the evening, talking about different things as he shared a bottle of wine. Our night ended late, but it was well worth it! 

25 km: Labruge to Apuila

Our host Luis was the absolute best!

A church on top of the hill on our walk…

Day 3

7:30 am - started our day!

9:20 am - stopped for breakfast at a small cafe (cappuccinos and pastries)

10:00 am - back on our Camino! 

We took some short breaks along the way to attend to my blisters. The duct tape is wasn’t really helping me either. 

1:50 pm - stopped for lunch at the town of Castelo do Neiva. 

2:50 pm - back on our Camino! 

5:00 pm - ended our long day in Viana do Castelo. 

We stayed in Pousada de Juventude. This used to be a youth hostel, now more like a hotel? for a private room and shared bathroom it was 35€. We wouldn’t recommend this place but it was not far from the Camino and we needed something close. It was a super long day, but well worth it! Made it to a rather large city so we can take an easy day tomorrow. (Or do we?) 

32 km: Apuila to Viana do Castelo

Day 4

9:00 am - started our Camino! 

Met some pilgrims to walk with and it definitely made time go by fast! 

11:20 am - we all stopped for a coffee break!

11:50 am - back on our Camino! 

2:30 pm - stopped for lunch. Had a wonderful steak and salmon right on the coast. 

4:25 pm - started back on our Camino. 

6:30 pm - ended our 4th day at the end of Portugal! The town of Caminha. 

(We debated if we wanted to stay in the town that we had lunch, however we decided to keep moving another 5 miles to get to the town of Caminha. When you feel a certain way, follow your gut!)

We only ran into one problem(?). We didn’t know where we were going to stay. We stopped into an albergue and all the places said they were all full. The hotel was full as well. We found a hotel with one private room left for 45€. This was our only option. We were actually pleasantly surprised by the room and the newly renovated bathroom. We took showers and headed out to the city center two decompress. We were both really glad that we made this decision. We stayed in Residencial Galo d’Ouro. 

32 km: Viana do Castelo to Caminha

Our friends who helped us pull through this day…

Day 5

Slept a little chilly, but had a good nights rest. 

8:00 - started our Camino! 

We had to walk to the ferry this morning in order to get to Spain! 

Everything looked closed, but a man told us that in 10 minutes he will take us to Spain. For 5€ per person, he took us to Spain!

(Some few breaks in between…definitely hit a low today)

1:00 pm - stopped for a lunch break at a cafe looking over the sea. There was NO PLACE to eat for 5 hours…we finally found a small cafe on our walk and it literally SAVED us! 

1:45 pm - back on our Camino!

3:15 pm - Short ice cream break 

3:25 pm - Back on our Camino! 

We did lose an hour coming into Spain! 

5:00 pm - we got to our albergue and ended our day here. Whew. This day was a rough day. 

We stayed in albergue touristico Aguncheiro in the town of Mougas, Spain. The albergue offered dinner for 8€ per person so we decided to stay here and relax and not worry about dinner. The dinner was absolutely AMAZING! For a private room and bathroom, it was 30€. We really do recommend this albergue! 

29 km: Caminha, Portugal to Mougas, Spain

Our boat to cross borders

Finally a cafe… did not see an open one in 5 hours!

Day 6

8:05 am - started our Camino!

Stopped for a break. 

11:15 am - stopped for lunch in Baiona! Had some yogurt and pancakes! 

12:15 pm - back on our Camino!

2:45 pm - ended our day in Nigran, Spain. 

We weren’t feeling too well so 12 miles felt really nice and doable. We showered and went to a cafe to decompress for the day. We stayed in Pension Venus. A private room with a private bathroom costs us 40€. 

25 km: Mougas (Pontevedra) to Nigran

A bridge we had to cross to get to the town of Nigran

Day 7

9:20 am - started our Camino from Nigran!

Some short stops along the way…

1:30 pm - stopped for a coffee break. 

2:05 pm - back on our Camino!

2:30 pm - stopped for lunch break. 

3:15 pm - back on our Camino!

3:55 pm - We ended in Vigo, Spain today. 

We stayed in Hostal Real. Very clean and spacious. The check in lady was also very sweet and accommodating to us. For a private bedroom with a shared bathroom it was 30€. 

16 km: Nigran to Vigo

Chocolate with churros! A staple in Spain!

Day 8

8:15 am - left Vigo and started our Camino to Redondela. 

8:35 am - stopped for coffee at ‘The Coffee Land’. And got some bakery items. The bakery lady gave us some extra as well! How sweet of her! 

9:05 am - back on our Camino!

made some stops along the way because we had a real short day today (about 9 miles). 

1:30 pm - checked into our albergue in Redondela, Spain. 

We stayed in A Conserveira for two bunk beds it costs us 23€. It was really clean and the facilities were great for the pilgrims. Totally recommend! 

Redondela is the town where both the coastal and central route meet and go together to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. There were definitely more pilgrims in this town (more than what we have seen this entire trip)! 

15 km:Vigo to Redondela

Day 9

7:55 am - started our day with some coffee and croissants, we have left Redondela, Spain and on our way to Pontevedra, Spain!

9:20 am - stopped for coffee ☕️ 

9:45 am - back on our Camino!

12:45 pm - we were done with our Camino in Pontevedra and checked into our hostel for the day: Albergue GBC Hostel - 16 euros a night in a dorm room. It is on the quieter side, but not crowded! 

We grabbed some lunch at Hangar 218 (a burger joint) and then walked around the town!

21 km: Redondela to Pontevedra

Was such a pleasant journey today

Day 10

Woke up, went to a bakery and had breakfast and started our Camino at 9 am. We met some friends along the way from Argentina and Uruguay! (Martin and Consuelo)

10:55 am - stopped for coffee

11:35 am - back on our Camino!

1:00 pm - Stopped for lunch at a small cafe on the way. 

1:45 pm - back on our way!

Ended our journey in Caldas de Reis. This town is famous for its thermal bath and a small black bamboo forest. We dipped our legs in the thermal bath and ended our day with some great seafood. We stayed in Albergue Albor, a nice albergue right in the city center (they have an exclusive wax stamp when you check in!) for 2 bunk beds it was 32€. Very sweet host! 

23 km: Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis

Our friend Martin from Uruguay!

The thermal bath in Caldas de Reis

Albergue Albor

Day 11

8:15 am - left our albergue and started the day! Forecast today is cloudy and some rain 🌧 

10:20 am - took a coffee break

10:50 am - Back on our Camino!

12:35 pm - lunch break

1:00 pm - Arrived at our albergue for the night: Albergue Rossol

For two bunks it was 23€. The staff was mediocre but everything else was great and it lies right on the Camino! We didn’t take many pictures due to the day being rainy all day. But we did end up meeting our friends again and had dinner with them and it was such a good night. 

20 km: Caldas de Reis to Padron

Day 12

Our last day on the Camino! A bittersweet feeling but we were ready to see Santiago. 

We only had a few stops and met some friends along the way and then got to Santiago at 4pm! We ended our journey with our friends we met from the beginning of our journey and it was such a blessing to have not only walked this and got to know each other over the past few days but to end our journey together as well. WHAT A JOURNEY!  Because we were staying here for couple of nights we decided to stay in a place called Pension de Estrela. The host was very sweet and not only cleaned our room daily, but also folded our laundry. *Accommodation in Santiago can get quite pricey as this area is pretty touristy. 

25 km: Padron to SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA!!!

The last few sections are just tips we wanted to write down and things that we learned throughout our journey.

Things that we felt like we have done right: 

• packing fairly lightly
• packing a rain jacket
• Not booking places ahead of time
• Stopping and enjoying the cafes and watching the sunset.
• Meeting lifelong friendships and being open to talk to different people from different cultures.
• Journaling by hand every night and decompressing daily 

Things that we would have changed:

**mind you our bags are for backpacking Europe not just doing this pilgrimage, so we did have a heavier pack than what we wanted. 

• Pack size - we do not think it is necessary for a pack bigger than maybe 30L? Especially if you are not sending your bags to the next albergue your going to stay at. 
• To do less high mileage days- the point of the Camino is not to get through it as fast as possible. Looking back we would have done more shorter days and not rush through so much.
• Be open to staying in places that are a little far from the city and not on the internet. We did not do this but looking back we think it would leave more room for adventure and the unknown. There was lots of options along the way and you will always find somewhere to stay!

Tips for feet: 

• Lowa hiking shoes- we have seen so many pilgrims with this brand of shoes on. They swear by it! 
• 2 pairs of socks 
• Duct tape
• Trekking poles! - more older pilgrims use the trekking poles but it seems to help as the terrain can sometimes be uneven.

Buen Camino