Day 1: Porto to Perafita via the Littoral Route
After 23,000 steps yesterday, my legs & feet were sore before even starting my first day on the Camino. However, my feet were much happier to put on trail runners after 3 days of Keds.
Even though I had been to the Porto Cathedral before today, I wanted to have the official start to the walk, so I made my way up the hill for the “beginning picture” and off I went.
I was happy that I had already walked these steps to the riverside so I knew the way. The steep stairs crisscross through the back streets of the river, and I would’ve been afraid of having to make the trek back up if I didn’t know I was on the right path. Once I reached the river, I took a deep breath and enjoyed the quiet vibe of 8:30am. In the same plaza the afternoon before, cheers and chants for the FC Porto fútbol team echoed through the whole valley – even across the river to where I was sitting.
Soon the tourist section of the river turned into a busy road with a small walkway on either side. This was loud & cramped but luckily fairly brief. On the other side, real life Portugal began – people walking dogs, participating in exercise classes, working construction, fishing.
The first hour or so was along this canal, but I could soon smell the sea in the air. I walked with the canal markers in sight excited for the ocean – waves, breeze, calming sounds.
The waves were more intense than I thought & I was reminded that this area was battered with storms not that long ago. Still, even though barriers are up to prevent people from accessing the beach, people were still camped out on the sand – though no one was swimming with the intense waves crashing against the rocks.
Across the street was a fort, and while I wanted to check it out, I couldn’t easily find the entrance so decided to save my energy for the rest of the day to come.
A little while later, the open cafe right on the Praia da Luz beach convinced me to take my first break of the walk. This is a short walking day after all, and my feet aren’t quite ready for what is to come – they were already sore at this point.
The next leg was along the ocean watching people enjoy the beaches & wishing I was done for the day so I could join them. I was carrying my bathing suit & towel with the intent to swim at the end, but little did I know that once I got past Matosinhos, the wind would pick up & cool everything down. Later when I reached my destination, I couldn’t resist putting my feet in the surf and quickly found out that even if it was warmer out, the frigid water of the Atlantic Ocean would probably have stopped me from taking my anticipated swim.
Soon after lunch, I joined a group of ladies from Florida for a little walk together. It came at the right time as we had to navigate ourselves to the bridge & back to the ocean. This was my first time having to look for the Camino signs – and found out I’m not all that good at it. I’m sure I’ll get better as I go.
Since they were walking twice as much as me and I was at a faster pace, I lost them & did a little detour to check out one of the coastal churches & a monument dedicated to a local poet. That extra time brought them back into my trajectory, so I decided to walk the last boardwalk section with them.
I arrived at my destination, the small village of Perafita, at 3pm. Pretty good timing for the first day. After a cold foot plunge in the ocean, I was ready to relax & regroup for the day.
After a nap & shower (which became my ritual), it was time to head out to the market to get provisions for breakfast & maybe dinner. On the way, I came across a go kart race track and decided to watch a race. Arriving with their own race gear, some of the drivers took their 10 minute race around the course seriously, but it also seemed more than welcoming to anyone who wanted to take a turn.
The market was disappointing, so I focused on my next quest of the day: a drink & snack with an ocean view. Add in my first taste of the salty & filling lupini beans and I found exactly what I was hoping for.
I opted for a low key dinner & ended up meeting two German women who had just finished the Camino that day. It was nice to talk to them about their experiences, and it confirmed my choice not to stay in Albergues – snoring, large groups, lack of bedding. They also talked about people not caring about home country politics, which gives me some relief for conversations to come. One thing they mentioned that made me think about what was to come is that the Portuguese are introverted while the Spanish are more extroverted. I wondered what that will look & feel like.
Day 2: Perafita to Vila de Conde
I woke up feeling like I definitely needed to do a better job of stretching at the end of today.
I got a slow start today because I knew I had a shorter distance to walk & I couldn’t check in till 3pm. Still I got up early to get ready & pack my suitcase for luggage transfer before going back to bed. It felt weird to be lazy when others were already walking, but I knew I also didn’t want to do the type of distances that others were. Everyone always says to walk your own Camino.
I’m glad I had a shorter distance to go because it was very windy (think 25 mph winds windy). Walking into the wind, I had my head down with my hood covering my hat to try to give my face some reprieve from the wind and sand. The beaches were empty, even though it was a Saturday, but there were some people out walking the boardwalks.
I didn’t see nearly as many Camino walkers as I did yesterday – maybe because of when I started in the morning or where I started from. It felt odd, but I put my earbuds in and listened to my audiobook as I walked against the wind.
When I stopped for my late morning break, I realized that I would still be too early into Vila do Conde. I wondered what type of facilities would be open for me to find a place to rest without having to eat something. It made me think about people who don’t have a steady roof over their heads. Yesterday was lovely so it was easy to sit and watch the water, but when the weather turns, not having a place to get a break from it must be so hard.
After walking through a small fishing village, I was ready to find some lunch, so the “best fried Hake” (fish) sign called my name. It was fine – a little salty – but the fresh salad & fries made it the perfect lunch for me. It’s been hard to find veggies here, so I enjoyed having the salad. A few other pilgrims joined the cafe while I was there, but overall, this walk has been a quiet one.
Online I had seen the state of one of the boardwalks that was damaged in the most recent storm & knew that I wasn’t going to listen to the detour sign, but when I got to that point the other walkers were about to take the detour & I didn’t want to be the rebel/disrespectful one; however, when they saw others on the trail, they decided to go forward as well, so I was happy I got to tackle the 45 degree walk. It definitely wasn’t as bad as I thought it was going to be.
Just as I arrived in Vila do Conde, a canoe race began in the canal, so I joined the small crowd to watch for a little bit. Doing a little research, I found out that this race would usually be into the open ocean, but with the surf conditions as they are today, they moved it into the canal, which in the end was better for the fans.
My lodging was just up the hill on a cute side street. Vila do Conde is very clean & feels like a smaller version of Porto with the tiled houses. The owner of the lodging was really sweet & the other Camino walkers staying the night were nice to talk to. With a kitchen at hand & a real grocery store nearby, another American couple & I both made dinner and ate together.
I didn’t expect to feel this, but I was hoping for more pilgrims on the Central Route. Being able to chat over dinner with fellow pilgrims worked well as an end point to the day – a shared experience. I expected tomorrow’s walk will probably be even quieter since I was switching routes.
Day 3: Vila do Conde to São Pedro de Rates
Today I left the coast to head inland to the Central Route. I had 2 options – the official Peregrinos path along the river & a little longer route by an aqueduct. Though I originally planned on taking the river route, the more I read about it online, where people said there was a dangerous narrow road section, I decided to take the longer & more complicated route by the aqueduct. Besides being safer, I figured that I should enjoy the unique sights whenever I could. But this also meant that I would see even fewer people than I would on the river route.
And this proved true. It was more than halfway through the route before I saw any other pilgrims, and I only saw two the whole day. Locals walking the streets even seem a little skeptical of me. One man kept turning around thinking I was following him. I picked up my pace to pass him so that he 1, could see my pilgrim shell & 2, so I could just focus on my path, not his skeptical eyes.
I had the Stingy Nomads’ article about the route screenshotted for reference, but even with that, there were moments where I questioned which way to go next.
I especially felt lost when I decided to make a quick detour to grab a snack at the grocery store & take a much needed bathroom break. For others walking this route, there are lots of take away options at this hypermarket (Portuguese version of a super market), so if you’re worried about food options for the route, I would highly suggest it. I had passed a few cafes, but for the most part, it was a quiet route.
The aqueduct was worth it, though. It was so cool to see such a massive relic freestanding & just a normal part of the local landscape. It reminded me of walking in the midst of ancient history in Greece.
In the town of Beiriz, I came across a church, and I was hoping to get my first church stamp of the trip, but sadly realized they were in the midst of Sunday mass. Going into this, I thought there would be more church moments along the way, and maybe when I hit the Central Route, there will be. But so far, every church I’ve passed has been empty or closed.
This route has felt a little like a scavenger hunt – trying to find the faded yellow arrows amidst the moss growing on the stone walls. There was one point that I only knew which way to go because of a local woman directing me. Again, I felt so lucky for Google maps as a failsafe for making sure I’m heading in the right direction & while I haven’t needed it yet, it was reassuring to know that I had it in my back pocket.
At another intersection, as I was looking around trying to figure out which way to go, I turned around to see another pilgrim directing me the way he was going. So for the rest of the day I had the company of a fellow teacher from Germany. I enjoyed sharing stories about our Camino journey and our teaching lives as we helped each other navigate the route. A Danish pilgrim was just behind us & then got our attention to let us know we missed a turn. While we didn’t miss the turn I was planning to take, we still followed her because I could see on Google Maps that we could also go that way & avoid a larger road.
While her route was on smaller roads, it also passed through a forest filled with trash and other debris. I was sad to see the state of the little bit of forested trails in the area.
Not long after, we made it to the town of São Pedro de Rates and decided to all get lunch together in one of the only two restaurants open. The other two pilgrims were both supposed to keep going, but both decided that this was a good place to stop for the day. Knowing that we were all done for the day meant that we could enjoy a relaxing lunch at a restaurant that many served other pilgrims.
Rates made me see a glimmer of what the Central Route might be like. The town is cute, historic & very quiet. I know that most places are closed on Sundays, but I would still expect to see people walking around. There really was no one there except the other pilgrims.
Mac On the Map 
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