Boy, did I plan this in advance?

I usually leave the flights or whatever until after Christmas but if you read my last post I had been doing a little bit of planning for next Camino. I have decided to walk from Porto along the Coastal Path and hopefully arrive in Santiago within 2 weeks.

I have booked a Ryanair flight to Porto on the 27th of September 2020. I have no idea what I will be doing around that time but I feel good locking in the flight. The plan is to walk to the cathedral in Porto, get my first sello and catch the metro to my hostel in Matasinhos, which is 12 km from the city. I will be avoiding the industrial part of the city and it makes a nicer start of a walk the following day. I will book a hostel in Matasinhos closer to the time.

I have already walked from A Guarda to Santiago (165 km) in May 2018 and I am excited to see some of the towns again. Towns like Oia, Baiona and Pontevedra. I will see some new towns, of course, in Portugal.

However, there is always one town…..Vigo! Last year, I didn’t enjoy my time there. I arrived in just as a ferry from England docked carrying tourists and I just felt it wasn’t a pilgrim town. There are also a real lack of arrows. Hopefully, my time there next year will be different. This week, it was announced that the authorities in Vigo will place stone markers to help pilgrims. Vigo is a very large city and one of the largest ports in Spain.

I have no return flight booked yet but my intention is to book it before I leave. I have been looking at the guidebook briefly. All the stages seem relatively short and compared to the central route, it is not challenging. There are opportunties to take alternative routes, with all Caminos and I may take them to vary things.

However, we are looking too far into the future. What I need to do first is buy a new backpack as my current one is torn. So I will be shopping shortly. And I will be walking shortly too.

• Camino Portugues
• Camino Frances
• Camino Preparation
• Camino Planning Links

As I sit and type this evening, I look at the calendar. The days are dropping away. Just 21 days left, 3 weeks. Any organised pilgrim would be packed and ready to go! I’ve a little more to do!

This day 3 weeks from now, I will be sitting in my hostel in Lisbon waiting for the next morning. Or maybe I will be flying around on one of those great trams in the city. Who knows? I will just let the future play out.

I’m very happy with my toe. I’ve been treating it myself for the last week and I go to the podiatrist for (hopefully!) the last time on Tuesday. With the 8th approaching, it feels like everything is falling into place. I must admit it feels strange being without a nail but I guess I just need to be “that” bit extra careful when I’m walking in Portugal.

I am just home from the West of Ireland from a family wedding. Galway is a lovely part of the world but I seem to be out of touch with what’s going on there. It was good to catch up, regardless.

Linda, whom I met in Santiago in May, wrote about her walk to the cathedral this week. You can read it here. It’s always nice to meet someone you know in Santiago, or to walk in with friends.. I still remember the day being hot and going for a celebratory drink after.

More soon! Buen Camino!

Santiago puts on the best celebrations. Lucky pilgrims!

This Weekend Watch falls on St. Patrick’s weekend and it has a distinct Irish feel to it. Not only does the video show a good part of Galicia, Ireland’s unofficial fifth province, but this pilgrim arrived at A Coruña before making his way to Sarria where he started his Camino. I look forward to seeing Breoghan and the Tower of Hercules in May. In the meantime, enjoy Galicia through this video.

To watch other Weekend Watches, check out my archives

• Ideal viewing – Webinars for Planning your Camino!
• Weekend Watch #78 – Patrick Rock, a pilgrim from Ireland
• Hello everyone, a quick update.
• Summer is coming soon…
• Happy New Year! Feliz Ano Santo!

I don’t think I have featured anything on the Camino Primitivo before. There are so many other routes to discover, but so much time!

The Camino Primitivo is a difficult, but beautiful pilgrimage, that starts in the town of Oviedo and ends in Santiago. It has a distance of 310 kilometres or 192.6 miles. This Camino crosses three provinces – Asturias, Lugo and A Coruña and can be completed in about 2 weeks. It passes the city of Lugo before arriving at Melide on the Camino Frances.

The below video captures some of the sights and sounds well. This is one for the future for sure. If you are planning to walk this particular Camino, the below links might be of interest to you:

• Trepidatious traveller
• PilgrimageTraveller
• Following the Arrows
• Gronze