I was originally planning this Camino solo, but my 27-year-old daughter decided it was a journey she was called to make as well. We’re from Indiana in the U.S., and flew in on TAP with a direct flight from EWR. We spent the day in NY before our 1 AM flight.
I have several reasons for my Camino, one of which is to honor both of my parents. I’ve lost them both, and miss them terribly. They would be so excited about this journey. We are currently staying at Maria Da Sé Historic House right by Sé Cathedral. What an incredible welcome to Porto. Maria’s husband picked us up from the airport for 30 Euros and gave us a lovely tour of the city on our way in. When we arrived, Maria surprised us with freshly baked pasteis de nata and port wine. We love them, and the hotel is lovely and perfectly situated.
It’s very rainy in the city at the moment. We were prepared for rain on the Camino, because of the time of year. We both have great rain suits. What we did not bring was an umbrella lol. Ahhh well.
We got settled in our room, then headed right out to Sé Cathedral. The rain had stopped and there was an amazing cellist playing outside. The music in that surreal setting literally brought me to tears. We entered the cathedral, and received our first stamp! We then toured the cathedral, which is beyond stunning with so much history. We prayed for a bit, then headed upstairs for a beautiful view. By the time we were finished, it was pouring again. Remember those great rain suits I mentioned? We forgot them since it had stopped raining when we left lol. At least the hotel was close!
Our Camino will be a bit different than the norm. We both have hectic lives back home. I wanted to ensure that my experience was positive. I’ve pre-booked private rooms at hotels along the entire route, instead of albergues. This way, we know exactly what we have to walk each day. We are mostly doing the central route, but have chosen to use the Senda Literal to head from Porto Cathedral to Matosinhos, then to Vila do Conde, where we will cut over to Arcos to meet the Central. We will end in Santiago de Compostela on the 14th, and will spend a couple of days there.
We have not trained one iota to do this. My daughter is in amazing shape. We’ll find out what kind of shape I’m in lol. I’d like to say that while it is quite special to be here for Easter, it brings its own set of challenges. Many restaurants, etc. are closed for the holiday, so things could get interesting for our first couple of days. We’re pretty adaptable, so we’ll figure out something.
With limited options, we ended up at Sé Catedral Restaurant across the street from the cathedral. It was actually really good, and we were able to try the national dish, bacalhau. So good! Headed back around 9:30 this evening. The walk back was so breathtaking, with the narrow cobblestone lanes, and the Cathedral lit up over the city. We were both in awe.
We officially begin our journey tomorrow! We are using Pilbeo, and will only carry day packs with us as we go. I can feel the disapproval already haha. I salute all of you carrying everything and sleeping in one room. It’s just not for me, and I believe this to be a personal journey that can be done in multiple ways. I’ve planned this entire route and all of its stops, and we used this amazing forum to help us plan what we need to bring. We’ll see how it goes! Bom Camino, everyone!
Weather was pretty cold and rainy when we started out, and now it’s cool in the mornings and evenings, but hot in the afternoons. We checked the weather every day before we walked. Layering is key. If there was any rain in the forecast, we wore or brought our rain jackets and pants. Otherwise, we had super comfy hiking pants that we wore every day. We brought 2 pair. We wore 1/4 zip fleece lined shirts literally every day. We would wear either thin thermal liners under them on cool days or just a dry fit t-shirt on hotter ones. We also brought bucket sun hats, and ended up wearing those often. I brought a lounging set as well, but could have done without it. I used merino wool socks. My daughter swore by her Bombas. We wore mostly black and I was very happy we’d done that. There were some pretty dirty, wet days. I do think 2 pairs of shoes is important. The pair I spent a fortune on ended up being far inferior to the much cheaper Brooks trail runners I bought just days before we left. It was nice being able to go back and forth, especially if one pair was still wet. As far as what I wish I had brought with me, we both agree that either reef walkers or all-weather sandals would have been helpful a few times. The day we were stuck by deep water, we could have put those on and trudged right through it. Also, always carry a dry pair of socks with you lol. Have an amazing Camino!
Jen
