History and compostela - just checking

[Deleted member 36903]

I will be walking from Porto to SdC late April through May. I have opted for the coastal route and plan to definitely walk as far as Viana do Castelo (possibly further) before turning inland to join the central route.

When I walked the Camino Frances last year one of the things that kept me going in the hardest stretches was the knowledge that many thousands of pilgrims over centuries had walked on the same path and faced greater hardship than I would ever encounter. The way was, therefore, for me at least, made sacred because it was imbued with their sacrifices and commitment to reach the goal of of SdC. So, can anyone on the forum help with the history of the Coastal route and do the SdC Cathedral authorities recognise it as a bona fide Camino?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Exact camino routes change as cities change, so no route is "bona fide." However, the Camino Portugues has been a part of the statistical analysis by the Pilgrim Office since it began systematically collecting data, so it is as legitimate as any!

 

[Former member 22438]

I will be walking from Porto to SdC late April through May. I have opted for the coastal route and plan to definitely walk as far as Viana do Castelo (possibly further) before turning inland to join the central route.

When I walked the Camino Frances last year one of the things that kept me going in the hardest stretches was the knowledge that many thousands of pilgrims over centuries had walked on the same path and faced greater hardship than I would ever encounter. The way was, therefore, for me at least, made sacred because it was imbued with their sacrifices and commitment to reach the goal of of SdC. So, can anyone on the forum help with the history of the Coastal route and do the SdC Cathedral authorities recognise it as a bona fide Camino?

Turning inland at Viana do Castelo is not a real option It is about 20 kms to reach the central route at Balugães but aside a busy road. You could take the train from Viana to Barosellas (not Barcelos !) or Tamel and continue from there on the central route.
Other option is follow the coastal from Viano to Caminha and follow the waymakers to Valença do Minho or Tuí and hit the central route there.

 

[musicman]

Why go inland? By then you should be addicted to the Ocean!
Great places,too, like Baiona, Vigo.
You will then connect with the internal at Redondela.

 

[Castilian]

can anyone on the forum help with the history of the Coastal route

http://tudensia.blogspot.com/2009/09/sobre-o-pretendido-camino-portugues-da.html That's an interesting blog entry in Galician about the history of the Coastal route (lack of it according to the autor although being in a blog about Tui and its people it could be some bias) that quote some sources that you could use for further research/verification if you were interested.

 

[Deleted member 36903]

Turning inland at Viana do Castelo is not a real option It is about 20 kms to reach the central route at Balugães but aside a busy road. You could take the train from Viana to Barosellas (not Barcelos !) or Tamel and continue from there on the central route.
Other option is follow the coastal from Viano to Caminha and follow the waymakers to Valença do Minho or Tuí and hit the central route there.

Thank you Albertinho for your advice, but in another post you mentioned that the last stretch of the coastal route is quite remote and you would not advise a woman to go alone through the forests there.

 

[Deleted member 36903]

Why go inland? By then you should be addicted to the Ocean!
Great places,too, like Baiona, Vigo.
You will then connect with the internal at Redondela.

thank you musicman. See my reply to Albertinho , but also the availability of albergues and even private accommodation seems to diminish the further north on the coastal route one walks. I would not want to be in the position of not being able to afford what was offered in an expensive seaside location. But any reassurances for me to just keep on trekking towards Vigo after Canminha will be gladly received.

 

[Deleted member 36903]

http://tudensia.blogspot.com/2009/09/sobre-o-pretendido-camino-portugues-da.html That's an interesting blog entry in Galician about the history of the Coastal route (lack of it according to the autor although being in a blog about Tui and its people it could be some bias) that quote some sources that you could use for further research/verification if you were interested.

Thank you Castilian. I clicked on the link but the Google translate offered just reduced the text to gibberis. There seemed to be some mention of Thomas a Becket having walked some of this way and I would really like to know more about that.

 

[SYates]

As long as you walk a reasonably straight line towards Santiago (not meandering around and doubling back on yourself) any pilgrimage will be, in my experience, recognized by the Cathedral / pilgrims office for the Compostela. Just think about it for a moment: In pre-industrialisation times pilgrims just started from the door of their homes and walked any safe way to Santiago. Buen Camino, SY

 

[Castilian]

There seemed to be some mention of Thomas a Becket having walked some of this way and I would really like to know more about that.

He quotes it to say there's no proof of it.

 

[Former member 22438]

That is correct but that is not the stage you are going to walk nor the one advised.
I advised you to go inland from Viana do Castelo by public transport or walk on to Caminho and walk on the Portuguese side of he Minho river to Valança do Minho or Tui.
The stage I meant is from a Guarda to Santa Maria de Oia. This is advisable to walk with somebody else due you walk through a remote area

 

[Former member 22438]

thank you musicman. See my reply to Albertinho , but also the availability of albergues and even private accommodation seems to diminish the further north on the coastal route one walks. I would not want to be in the position of not being able to afford what was offered in an expensive seaside location. But any reassurances for me to just keep on trekking towards Vigo after Canminha will be gladly received.

Who told you that ? We walked the coastal as many here on the forum did and we found the albergues.
In Caminha, a Guarda,Mougas, Nigrán and Redondela(or Cessantes) and cheap accommodation in Baiona and Vigo.

 

[Deleted member 36903]

Who told you that ? We walked the coastal as many here on the forum did and we found the albergues.
In Caminha, a Guarda,Mougas, Nigrán and Redondela(or Cessantes) and cheap accommodation in Baiona and Vigo.

Thank you Albertinho for the information and reassurance. If, when I reach A Guarda and other other people are heading towards Mougas etc. I will go ahead, otherwise I will do as you suggest and turn inland at Caminha.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

Who told you that ? We walked the coastal as many here on the forum did and we found the albergues.
In Caminha, a Guarda,Mougas, Nigrán and Redondela(or Cessantes) and cheap accommodation in Baiona and Vigo.

So I am confused... In this lat post you tell us Caminha, A Guarda, Mougas etc. Is fine. But in the previous one, that from Guarda to Oia is not advisable. Or are you only replying, in the last post, about albergue availabilities?

 

[Former member 22438]

So I am confused... In this lat post you tell us Caminha, A Guarda, Mougas etc. Is fine. But in the previous one, that from Guarda to Oia is not advisable. Or are you only replying, in the last post, about albergue availabilities?

Sorry there was a problem with the keyboard of my ipad in connection to this forum last night. now it seems it works correctly again.

There are two things. In this thread I answered on a post of @SEB Who asked for a walk at a part of the coastal and wanted to go as far as Viana do Castelo. That is a nice walk but getting from there to the central route (between Barcelos and Ponte de Lima is a bit hardish because you have to walk almost all te time alongside a busy road and it is not waymarked. So I advised to take public transport from Viana to Barosellos (that is a small village nearby Balugãs and Casa da Fernanda ) or Tamel and walk from there on on the central route.

Option two I mentioned was to walk further from Viana along the coast to Caminha
There you can head to Valença do Minho where you reach the central route on the border with Spain. This stage via Vila Nova de Cerveira is waymarked. Besides it is easy to do. You follow the river Minho at your left side all the time.

A third thing is and that is probably the confusing thing is that you also can continue the coastal at Caminha by taking the ferry to a Guarda and go on to Mougas Baiona Vigo to Redondela in Spain. I did not advise this in this thread but indeed mentioned this in other threads . This is a great walk but the part from a Guarda to Oia/Mougas is remote as soon as you leave A Guarda and I should advise solo walking females not to walk alone .find somebody to walk together or an other option is to skip this stage partly .it is a path round a mountain as soon as you leave aGuarda.after about five kms you will walk on a big road with a footpath and thereare more houses and is more social control.

But this third option is not in the advice I gave to @SEB initially.
somebody else in this thread suggested that.


Your question @Anemone del Camino was another... In a different thread. You wanted to walk from Porto on the central route as far as Casa Fernanda and then switch to the coastal. From Fernanda it is complicated to get by the coast by walking to Viana do Castelo.
The option is okay by public transport or by the option I sent you in a conversion.
If you walk on to Ponte de Lima and Valença you could go from there to the coast either to Caminha or A Guarda(by taking the bridge over the river Minho in Vila Nova de Cerveiro) but if you look on the map (f.ex Google maps) you will see that this is a detour backwards. Crossing from Fernanda diagonal north east to Caminha is a bad option because you have to walk through an almost deserted mountain landscape.
Look at the map and you see what I mean.

Bom caminho

 

[Former member 22438]

Thank you Albertinho for the information and reassurance. If, when I reach A Guarda and other other people are heading towards Mougas etc. I will go ahead, otherwise I will do as you suggest and turn inland at Caminha.

That is a good idea but try to meet your company during earlier stages.
So you allways can decide to turn inland at Caminha.
Bom caminho.

 

[Dutch]

@SYates isn't it so that you can meander all you want, from north to south and back again via skippyball or rollerblades, as long as you walk the last 100k to Satiago? That really is all Santiago cares about, when it comes to the compostela.



Okok...and a horse and a bike.... such a shame about the skippyball though

 

[Anemone del Camino]

@Albertinho , of the stage from Caminha to Mougas may be iffy for a solo woman, how does one skip it? Is there piblic transportation along the coast between these towns? Or is there a way to go from Valenca/Tui to Mougas rather tham A Guarda/A Caminha?

 

[musicman]

This is an authentic Camino; anyway, a Camino begins from anywhere you start !
The Pilgrim office, in S de C, is only interested in whether you have two "sellos" a day, from when you reach Galicia, minimum 100 km, to qualify for a Compostela.
As far as I am aware, and I have been a member of the Forum, for sometime, there has never been any reference to harassment on this Camino. I met solo pelegrinos, when I walked the Coastal and they never even alluded to any difficulties. More hassle in a UK town, at night.

Plenty of cheap, non- Albergue accommodation , too. Utreia!

 

[Deleted member 36903]

Just the confirmation I needed. That is the way I will take. Thank you so much @musicman

 

[Former member 22438]

@Albertinho , of the stage from Caminha to Mougas may be iffy for a solo woman, how does one skip it? Is there piblic transportation along the coast between these towns? Or is there a way to go from Valenca/Tui to Mougas rather tham A Guarda/A Caminha?

From a Guarda there will be a bus to Baiona so as soon you are in Santa Maria de Oia you could continue your walk .

Going from Valença to Mougas is the same as from Fernanda to Caminha. It is a big detour backwards with a lot of extra kms.
I do not know the landscape in that area .
We walked the coastal and the central in two different years .both have about the same lenght counted from Porto but what you asks is zigzagging with a lot of extra kms. I advise you or continue the coastal from Viana do Castelo or the central directly from Fernanda to Ponte de lima ,Valença , O Porriño Redondela etc.

 

[Anemone del Camino]

From a Guarda there will be a bus to Baiona so as soon you are in Santa Maria de Oia you could continue your walk .

Going from Valença to Mougas is the same as from Fernanda to Caminha. It is a big detour backwards with a lot of extra kms.
I do not know the landscape in that area .
We walked the coastal and the central in two different years .both have about the same lenght counted from Porto but what you asks is zigzagging with a lot of extra kms. I advise you or continue the coastal from Viana do Castelo or the central directly from Fernanda to Ponte de lima ,Valença , O Porriño Redondela etc.

Ah, but I want it all: Casa Fernanda, Puente de Lima, the ocean ... Hence the zigzagging

 

[Former member 22438]

Ah, but I want it all: Casa Fernanda, Puente de Lima, the ocean ... Hence the zigzagging

So walk from Porto to Fernanda and Ponte de Lima, take the bus back to Viana do Castelo and walk the coastal. Or walk this year the central and next year the coastal
That's why we come back every year since the first time.
Now we want to go back to Lisbon and experience that area again by walking a different caminho. It is a virus that never disappears anymore.you know better than me

Bom caminho