I did Porto to Santiago in 10 days in September and found the first day out of Porto, starting at the Matsinhos bridge - after getting the metro to the second last stop (Mercado), then across the bridge and left all the
way up the coast to Villa do Conde. a lovely day - but with most coast walks, a head wind kept me at slightly less pace than I would otherwise be capable of. But lots to see and plenty of eateries along this stretch,
the coastal scenery and a couple of fishing villages etc. Depends of course on the weather and i can imagine this would be a very hard slog in bad weather.
I would have liked to continue on the coast in hindesight, as the second day inland to Rates was a bit of a slog over cobbled back roads. (I was over Portuguese cobblestones after Lisbon, Porto and the walk)
Seems there is not an asphalt surface anywhere in Portugal!! Which is why i like it, but not much fun to walk on
After Rates, it got better to the overnight stop at Barcelos.
Lots of confusion at the intersection in Rates. Quite a few people headed off back to the coastal route, instead of heading on the inland route! Easy to miss the turn at the church. I saw them a couple
of days late after they had to get a taxi back to main route after a 20km detour to the coast!!
9 days would mean a couple of really long days unless you took a taxi over the worst spots (Villa do Conde to Rates for one!, but others may disagree
