Portugese starting from A Guarda?

[RichTea]

Hi: I am looking to do the Portugese this May with my daughter. However she is concerned at the distance so I would like the fallback of getting the bus to A Guarda/Caminha and starting from there. Would we still qualify for the certificate..it is over 100km? Also; if we started from Porto and she struggled could we jump a few stages but still 'bank' the distance covered? say day 1 to Villa do Conde 24 km at which point she wanted to jump to say Vigo..would the distance already covered qualify towards the 100km? I would like to get us over 100km this first time to inspire her for the next! Thanks!

 

[Momonne]

Welcome RichTea,

Alas no « banking » allowed. Rules are clear, 100 last km, not just some random 100km. That means walking at the very least from Tui/Valença, uninterrupted.

 

[jsalt]

Hi, yes, you would get the compostela (certificate) if you started in A Guarda.

Sounds like a good plan to me for your daughter’s first camino.

Nothing you do will inspire her for the next. Only she can work that one out.

It’s like house-hunting – no sales agent can “sell” me the house – the house will “sell” itself.

Jill

 

[Jan_D]

Yes it's definitely over 100km from A Guarda to Santiago. Be sure to check out the Celtic ruins at Monte Santa Tecla/ Trega when you're there - well worth the walk up the hill if you have a bit of time to spare! By the way, you might find it helpful to know that the ferry from Caminha-A Guarda doesn't cross on Mondays, and it's also tide and weather dependent. They update the ferry times every few days here: http://www.turismoaguarda.es/category/noticias-turismo/

 

[RichTea]

Well thank you very much to you all!. I am going to try fropm Porto but we have time to move up to A Guarda if she stuggles. Am already envisaging us on the Francais.....one can but hope!

 

[KariC]

As folks above said, Tui is about the 100 km out mark. So starting at Porto would be more than that and give you some buffer. I hope your daughter is so enthralled by the experience and the scenery that she doesn't want to miss any of it.
One way to "entice" her a bit might be to start at Matosinhos, and hike the first day along the coast - you can go inland to the central route after the first day, at Vila do Conde. As you may have read, starting the central route from Porto can be a bit gnarly, and you can cut 12 km from the start by starting at Matosinhos at the coast. From Vila do Conde it's a rather long day to Barcelos, or a really short day to Sao Pedro de Rates and another short one from there to Barcelos, and you could take it easy the 2nd and 3rd days by breaking that into two. That could get her into the rhythm of walking and give her confidence that she can do it.

 

[stevov]

I walked Porto to Santiago via caminha, a Guarda in June. My daughter joined me for 4 days mid way. My blog covering the journey may be of interest stevov.wordpress.com buen camino!

 

[Doogman]

Based on the information that I have, it is about 155 kms from A Guarda to Santiago. (The comments referring to Tui/Valenca are referring to the central route through Portugal, whereas I believe the OP is referring to the Coastal route). If you arrive at Caminha and there is no ferry, or the ferries are delayed, try asking if Mario is still taking people across. He took me and and friend over for 5 euros each in 2015. Otherwise we would have had to wait 5-6 hours. We found him near the beach at the mouth of the river. One other suggestion - once you get across the river, turn left and follow along the river out to the sea, and then turn north along the coast into A Guarda. The route is not marked but it is easy to follow. A few locals told us about that. It was a beautiful day and I thought it was a great route. Enjoy!