I've added your blog to my feedly account so will follow you at least until we set foot in Portugal ourselves!
I've done about 2,000km of caminos in France and Spain, but this is the first Portuguese one. IS there a reason you would NOT do Vila do Conde - Esposende - Caminha - Valenca????
Great. You can sign up aswell the blog by giving in your emailaddress right under.
If you get fed of it you easily can unscribe.
Impressing your 2000 km camino experience and you will be happy to add the Portuguese kms to it. you will like it.
About our caminho...you have some time..?
The first time we walked from Lisbon we ended up in Vila do Conde.
The coastal walk from Matosinhos was quite windy and previously we had decided to walk the coastal all along to Vigo but at the very last moment on the Vila do Conde brigde we decided to turn right to Rates instead of left following the coastal. An impulsive decission which we did not regret Afterwards because we met so many nice people and the best..as you called it the "gem"
Casa da Fernanda.
In the mean time we have been there three times and are as friends with them.
So now we want to see them again so decided to walk from Vairāo to them and from there train to Viana do Castelo. So we now skip 3 stages from Vila do Conde to Viana do Castelo.last year after having finished the camino Ingles we toured 2 months with our car and campingtrailer through Spain Portugal and France and explored the coast around Caminha. We loved it so much that we decided to walk the coastal this time.
A few years ago we came by ship from Brasil to Europe and had a stop in Vigo and we liked the town so much that we decided to walk the coastal to Vigo for a second visit.. We allready walked from Valença so we know the area .
What new is to us ,is that in Pontevedra we head west (instead of north direction Santiago --Caldas de Reis Padrón) to Vila Nova de Arousa ,the so called Variante Spiritual, a two days walk which ends up at the harbour where a boat sails you to Pontecessures (Padrón) from there it is one hike to Santiago.
We read about it on this forum and liked it as a change.
We will do this camino in 3 weeks, staying two days in Barcelos to visit the beautifull town of Braga again for the third time. Our stay at Fenanda's, two days in Vigo and two days in Santiago to visit the Tertulia café, maybe we will meet Ivar and probably meet some forum members.Then we take the bus back to Porto Where we will stay another two days before flying back home where the daily routine is waiting again
Bom caminho