Portugues or return to Frances ; woman alone

[Gillyweb]

Hi all. I'm heading back to the Camino toward the end of August and am totally undecided. I am looking for some time to 'be' and not have to think too much so my initial idea was to walk from Logrono to León. However I know I will struggle to stop at that point and will feel I should be carrying on to Santiago. I could stop there and then take the bus to Santiago and walk to Finisterre which I haven't done yet, so that would be a closure period for this walk I suppose. I also really want to walk the Portugues and with two weeks free could do Porto to Santiago (flight booked) but am worrying about accommodation, expense and stress. I do suffer from anxiety and always feel totally at home, safe and relaxed on the Francés. So my questions are
1. How safe will I feel alone on the Portugues ?
2. How hard is it to find affordable accomodation in August, Coastal or Interior ?
3. Is it possible to walk mindfully or is it concentration territory ?
At the end of the day it's my own decision I know, but many more experienced pilgrims than I may have thoughts I haven't had, or simple advice to give. Any feedback positive or negative most welcome.
Thanks Guys

 

[JRR]

Hi all. I'm heading back to the Camino toward the end of August and am totally undecided. I am looking for some time to 'be' and not have to think too much so my initial idea was to walk from Logrono to León. However I know I will struggle to stop at that point and will feel I should be carrying on to Santiago. I could stop there and then take the bus to Santiago and walk to Finisterre which I haven't done yet, so that would be a closure period for this walk I suppose. I also really want to walk the Portugues and with two weeks free could do Porto to Santiago (flight booked) but am worrying about accommodation, expense and stress. I do suffer from anxiety and always feel totally at home, safe and relaxed on the Francés. So my questions are
1. How safe will I feel alone on the Portugues ?
2. How hard is it to find affordable accomodation in August, Coastal or Interior ?
3. Is it possible to walk mindfully or is it concentration territory ?
At the end of the day it's my own decision I know, but many more experienced pilgrims than I may have thoughts I haven't had, or simple advice to give. Any feedback positive or negative most welcome.
Thanks Guys

I walked alone last summer Lisbon to SdeC. Porto to Santiago is lovely. Lots of accommodation and safe, some rolling terrain but easily negotiated. Lisbon to Porto is very gruelling with long days between albergues but this changes at Porto with plenty of amenities. Porto is spectacular. Particularly enjoyed the border towns between Portugal and Spain, Valencia/Tui. Relax and enjoy. Bom Caminho!

 

[Deleted member 56069]

Gillyweb, my wife and I walked from Porto in April this year and loved it. We walked via the central (what some call the interior route). The only thing I would suggest is that in hindsight we wish we had walked day 1 on the coastal route due to a lot of the first day walking along the narrow shoulders of the busy N-306 highway. Also a lot of walking on cobble stones and the granite setts which are hard on the feet. Once you reach Vila do Conde you can branch back to the central route and rejoin the central route at Arcos. We enjoyed all of our days in Portugal, except as mentioned our first day out of Porto.
As far as safety, I think their is no difference between Portugal and Spain. As you know, you can always walk with others or at least keep other walkers in sight to improve your feeling of security. The Portuguese people are lovely and helpful and seem genuinely happy to see you.
Overall we found the trails very well marked and literally did not put a foot wrong our entire time in Portugal. We will certainly be back at some point for another Camino in Portugal.
Staying with the familiar (Camino Frances) has it's attractions, but as they say, variety is the spice of life!

 

[Letsgocamino]

Hi all. I'm heading back to the Camino toward the end of August and am totally undecided. I am looking for some time to 'be' and not have to think too much so my initial idea was to walk from Logrono to León. However I know I will struggle to stop at that point and will feel I should be carrying on to Santiago. I could stop there and then take the bus to Santiago and walk to Finisterre which I haven't done yet, so that would be a closure period for this walk I suppose. I also really want to walk the Portugues and with two weeks free could do Porto to Santiago (flight booked) but am worrying about accommodation, expense and stress. I do suffer from anxiety and always feel totally at home, safe and relaxed on the Francés. So my questions are
1. How safe will I feel alone on the Portugues ?
2. How hard is it to find affordable accomodation in August, Coastal or Interior ?
3. Is it possible to walk mindfully or is it concentration territory ?
At the end of the day it's my own decision I know, but many more experienced pilgrims than I may have thoughts I haven't had, or simple advice to give. Any feedback positive or negative most welcome.
Thanks Guys

I concur with JRR. I just returned from the Camino Portuguese on June 19th. Started in Porto, took the coastal to Vila do Conde then cut across to Arcos. I had no problems. It's a lovely route. It will probably be quite warm when you're there. It was in mid june.

 

[Gillyweb]

I walked alone last summer Lisbon to SdeC. Porto to Santiago is lovely. Lots of accommodation and safe, some rolling terrain but easily negotiated. Lisbon to Porto is very gruelling with long days between albergues but this changes at Porto with plenty of amenities. Porto is spectacular. Particularly enjoyed the border towns between Portugal and Spain, Valencia/Tui. Relax and enjoy. Bom Caminho!

Thanks - It's good to know accommodation isn't too much of a problem even in Summer. Perhaps I'll stick with Portugues after all.

 

[Gillyweb]

Gillyweb, my wife and I walked from Porto in April this year and loved it. We walked via the central (what some call the interior route). The only thing I would suggest is that in hindsight we wish we had walked day 1 on the coastal route due to a lot of the first day walking along the narrow shoulders of the busy N-306 highway. Also a lot of walking on cobble stones and the granite setts which are hard on the feet. Once you reach Vila do Conde you can branch back to the central route and rejoin the central route at Arcos. We enjoyed all of our days in Portugal, except as mentioned our first day out of Porto.
As far as safety, I think their is no difference between Portugal and Spain. As you know, you can always walk with others or at least keep other walkers in sight to improve your feeling of security. The Portuguese people are lovely and helpful and seem genuinely happy to see you.
Overall we found the trails very well marked and literally did not put a foot wrong our entire time in Portugal. We will certainly be back at some point for another Camino in Portugal.
Staying with the familiar (Camino Frances) has it's attractions, but as they say, variety is the spice of life!

Thanks for this. I had already pretty much decided to do the first section along the coast so it's good to know that I'd be making the right choice.....and that it's well waymarked. Were there many other pilgrims around ? I'm not looking for the same social aspect as we find on the Francés but it would be nice to know there are other pilgrims around. I'm rarely anxious in the Camino but company when you need it is always good. And you are very right - variety is good. Really appreciate your reply. Thank you !!

 

[Gillyweb]

I concur with JRR. I just returned from the Camino Portuguese on June 19th. Started in Porto, took the coastal to Vila do Conde then cut across to Arcos. I had no problems. It's a lovely route. It will probably be quite warm when you're there. It was in mid june.

Thanks - I'm beginning to feel this may be the right decision. Was the cut across easy to find and follow ? I expect it might be warm but I've coped with the Meseta in July and August so I should be ok even if it's hot. Thanks so much for your reply.

 

[simeon]

you won't be disappointed. I'm trying to remember bit the last alburge we stayed in before santiago was a bit of a dump
somebody might know which one it was. Everywhere else was lovely. You can also get the metro out of Porto to lessen but not eliminate the road walking on the first day. yes the granite cobbles are a killer! Another tip would be that the metro had a branch line near the end
if there doesn't appear to be a metro to the final destination get one to the fork and pick another one up. Cut an hour from my journey out.

 

[Anamya]

I did Porto to SdC with my husband in April as well. We passed by a fair amount of people doing their Camino by themselves. Majority were duos, and only once we met a group (a family) of four.
After doing a nice walk in the city and around the cathedral, we took the metro out of Porto as we were constrained in time and did not want to spend the first day walking through the industrial area. We chose the Central route, but pilgrims we talked to said Coastal was amazing! I was born in an island and do not like wind, so Central was just right for us.
There is plenty of accomodation, albergues or other types. And the food. Omg, the food. It's amazing. Every day a new feast in Portugal. If you go to thatroute, please eat a Pastel de Nata for me!

 

[cj2003]

I walked the Portugues in spring 2016 with my wife - the normal route from Lisbon-Porto and the coastal route from Porto, so here's my impression...
1. How safe will I feel alone on the Portugues ?
Others have answered this better than I can...

2. How hard is it to find affordable accomodation in August, Coastal or Interior ?
No problem with accomodation on the coastal - have a look here https://www.caminodesantiago.me/com...df-route-portugues-route-monacal-coastal.404/

3. Is it possible to walk mindfully or is it concentration territory ?
Depending on what interrupt your mindful walking....if it's other pilgrims, then there's not a lot om them on the route so that would give room for contemplation. If you mean that you have to spend energy on finding the path/markers then ...... well.....the coastal isn't hard to find your way on (just keep the ocean to the left side..), but it isn't waymarked as well ad Camino Frances and you might go on the wrong paths sometimes. We had the route as a gps-track on a phone as safetynet and that worked quite well.