LIVE from the Camino Starting tomorrow (2.7.2021) from Porto (DAILY UPDATES)

[Pilgrim_95]

DAY 0

Here we are, it has been 350 days since my last Camino (Norte/Primitivo) and this year I decided again to post daily updates from our journey as COVID is still omnipresent and information from the place might be useful for many pilgrims planning to walk.

Just a quick reflection: Last year we started on the 16th of July from Santander, the first day when masks were re-introduced in Cantabria. Last year, no tests were required to fly to Spain, only a form and a temperature check.

This year, I have to walk without my English girlfriend as it is basically impossible to get to Portugal right now from the UK.

So, eventually, we are just a group of 3 (me, my mother and her friend). We are flying directly from Vienna to Porto at 5:50. We are starting straight from the airport (walking) and our goal is to reach Póvoa de Varzim (roughly 16 km).

I am fully vaccinated (Johnson & Johnson - one dosage) as my GP can't find enough people, so I got my vaccine 14 days ago as a healthy 23-year-old here in the Czech Republic. My mom is also fully vaccinated (Pfizer). Her friend is not. We all got tested yesterday with PCR. Luckily, here in the Czech Republic, each citizen can get 2 PCR tests and 4 antigens per month for free.

Czechia was also one of the first countries to join the EU digital system, so our results came in the "European" format with the QR code and everything. PCR (72h) or antigen (24h) tests are required to enter Portugal if you are not from the "dangerous" countries.

We are all ready and packed. This year I managed to get within 5kg (excluding water and snacks) into my Osprey Stratos 34. Last year, I carried a light tent and a laptop (work), so I was walking with like 12kg and it was nothing pleasant, especially the Hospitales stage (30+ degrees that day).

The only issue so far is our flight tickets, which were bought via Kiwi. My check-in went smoothly, yet they could not process the other two tickets and we have to deal with it at the airport... and the fees will be refunded by Kiwi as their customer support was unable to deal with it manually either... The tickets dropped to like 30 euros, including a rucksack, so we might just buy a new set.

 

[mspath]

Albert_Hadacek,
What happy news your departure on a
2021 camino brings to all your readers.
It will be a pleasure to follow your journey.
Buen camino to the 3 of you!

 

[RobinK*]

Bom Caminho, Albert!

 

[BobY333]

Bom Caminho! We'll be following this thread as we'll be walking from Porto in September!

 

[Lu Zajickova]

Bom caminho! We just crossed the borders to Spain today. If you are going through Caminha, definitely take the Bom Caminha albergue, it was a blast!

 

[Pilgrim_95]

DAY 1

Luckily Ryan Air did print our tickets and we managed to fly from Vienna with no issues. We got our documents checked before the departure but surprisingly after reaching Porto no one checked neither our testd or passanger forms. It seems all very relaxed here in terms of masks and staff...

We started to walk to Labruge from the airport and then we joined the coastal route. Most businesses were open but empty as the weather is not optimal for the beach (18 degrees and rainy). We got our accomodation in Sardines and Friends hostel for 50 euros (private room with 3 beds).

So far so good. The critical infrastructure seems to be working, yet we have not seen any pilgrims.

Bonus: I finally tried Francesinha and it really helped after the 25 km (I missjudged the original distance)

Tomorrow we plan to walk Marinhas from Povoa de Varzim

 

[Friend from Barquinha]

Bom caminho! You're a brave man to eat a francesinha in July--lucky the weather's not too hot!

 

[Cecilia-Russell]

DAY 0

Here we are, it has been 350 days since my last Camino (Norte/Primitivo) and this year I decided again to post daily updates from our journey as COVID is still omnipresent and information from the place might be useful for many pilgrims planning to walk.

Just a quick reflection: Last year we started on the 16th of July from Santander, the first day when masks were re-introduced in Cantabria. Last year, no tests were required to fly to Spain, only a form and a temperature check.

This year, I have to walk without my English girlfriend as it is basically impossible to get to Portugal right now from the UK.

So, eventually, we are just a group of 3 (me, my mother and her friend). We are flying directly from Vienna to Porto at 5:50. We are starting straight from the airport (walking) and our goal is to reach Póvoa de Varzim (roughly 16 km).

I am fully vaccinated (Johnson & Johnson - one dosage) as my GP can't find enough people, so I got my vaccine 14 days ago as a healthy 23-year-old here in the Czech Republic. My mom is also fully vaccinated (Pfizer). Her friend is not. We all got tested yesterday with PCR. Luckily, here in the Czech Republic, each citizen can get 2 PCR tests and 4 antigens per month for free.

Czechia was also one of the first countries to join the EU digital system, so our results came in the "European" format with the QR code and everything. PCR (72h) or antigen (24h) tests are required to enter Portugal if you are not from the "dangerous" countries.

We are all ready and packed. This year I managed to get within 5kg (excluding water and snacks) into my Osprey Stratos 34. Last year, I carried a light tent and a laptop (work), so I was walking with like 12kg and it was nothing pleasant, especially the Hospitales stage (30+ degrees that day).

The only issue so far is our flight tickets, which were bought via Kiwi. My check-in went smoothly, yet they could not process the other two tickets and we have to deal with it at the airport... and the fees will be refunded by Kiwi as their customer support was unable to deal with it manually either... The tickets dropped to like 30 euros, including a rucksack, so we might just buy a new set.

Buen Camino. I want to do this Camino next year so will follow this thread carefully.

 

[Sue127]

DAY 0

Here we are, it has been 350 days since my last Camino (Norte/Primitivo) and this year I decided again to post daily updates from our journey as COVID is still omnipresent and information from the place might be useful for many pilgrims planning to walk.

Just a quick reflection: Last year we started on the 16th of July from Santander, the first day when masks were re-introduced in Cantabria. Last year, no tests were required to fly to Spain, only a form and a temperature check.

This year, I have to walk without my English girlfriend as it is basically impossible to get to Portugal right now from the UK.

So, eventually, we are just a group of 3 (me, my mother and her friend). We are flying directly from Vienna to Porto at 5:50. We are starting straight from the airport (walking) and our goal is to reach Póvoa de Varzim (roughly 16 km).

I am fully vaccinated (Johnson & Johnson - one dosage) as my GP can't find enough people, so I got my vaccine 14 days ago as a healthy 23-year-old here in the Czech Republic. My mom is also fully vaccinated (Pfizer). Her friend is not. We all got tested yesterday with PCR. Luckily, here in the Czech Republic, each citizen can get 2 PCR tests and 4 antigens per month for free.

Czechia was also one of the first countries to join the EU digital system, so our results came in the "European" format with the QR code and everything. PCR (72h) or antigen (24h) tests are required to enter Portugal if you are not from the "dangerous" countries.

We are all ready and packed. This year I managed to get within 5kg (excluding water and snacks) into my Osprey Stratos 34. Last year, I carried a light tent and a laptop (work), so I was walking with like 12kg and it was nothing pleasant, especially the Hospitales stage (30+ degrees that day).

The only issue so far is our flight tickets, which were bought via Kiwi. My check-in went smoothly, yet they could not process the other two tickets and we have to deal with it at the airport... and the fees will be refunded by Kiwi as their customer support was unable to deal with it manually either... The tickets dropped to like 30 euros, including a rucksack, so we might just buy a new set.

Looking forward to your daily accounts, I should be there in October. Buen Camino

 

[Pilgrim_95]

DAY 2

First full-day on the camino is behind us. After the flight and everything we called it an early night yesterday and managed to start at 6:30. We had a breakfast at seven and continued walking. We had a picnic lunch sharing local cheese, sausage, veggies and bread near some abandoned watchtower in the middle of nowhere.

Around noon, I called the municipal albergue in Marinhas which is open. There is 6-7 of us and kitchen, showers etc.... Its all open. Price: 10 euros per person.

We managed to walk nearly 30 km with our beach visits and swimming in the ocean. The weather was lovely (25-28 degrees during the peak). The water was surprisingly okay. Not as cold as on the Norte

Now, we are about to have some dinner and watch the EURO football match as Czechia is playing Denmark.

In terms of infrastructure, it seems to be pretty alive, a lot of affordable options as well. Speaking of masks, peole wear them inside and in busy parts of the city, yet most people dont bother wearing them along the beach etc. which I find logical.

Also the locals are happy to see pilgrims as it is a sign that things might be getting slowly back to normal. We have seen around 5-7 pilgrims today during the hike.

 

[Marbe2]

DAY 2

First full-day on the camino is behind us. After the flight and everything we called it an early night yesterday and managed to start at 6:30. We had a breakfast at seven and continued walking. We had a picnic lunch sharing local cheese, sausage, veggies and bread near some abandoned watchtower in the middle of nowhere.

Around noon, I called the municipal albergue in Marinhas which is open. There is 6-7 of us and kitchen, showers etc.... Its all open. Price: 10 euros per person.

We managed to walk nearly 30 km with our beach visits and swimming in the ocean. The weather was lovely (25-28 degrees during the peak). The water was surprisingly okay. Not as cold as on the Norte

Now, we are about to have some dinner and watch the EURO football match as Czechia is playing Denmark.

In terms of infrastructure, it seems to be pretty alive, a lot of affordable options as well. Speaking of masks, peole wear them inside and in busy parts of the city, yet most people dont bother wearing them along the beach etc. which I find logical.

Also the locals are happy to see pilgrims as it is a sign that things might be getting slowly back to normal. We have seen around 5-7 pilgrims today during the hike.

Have a great trip!

 

[Pilgrim_95]

DAY 3

Today's stage took us to Viana do Castelo. It was a lovely walk with some parts in a forest along a river. We have not seen the coast the whole day. Yet we have seen several weddings happening today.

We started really early again as the whole albergue was awaken at 6AM. We had a great breakfast full of local pastries in a villlage rougly 5 km from Marinhas.

We met around 5-8 pilgrims (3 of them were actually Czech).

We are staying in the Albergue Municipal, we have a private room for the 3 of us (10 euros per person). All the albergues municipales require reservation via phone. Usually with a mixture of Spanish and English it can be done pretty easilly.

In terms of masks inside of the albergues, the truth is, not many people wear them. Its probably caused by the fact, that the people on the camino at the moment are not really scared of COVID. Though, we have seen pilgrims of all ages (from 20s to 60s). Most adult Europeans had the chance to get at least one dosage, so I think it's pretty much okay. Its just a think to consider if you decide to go.

Today, we hope to get some nice Portuguese fish as yesterday we had to have a Franceshina again as nothing else was on offer (besides a burger). Truth to be told, it was not a nice one :/

Tomorrow, we plan to go to Caminha, where we reserved the albergue Bom Caminha.

 

[Pilgrim_95]

DAY 4

We walked around 27km to Caminha, where we celebrated my mom's birthday. We slept in the albergue Bom Caminha, which we booked via booking.com. It was a great stay.

We also got the tickets for the boat as the official ferry does not really work, but there is a fisherman who does river-taxi for 5 euro.

All of the infrastructure works as expected and it quite resembles the normal times

A longer update will come in the evening about our first day in Spain

 

[Pilgrim_95]

DAY 5

We finally reached Spain

We started our day at 7:00 and went to the harbor to get the taxi-mar, which was a tiny metal boat that took us and other few pilgrims to the other side of the river. It looked kinda funny, like being smugglers

Then we continued to walk in Galicia, the cities were more busy, masks were more present and generally the whole hospitality started to be way better. Also, we had a sour breakfast after days of eating pastry with the yolk "custard"

We ended our day in Mougas, in the local albergue (we reserved via phone) and got a private room for our group (12 euros/person)

We are rougly in the middle of our journey and it just seems that covid is not the number one topic anymore. Last year it was the only topic of the albergue debates but now things resemble the good old days

Tomorrow, we are planning some shortcuts via bus/train as we don't really wanna spend a day or two walking towards Vigo and out. We'd rather spend the time in Santiago (maybe taking a bus to Finisterre)

We plan to leave on Monday/Tuesday, yet we still need to figure out a covid test for my mom's friend as she is not vaccinated. Me and my mom, we have our covid certificates and it seems we can travel without testing