Walking part of Caminho Portugues Tui-Santiago in early July

[peskywabbit]

Hi all,

Three of us (all women) plan to walk the 115km route from Tui to Santiago the first week of July, and we were wondering if anyone here could share their experiences regarding that section of the Caminho?

Also, if I may ask:

How different is the terrain from the final 100km stretch in Galicia? More uphills? Flats?

Is this portion usually crowded during July? Any advice on albergues or casa rurals, etc. that merit special attention (good or bad?)

Two of us already have our compostelas (I did the Sarria-Santiago portion of the Camino Frances last September), so we are accompanying our friend, who is a first-time Camino pilgrim

Thanks much. Apologies if my post and questions sound abrupt... ay feedback or suggestions most welcome!

Peskywabbit

 

[Ulysse]

I was hoping someone would answer you as I plan to go from Lisbon or Coimbra to Santiago in April 2008.

My guidebook (in French) seems to indicate that, since you are in Galicia, the stretch from Tui is amost indentical to the one from Sarria to Santiago. Gently rolling hills, small perfumed villages and the occasional city.

July and Aug are more crowded but nothing compared to the Camino Francès.

John Brierley's new guide should have plenty of info on hostals, casas rurales and the like.

Buen Camino. Please tell us about your pilgrimage on your return, I am most interested :lol:

 

[peskywabbit]

Thank you, Ulysses. I actually have John B's guidebook; but as you know, first-hand information is always good! And I'll definitely post about our experience when we return.

PWabbit

 

[Ulysse]

Safe journey to you and your companions Peskywabbit; I can hardly wait to read your comments.

 

[Javier Martin]

it's an "easy to walk" Camino, the last "important" mountain is the Serra do Labruja in Portugal, just in the beginning the etapa after Ponte de Lima. A town to rest each 13-14 km. Very well mark. Last year, the AGACS was marking all the Camino from Lisbon to Porto.

Buen Camino.

Javier Martin
Madrid, Spain

 

[peskywabbit]

Muchas gracias, Javier. The information you gave is quite helpful.

 

[wichanee]

We was in Tui yesterday and saw the oh so familiar yellow arrow on the wall in front of the parador. Then we went for our dinner in the old town. The yellow arrow points the way up to the cathedral. We tried to follow the signs around Tui - a bit confusing so wonder if the pilgrims on this route will find the trail confusing as we do.

 

[peskywabbit]

Hi I just came back from my walk (and a bit of post Camino R&R in Lisbon ).

I saw the flechas in front of the Tui Cathedral, and followed these down to the main road out to the Camino. At some points they were substituted with the tidier yellow shell on blue tile markers --these dominated the trail along with the yellow arrows.

The trail isn't confusing; it's quite well-marked, actually. The only time we got lost was on the first day, after lunching in a little churrascaria somewhere on the way to Redondela... we were distracted by lunch so we turned right after leaving the eatery when we should have turned left... but we found our way back after 20 minutes.

We did encounter pilgrims along the way, though nowhere close in number as on the Camino Frances. The Portugues is a quieter walk in this respect. We also passed pilgrims going the opposite way, towards Fatima following the blue arrows.

Injury report: one large, raw blister on back of left foot above heel.

Reason: shoddy preventive bandaging on my part. It was painful enough that I had to stay bare-footed in slip-on Teva sandals for 1 1/2 days (as they say on the t-shirts: "Sin dolor, no hay gracia..." :wink: )

Will post again soon, once my photos are organized.

PW

 

[Ulysse]

Thanks PW for the info; I can harly wait for additional comments and pictures.

 

[NB Kevin]

Thanks for your post-camino report, PW. It sounds as if it was a rich and worthwhile experience, the blister notwithstanding.
Looking forward to hearing more details from you, and to seeing your photos!
I hope your feet have healed up. BTW, I don't believe in that "no pain, no gain" business. Is that an Opus Dei t-shirt?

 

[peskywabbit]

Thanks for your post-camino report, PW. It sounds as if it was a rich and worthwhile experience, the blister notwithstanding.
Looking forward to hearing more details from you, and to seeing your photos!
I hope your feet have healed up. BTW, I don't believe in that "no pain, no gain" business. Is that an Opus Dei t-shirt?

LOL the author of that quote probably was an OD alum :wink: I was referring to the souvenir shirts I saw in the Santiago shops... the one with the blistered feet. I actually found the quote and the allusion to the Camino quite funny...

Foot has healed... I'm considering the Norte in 2010...