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Walking the Camino then onto Portugal

When my brother asked us if we would like to walk the last part of the Camino de Santiago with him and a few other friends, we said, sure, why not, we like walking. We did a little reading, watched some you tube videos, and thought, yea, let's do this. Let me preface that we did have our luggage transported from place to place and had hotel rooms prebooked by SantiagoWays. We were not foolish to think we could walk with a full pack nor have a set place to sleep every night.
Thirteen of us met up in Sarria, Spain on September 16 to begin our walk the next morning. There were joyful faces all around, and shouts of Buen Camino as we started out at 8 am on the morning of the 17. Well, there weren't very many smiling faces by the time we finished our first day, 8.5 hours later. Let's just say it was a very long 6 days with very short nights, at least they seemed short when we had to get up and be ready before 7 am.
We met lovely people along the way, mostly from Ireland and Spain. We saw groups of school children walking for the day, singing their hearts out and having fun like only teenagers can. We on the other hand were hot, sweaty, and tired most of the way. But we did manage to finish and live to tell everyone about our adventure. If anyone is thinking of going, you can PM for the nitty, gritty details.

After our walk, 4 of us ventured to Portugal. I will give you just the highlights:

Porto - Very, very hilly but very vibrant, with many young people.
We attended a Fado show without dinner which was very nice. 45 minutes, just enough to appreciate the music. It was a very small venue along the waterfront on the Vila nova de Gaia side.
We also popped into Sandeman's for a tour and explanation of Port Wine. Wow, we did not expect to enjoy it as much as we did. And the Port, specifically, ruby was delicious.
We ate at a wonderful restaurant on the Porto side called A Grade Restaurant. It was fabulous. The other places were ate were okay.

Tomar, Fatima, Obidos, Alcobaca - all very, very small cities. We thought staying in Tomar for 4 nights, with a car, and doing day trips to each place for an entire day. Not necessary.

Tomar is very small, walkable, and not much going on. We ended up taking a 2.5 hours tuk-tuk tour with a local woman. We visited the Templar Church, the Matchbook Museum Rick mentions, the aqueduct, and the Convent of Christ/Templar Castle. It was a fun tour and much better than walking to these places ourselves. (I'm sure we would have by passed the Matchbook Museum, but it was kinda quirky and interesting). The highlight in Tomar was an Italian Gelato shop with the most outrageous flavors and concoctions and very creamy, delicious ice cream.

Fatima - unless you are religious, I would tell you to bypass. The church and other buildings are stark but meaningful to Catholics. We attended a Rosary Prayer service, Mass, and confession.

Obidos - so small, it only took us about 2 hours to walk up and down the main street. It was a Sunday so the 2 main churches were closed for services. We had already attended mass in Tomar so we didn't wait to enter. The main street is fun but lined with so many souvenir shops, selling the same items, and a few other tourist places - Ginja liquor, cod fish cakes, etc. that you kinda go pretty fast.

Alcobaca - We ended up visiting after leaving Obidos. The church and monastery are very impressive and worth a visit, if you are in the area.

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4254 posts

Lisbon - the jewel of Portugal (highlights of our 6 night stay)

Cooking Lisbon - made Pastel de Natal with 3 young girls, 2 Irish, 1 French. So much fun, not hurried, the instructor was very laid back but kept us on schedule. Our pastels were so delicious coming right from the oven. I had to stop eating them after #3. The young ladies took the leftovers for their friends.

Lisbon Walker - walking tour entitled "Lisbon City of Spies". If you are interested in WWII this is the tour for you. It was fascinating and so informative. Our guide even talked about 2 spies we had never even heard about. There were a few British gentlemen with us and they confirmed the name of one they had read about. She took us to a cafe where spies frequented and talked about Ian Fleming staying at a nearby hotel. This is where he found his inspiration for his James Bond character. She told us about a secret passageway from Rossi Train Station to the Avenida Palace hotel where people could come and go without being seen or needing papers. We happen to be staying at this hotel and the concierge confirmed it's history. It was a 100% winner for us.

Toursbylocals - we hired a guide, Rui, to take us to Sintra for the day. We were being lazy and didn't want to deal with the train and bus crowds. He picked us up at our hotel, drove us up as far as he could, then we walked the rest of the way. We found the inside of the palace very interesting and the history he told us informative. We bypassed the Moorish ruins and instead visited the National Palace. We were practically the only ones there. He then drove us past Cascais, what an amazing area to live, think East Hamptons, and we stopped by the beach for a quick look.

JeronimosTours - booked a 2 hour tour of the Jeronimos Monastery with Raphael (he was recommended on the forum but I can't remember by who). The day we were to visit we arrived early to find out that the workers decided on a one-day strike. It was a national holiday. Our guide explained about the Monument to Discoveries and the Belem Tower. He asked us to return the next morning for a tour of the monastery, which we did. He had 4 other people but they were understanding. We stayed just for the monastery part then left them to attend mass at the church.

Hotel - As I mentioned above, we stayed at the Hotel Avenida Palace, an old world charm hotel on steroids. (price, around $270 per night) From the moment we arrived at the hotel, we were treated like royalty. We were given a quick tour of the hotel and our room, with our bags arriving 5 minutes later. We were given a 20% off coupon for drinks and food because we booked directly with the hotel through their website. The coupon was good everyday, all day and night long.
Every evening besides the turn-down service with a chocolate, we were given little gifts -pastel de natals, a tote bag for shopping, a small platter of cut fruit, a coupon for a glass of port for each of us, etc. Breakfast was plentiful and fresh. Maybe a splurge for some, but we enjoyed our 6 nights staying there.

Final thoughts - in general, the food was so-so. It was very difficult to find chicken on any menu, they seem to only have one soup when available - vegetable, but the cod is delicious, and no one seems to cook octopus like the Portuguese. I would avoid any meat dishes as they were dry most of the time or overcooked. The biggest problem was trying to get food between 3 and 7/8:00. Places stay open for coffee/drinks, but the kitchens are closed tight. Lisbon was a little bit better.

There was a line of about 150 young people at the bookstore in Porto Rick mentions. 8 Euro entrance fee. and the Santa Justa elevator always had a line also. It was 6 Euro for a round-trip ticket. We just went from up above down and gave our extra tickets to some young ladies on line. Otherwise we did not wait on line for any other attraction.

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996 posts

Thanks Barbara! I heard a bit about the drudgery of walking the Camino on our call the other day, you made it quite amusing, but just no interest. (I've hiked hut to hut in the Alps, Dolomites & Swiss a few times, that was wonderful but not a stroll!)

Lisbon Walker - walking tour entitled "Lisbon City of Spies". If you
are interested in WWII this is the tour for you.

This sounds fabulous!! We would both love it. Thanks again, another very enlightening TR.

Posted by
4575 posts

in general, the food was so-so.

We're just back from Portugal and agree. For us it was the lack of vegetables, and beef like leather. Consistently below average from Lisbon to Porto. I'm not a fan of seafood- even the smell from a dish two tables down is enough to make me gag, so I was limited in my choices. Luckily for me food is one of the least important things on a trip. But why so few vegetables?

Posted by
9218 posts

So glad to read about your short Camino walk. It can certainly be nicer with shorter days. Missed hearing about it on the zoom meeting last week.
Great trip report. Haven't made it to Lisbon, just Porto and the Camino towns, so now I need to go to Lisbon! The cooking class sounded like fun. Not sure I could stop at just 3, as I love them.

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4254 posts

Tammy, walking down the Champs Elysees is much more enjoyable.

Sandancisco, the tour runs Tuesdays and Fridays. We highly recommend it.

Allan, the few vegetables they seem to have are in their only soup.

Ms. Jo, yes, we walked the absolute minimum you can to be able to get a certificate. And that’s okay by me. I don’t know how you managed with your backpack, no matter how light you made it. I ditched my backpack after the first day for a Fanny pack. It just made me sweat more and my back hurt. I did smear my feet with Vaseline each morning and only got one blister. That made me and my feet very happy.
Oh, I could have eaten more but the class started at 9:30 and I foolishly had a big breakfast.

Posted by
9218 posts

Barbara, I walk shorter days, preferring not more than 15km per day unless I am on a flat area, like the Meseta. I do have a small bag transferred many days, but wear my back pack as well as a hip pack that has my phone, pass, etc. in it. Spent 9 days walking from Sarria to Santiago one time, but last 3 times, did it in 5 days.

Posted by
634 posts

I'm glad I'm not the only one that wonders where all the vegetables are in Portugal. I don't eat much meat so I struggle to find food that satisfies me. I was so happy one evening when I wandered into an Indian restaurant in Lagos and was able to get an entire plate of cooked food. I'll be watching for Indian restaurants on my next trip.

Barbara, I've thought about doing a Camino walk, but realized I love long walks/hikes along the coast with no particular agenda, so I plan to just do more of that on my next trip. Also, I appreciate the information about Fatima and Obidos. I'll probably still visit them, but will go into it with more reasonable expectations.

Even with the challenge of finding food that works for me, I love Portugal and feel so fortunate to be able to spend time there.

Posted by
5362 posts

Thanks, Barbara, I picked up a few places for a next visit to Porto, including your "A Grade Restaurant." And I've created a new measuring stick for myself called the Barbara meter. If you didn't enjoy it, I'm probably not going, because you tell it like it is!

Ditto to Tammy, the Barbara meter says, no thanks on the Camino. Sorry Ms. Jo!

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4254 posts

CWSocial - we didn’t find the Restaurant A Grade on our own. We were purchasing some jewelry at a small shop across the street from the Sao Francisco church and asked the woman for a recommendation. Her daughter walked us there, it was just down a side street. I had the Veal roasted in the Oven and it was delicious. Tender and flavorful. It was the only good piece of meat I ate the entire trip, that’s another reason why I remembered it. It’s a very small place, family owned.

Posted by
2635 posts

Thank you for sharing:) Portugal was my first overseas trip sip it holds a special place in my heart. My brother just did the Camino about 10 days after you did. My brother's group did the same as you and had their packs taken for them so they only had daypacks to carry. I would love to do the entire Camino. I couldn't join his group this year as I was unsure at the time they arranged it that my two new knees would be up for it, but I now know they are, so hope to get that booked in the next year or two.

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4254 posts

A little advice, plan a rest day somewhere. We walked 6 straight days and a rest day would have helped immensely. Pick a town where there are amenities. One hotel we stayed in had a whirlpool (€12 per hour), another advertised a masseuse who came to your hotel room (€35 for 1/2 hour). So worth it.
Two of our hotels had a washer and dryer (€4 per load each machine) which was another bonus.
Little amenities like this really helped us get through each day.

Posted by
2635 posts

Thank you Barbara:) I need to get this on the calendar. Wee might be able to do it next year. My brothers' group was friends from high school, college, and the Navy. It was a fundraiser of sorts for military veterans with PTSD. We are visiting them in a few weeks, so it will be nice to hear more about the trip!