Camino De Santiago
The Portuguese Coastal Way

I walked the Portuguese Coastal Way in late May-early June of 2024. My grand total was 187 miles over 13 days of walking. See below for my thoughts, tips, tricks, and suggestions!

Why Do A Camino?

I had been considering doing a Camino for a few years. I have experienced a lot of change in my life like quitting my 20-year job, seriously restructuring my social and romantic relationships, losing weight and getting in the best shape of my life, and selling all of my belongings and traveling the world.

I believe we have seasons of life and in those seasons our purpose changes. I am also a very multi-passionate person (I celebrate this!) and get overwhelmed by my many pursuits sometimes. I feel like a shark that stops swimming when I hit the end of a season, unable to breath.

I have learned thus far in my 40+ years of existence that nothing hits the reset button better or more efficiently than discomfort. For me that means disconnecting from my current environment, challenging my body in new ways, and throwing myself at the fear of failure. I did this by going to military school at a young age and making lots of BIG changes in my adult life.

The Camino, in my opinion, is a great way to check every single one of those boxes!

Why this route?

I chose the Portuguese Coastal Way because I had multiple friends complete it the year before and it came highly recommended. We were also on a time constraint as my sister was able to take two weeks off of work max to complete the route. We tacked it onto a holiday weekend to give her and I 16 days total including two travel days.

Beginning in the beautiful city of Porto the Camino winds up the coast of Northwestern Portugal and heads inland midway along the Vigo River to Santiago De Compostela. It includes beautiful vistas of the Atlantic coastal beaches, winds through quant and friendly Portuguese and Spanish towns with lots of history, and heads inland through a rarely talked about but beautiful part of Spain. You'll see beautiful churches and cathedrals, sleepy coastal fishing villages, monasteries, and loads of natural beauty.

I booked this trip through The Natural Adventure which made the process super simple and alleviated some of the difficulty of planning 14 separate nights accommodations beginning in Porto, Portugal and ending in Santiago De Compostela, Spain. This company also transported our bigger bag every day to our next destination which was a game-changer! I have included a link below if you'd like to check them out. Highly recommend!

The Natural Adventure

The Camino Portugues Coastal Way (Caminho da Costa) is a quieter but equally impressive alternative route to the traditional Central Way of Portugal’s camino. The Natural Adventure will book your hotels, transport your bag, and provide all the needed pilgrim tools like a guide book and your pilgrim passport.

Go To The Natural Adventure Website

What was it like?

Winding over coastal boardwalks, cobblestone village streets, and mountain paths-this route follows up the northern coast of Portugal and into Spain along the Vigo River all the way to Santiago. There are relatively flat days and very hilly days that make for quite the physical gauntlet. There are cafe's that cater to pilgrims and church stops (with bathrooms!) sprinkled along the way. I highly recommend going in May/June as they weather is about as good as it will get-before this being rainy and after being way too hot. We experienced no rain (unlike pilgrims starting in mid-May, and relatively mild temperatures going no higher than the low 80's F/62C.

PHYSICAL PREPERATION! I am in relatively good shape (physically active 7 days a week) and I found some of the longer days (18 miles/29 kilometers) very challenging. Especially as the hotter days rolled in. The shorter days sprinkled in were welcome breaks but the level of your prep will lessen the discomfort you feel along the way. Break in your shoes ahead of time and put in as many miles a day as you can (I put in 6-8 during the weekdays and 8-15 on the weekends).

The bottom line is not matter how hard you train there will be hard days. You will get blisters, you will get pissed or annoyed or whiney, you will think "WTF was I thinking" and you may also experience strains, bruises, and mild injury. But everyone on the Camino is going through it too and everyone is still putting one foot in front of the other.

LOGISTICS: Aside from wake, walk, rinse, and repeat there are a few logistical pieces to keep in mind. First of all it is important to have your pilgrim passport and get two stamps minimum per day to prove your mileage. The stamps can be procured at churches, restaurants and shops along the way. Most pilgrims wear a scallop shell on their bag which is also a symbol used along the way to mark the path of the Camino. There are apps that help you track the path as well such as "Buen Camino" and "Wise Pilgrim". These did come in handy from time to time as there are some trickly spots and extensions along the way. (NOTE: If you book with The Natural Adventure they will provide everything you need and a very detailed guide to get you through every step of the way!)

SOME THINGS TO REMEMBER, especially for my American friends, is that Europe does not run on the same timetable the US does. Businesses open later in the mornings (9-10AM) and strictly close from 2-9PM for siesta. We found it easiest to eat a big lunch around 1PM and grab some snacks to get us through the evenings as we were passing out pretty early to get an early start on the next day. Also, public restrooms are not really a thing along the back roads of the Camino so I recommend to snag up the anti-microbial pads I have listed below because you will need to dash into the woods daily to pee. Don't be one of those people that leave used top along the trail.

THE FOOD will vary between traditional local faire and traditional Camino offerings like the "tortilla." Now, coming from the desert southwest of the US, a tortilla is a flat and soft piece of dough you make into tacos, enchiladas, or chips. On the Camino it is pastry of egg/potatoes/onion/salt/olive oil. It's usually served with a piece of local bread and is great fuel for the walk. Often it is only a couple euros and is very filling. Many people enjoy a nice pint on each stop but I am a lightweight (although tequila gives me wings!) so I stuck to a nice coca cola with ice, in a glass, with a slice of lime. Nectar of the Gods after a long, hot day on the path.

MEETING NEW PEOPLE along the way is one of the most magical parts of the Camino. Camino Etiquette suggests that if you want to chat with and/or walk with someone new you should always ask first. Some people are on the Camino to meet others, and some are on a solo journey. If someone has earbuds in that is a good sign to let them be. I chose to march to the sounds of my own footsteps and the birds most days, but a couple days I put on some good tunes and it totally changed the vibe of the walk for me. I felt like I was in a movie montage watching everyone on their adventure in real time.

Everyone has a story on the Camino. Why they are there, what they have been through, and what they are trying to or hoping to discover about themselves or the world through this experience. Overcoming health battles, transitioning out of long term relationships, healing from past trauma, rethinking one's purpose-the facets of the human experience are quite a magical thing to share. It is mentioned across some channels to pick and intention for the Camino when starting the Camino-but I found it best for myself to keep my intentions open and my mind open to let the journey's purpose find me.

CAMINO DE SANTIAGO FINISH LINE SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELLA	CAMINO DE SANTIAGO PILGRIM PASSPORT	CAMINO DE SANTIAGO BACKPACK WITH SHELL
CAMINO DE SANTIAGO FOLLOW YOUR JOY SHIRT	CAMINO DE SANTIAGO PILGRIM STATUE	CAMINO DE SANTIAGO REST
CAMINO DE SANTIAGO TRAIL MARKER RIVER	CAMINO PORTUGUESE BOARDWALK	CAMINO DE SANTIAGO TRAIL MARKER
CAMINO DE SANTIAGO PILGRIMS

What Did I Learn?

When a goal is non-negotiable, you just do what you have to do to reach it. We negotiate with our dreams way too much!
Everyone's on a journey and we spend way too much time comparing and judging our own and each other's. Your journey is unique and it's supposed to be. Things also happen for a reason so don't judge why things are going a certain way for someone else. They are where they are supposed to be, and you are where you are supposed to be.
One foot in front of another is the only thing you need to worry about. The direction works itself out at the end of the day-all you need to do is show effort.
When you reach a steep hill in life just say onwards and upwards and get excited for the top instead of cursing each hard step to get there. It's a privilege to event attempt a hill.
Purpose is not eternal. It is more so a seasonal thing for some of us and that's ok. We are liminal beings and sometimes you need to separate yourself from your environment to feel into something new.

They say the real Camino starts after the Camino. I find that to be very true because it is very much wake, walk, eat, rinse, sleep repeat in quick sequence. The magic often reveals itself after they journey is over. That is a very invaluable quality in any experience if you ask me!

My Camino Gear Suggestions!

Chosen for necessity, quick drying, and lite packing-these items were must-haves on my Camino journey! (All items through Amazon Affiliate partnership and were actually tested out on this trip.)