WHAT ABOUT THE PORTUGUESE CAMINO?

We have done the Camino Frances in April 2017 … and loved it!

Why would you do a long distance hike?

The freedom of walking with just a backpack with the bare minimum, the beauty of an unknown country and possibility of meeting new friends had a tremendous effect on our lives.

We have itchy feet again!

The thought crossed our minds to do another long-distance hike. We considered several options – there are the stunning Lycian Way in Turkey, the untouched wilderness in Patagonia or even the iconic Machu Pichu hike in Peru.

The Lycian Way or ..?

Eventually we decided the Lycian Way was something we would enjoy … but somehow, we just never got to buy the tickets to Turkey. It was almost as if there was something else that was calling us …

It’s going to be the Portuguese Camino!

In December 2017 we were sitting at our home in Cape Town next to a fire pondering about where we should go … and then … we reflected back on our Camino Frances and decided “What about the Portuguese Camino”?

Get the necessary paperwork:

Within a week, we bought our flight tickets and started to get our paperwork in order for our Schengen Visas. Once again, we contacted the Confraternity of Saint James of South Africa in Milnerton near Cape Town and in a very short time we were in the prime possession of the important Credencial del Peregrino!

Our Credencial del Peregrino – issued by the Confraternity of Saint James of South Africa

Where will we start our walk in Portugal?

We have read that the route was not that well marked from Lisbon and therefore most pilgrims do the Portuguese Camino from Porto. But we had 5 weeks available and wanted to experience as much as possible from the Portuguese Camino – for us then, the route will start in Lisbon in Portugal and ends in Santiago de Compostela in Spain. A distance of around 620km, depending whether you are taking the coastal- or inland route from Porto.

And once again, we bought the John Brierley guidebook to take with us on the Portuguese Camino

On our way (almost):

Departure from Cape Town was scheduled for 24 March 2018 and we were hoping to start walking on 27 March from Lisbon – another spring Camino.

We were looking forward to another amazing adventure 👣👣.

To keep reading about our Portuguese Camino, click here to see us arriving in Lisbon, Portugal.