PORTO (Portugal)

In today’s post, you will hear the word “rain” many times. But before we get to that, here’s just another reminder of the other big cities we’ve visited so far on our Portuguese Camino:

  • Lisbon was definitely the perfect place from which we started walking our Portuguese Camino back in 2018. We loved our time there and really enjoyed exploring this beautiful city. You can read about our first big city on the Portuguese Camino here.
  • Tomar on the other hand, is a small medieval city. But it’s also not a city you should miss if you visit Portugal. You can read about our second big city here.
  • Coimbra will always have a special place in my heart, because it’s the city where I found hiking sandals to continue walking the Camino. But rest assured, it’s also a beautiful city – we especially loved seeing the various old churches. You can read about our third big city here.

I am happy to report that my hiking sandals did the job and that I was able to continue walking the Camino again. The distance to the next big city, Porto, is 131.5km (81.7 miles). It took us 5 days to reach Porto. During these 5 days we had only one day of sunshine, while the last 4 days were filled with hard and continuous rain. It was so bad that we decided to take the bus to Porto on the last day. There really is no fun in walking in the rain!

Here are some of the highlights of these five days:

Day 10: Mealhada (23.1km):

This was a great day on the Camino. The sun was shining and it was the first time I could walk again after resting my painful ankle for 3 days.

We leave Coimbra and see clear signs of spring

There was even a spectator when we walked into a small village

Both the locals and us enjoyed the sunny day

Mealhada, where we spent the night, is famous for its spit-roasted pork dish called “Leitoes” and we just had to try it. They even advertise it on a beautiful tiled wall at the entrance to the village. 

Tiled wall in Mealhada

Dinner was great

(You can read about the hiking of Day 10 here)

Day 11: Agueda (25.4km)

The day started in cloudy weather, but it was soon clear that we would be walking at least 21km in rain. Weather wise, it was definitely a challenging day!

Cloudy weather soon turned to rainy weather

Old and abandoned houses on the way

A lovely cat welcomed us to our albergue at the end of a rainy day

(You can read about the hiking of Day 11 here)

Day 12: Albergaria-a-Nova (23.1km)

We started walking again in partly sunny weather. We were quite optimistic that it would be a dry day and added an extra 6km to our day to shorten the next day’s stage. And guess what: Yes, it rained (and hailed) for the entire 6km to our destination! Do you know how far 6km can be in such awful weather?

Medieval bridge over the Marnel River

Walking over a modern bridge

Lovely tiled house on the way

When it started to rain, we were in the middle of a forest. At first the pathways were walkable, but they soon turned into a river. This day has to be in the top 5 of our most challenging hiking days ever!

At first, it was just a light rain

Unique tree fungi

Our forest walk turned into a river

(You can read about the hiking of Day 12 here)

Day 13: Sao Joao (24.1km)

Pouring rain … that’s how we started our day. Then we had cloudy weather for an hour before the rain returned until we got to our hostel. There are only a few things that can make walking in the rain better – coffee, pastel de nata and farm bread with real butter!

It was warm in this bakery while it was pouring outside

During that hour that it did not rain, we had beautiful views. But to be honest, we were more than happy to finally arrive in Sao Joao where we spent the night before seeing lovely Porto.

Original pilgrim pathway over the Anceira River

The town of Oliveira de Azemeis. The church dates back as far as 922

Medieval stone bridge over the Ul River

(You can read about the hiking of Day 13 here)

Day 14: Porto (35.8km)

When we woke up, opened the curtains and saw how hard it was raining, the decision was made instantly. We walked to the bus station and bought two tickets to Porto!

So, we can’t show you the way to Porto, but we can show you the beautiful city of Porto.

Porto:

Before starting our Portuguese Camino, we decided to stay 2 days in Porto. We had read that it was a lovely city and we were eager to explore Porto. What we didn’t know at the time was that we would have to do it in cold and rainy weather. But still, even in this weather, it was clear that Porto is a city you should definitely visit once in your life!

We are in beautiful Porto

The historical center of Porto was declared a World Heritage site in 1996 and in 2001 Porto was chosen as the European City of Culture. You will find many statues celebrating Porto’s history and at least 30 main churches where services are offered throughout the day.

Statues of the famous Portuguese explorer Henry the Navigator

Just one of the many churches

On the banks of the Douro River in the Ribeira District there are lovely traditional colourful buildings with balconies. Even on a gloomy day it was beautiful to see.

Traditional buildings on the banks of the Douro River

Magnificent Dom Luis I bridge over the Douro River

We walked over this famous bridge to also explore the other side of the river … and tasting Porto’s own port on a cold day sounded like a very good idea!

At Vila Nova de Gaia on the south bank

Beautiful buildings and balcony on the south bank of the Douro River

The famous rabelo boats that were used to transport barrels of Port wine

Restaurants on the banks of the Douro River

Porto’s port

Tasting port and afterwards enjoying lunch with a beer

The Sao Bento train station is definitely worth a visit. Construction began in 1904 and the station was inaugurated in 1916. It is the large panels of azulejo tiles (about 20,000 of them) that make this station so fascinating.

Sao Bento station

Azulejo tiles inside the train station

Sao Bento station

Sao Bento station

Just before the next downpour, we walked around the historic part of Porto a bit more. It is truly a stunning city and we were very happy that we had an extra day to continue our exploration.

Torre Dos Clerigos (Clerigos Church) – 1763

Liberdade Square

Monument to King Pedro IV

Bronze sculpture ‘Boys’ with flowers and fruit – representing abundance

Liberdade Square

We were exhausted after exploring Porto. As Berto collapsed on our bed when we arrived at our hostel, I admired my new hiking sandals (and very colourful socks). I think you’re only allowed to dress like this when you’re on the Camino!

Tired after exploring Porto (in very colourful socks)

And as expected, Porto totally blew us away with its beauty. That’s why it’s impossible to have just one post about this beautiful city … we’ll see you soon with Part 2 of our visit to Porto.