Our Walk Along the Camino Portuguese

Camino Portuguese Tips, Advice and Information Camino Pilgrimage  While the Camino Portugués bears many similarities to the Camino Francés and other routes on the Way of St. James (shells, yellow arrows, signage, and albergues), it is also profoundly different. For example, while pilgrims on the Camino Francés are familiar with many of the key landmarks (geographic, cultural, historical, and religious), such as crossing the Pyrenees, the monument of the Pilgrims on the Sierra de Perdón, crossing the Meseta, visiting the site of the Cruz de Ferro, admiring the Burgos Cathedral, and climbing O'Cebreiro.  By comparison, while the Camino Portugués crosses many beautiful historical, cultural and religious landmarks, the trail seems more defined by the major urban areas along the route such as Lisbon, Santarém, Tomar, Coimbra,  Porto, and Valenca/Tui on the Spanish border.   Perhaps the largest difference most people notice when planning and setting out on ...

Exploring  Santiago de Compostela Santiago and the Cathedral We had intended to get up early this morning and attend the English pilgrims' Mass at Santiago Cathedral, but sadly our alarm clock went unheeded in the dark, cozy warmth of our room.   Apparently, we were a lot more exhausted than we realized.   By 9 AM we were awake and heading down to St. Martin's restaurant below our hostel for a breakfast of small pastries and cafe Americano.   Afterwards, we made our way to the Cathedral through streets that were already heating up under a bright, hot sun.   On our last visit to Santiago following the Camino Frances , we took a tour of the Cathedral, which we enjoyed greatly. On our first tour, we were able to explore the Cathedral museum, as well as being taken 'behind the scenes' and up onto the roof.   This year, the tour didn't include a trip to the Cathedral's roof, but it offered a tour of the Portico of Glory, which we were also excited to ...