Thursday 21 February 2013

Camino Portuguese Coastal Route - Latest update



Thanks to everyone who has contact me. The updated information is in bold below:

This week's post bag brought 6 enquiries from pilgrims thinking about walking the coastal route from Oporto to Redondela - and then onwards to Santiago on the "usual" interior route. The route along the coast is very beautiful and I am committed to writing a guide to it. I hope to return for two or three separate weeks this spring and summer. In the meantime I'll publish here the notes I walked with. If anyone has further information particularly about accommodation and route finding I will post that too.

Overall Map of the route:

This map is published on the enormously helpful website http://www.caminador.es

And another map I used. The full version on paper is readily available at Tourist Offices in Portugal. Or e mail them (English is fine) and ask them to post one to you. 



Contact: http://www.porto-tourism.com/tourist-information-offices-in-porto.html

How much is accommodation?
A couple of people have written with this question. Accommodation along the route in hostals costs between 20 - 35€ for a single room and around 40 - 50€ for a twin room. Sharing is always cheaper!


Waymarking

The route is very well waymarked in places but it is patchy in others. On the map above you follow the green dotted line to A Guardia and then the red dotted line. As you can see you always keep the water on your left. If you scout around a little you can find the arrows. Remember there is very little actual walking on the sand which is difficult to do for any length of time - there is a waymarked path nearby! I will eventually provide detailed walking notes on how to find the start of the route each day...but when I walked I found the arrows although sometimes I had to look around a little!


Leaving Oporto:

Ian Holdsworth of the Peterborough Pilgrims wrote:

"All the way along the first section it is old style resort type frontage like Blackpool.( there is also an old style tram) About 4 or 5miles along you come to the Youth Hostel on the ridge above. With the timing of the first Ryan air fight of the day this is a good place to make a first night stop. If one gets the tram into town from the airport and then walk to the Cathedral and then on it, makes a good easy day that is enough with the rigours of flying from home.
Plenty of places to stop for food along the way. Beware some of the beachside eateries are very expensive foodie seafood places. But there are other enough for all tastes. The boardwalk does not start till after Matosinhos . By the bridge on the Porto side is a great Bar/restaurant for breakfast. Also we found a pharmacist that would sell heart medicine to someone who had left his prescription behind in the UK at 8:45 in the morning without a script or doctors letter. Well way marked from Matsinhos, Cannot remember before, but there is no need the ocean is arrow enough."



Oporto – Vila do Conde  25 kms
Tourist Office -Vila do Conde
Tel: 252 248 473
There are hotels and hostales at all prices – for a full list e mail the tourist office. There are two reasonably priced establishments by the harbour:

Pensão Patarata 3.ª
Cais das Lavandeiras,
18 * 4480-789
Vila do Conde
Tel 252 631 894

Hospedaria O Manco d'Areia
Praça da República,
84 * 4480-715
Vila do Conde
Tel 252 631 748
Fax. 252 631 748

Vila do Conde – Esposende  23 kms
Esposende – hostal as you cross the river and another by the old fort

Esposende – Viana do Costelo  22 kms
Viana do Costelo – lots of options including youth hostal

Details of the albergue:

http://www.cruzdoscaminhos.blogspot.co.uk/p/regulationuk.html  

Viana do Costela – Camiña/ A Guarda 24 kms (28kms)
Camiña – albergue, hostals, tourist office with list or cross to A Guarda by ferry

Camiña/A Guarda – Oia  20 kms (16 kms)
Oia – casa rural in village and good hotel #

I found their business card:
Hotel A Raíña
Tel: 986 362908
Mobile: 607 986 644

E mail:  oia@hotellaraina.com

Web: www.hotelaraina.com


Oia – Baiona  18 kms
Baiona – many options

Baoina – Vigo  22 kms

Vigo ( option 1 follow yellow arrows: modern route no probs but tedious walk in. Option 2 at outskirts of Vigo leave yellow to follow GREEN arrows to Freixo where you can stay in social centre. steep climb up......from Freixo better walk in but longer. Pass v interesting church. OJO! the green arrows tend to run out in Vigo and there are some confusing red ones as well. This is supposedly the original route. Once pass the church ask how to get to city centre.

Vigo – large town, many hostals

Vigo – Redondela  16 kms

Follow CSJ Guide - http://www.csj.org.uk/guides-online.htm

Redondela – Pontevedra 20 kms

Pontevedra -  Caldas de Rei 22 kms

Caldas de Rei – Padrón 17 kms

Padrón– Santiago de Compostela  24 kms
  


Thursday 14 February 2013

Coastal Route - Camino Portuguese

This week's post bag brought 6 enquiries from pilgrims thinking about walking the coastal route from Oporto to Redondela - and then onwards to Santiago on the "usual" interior route. The route along the coast is very beautiful and I am committed to writing a guide to it. I hope to return for two or three separate weeks this spring and summer. In the meantime I'll publish here the notes I walked with. If anyone has further information particularly about accommodation and route finding I will post that too.

Overall Map of the route:

This map is published on the enormously helpful website http://www.caminador.es

Waymarking

The route is very well waymarked in places but it is patchy in others. On the map above you follow the green dotted line to A Guardia and then the red dotted line. As you can see you always keep the water on your left. If you scout around a little you can find the arrows. Remember there is very little actual walking on the sand which is difficult to do for any length of time - there is a waymarked path nearby! I will eventually provide detailed walking notes on how to find the start of the route each day...but when I walked I found the arrows although sometimes I had to look around a little!



Oporto – Vila do Conde  25 kms
Tourist Office -Vila do Conde
Tel: 252 248 473
There are hotels and hostales at all prices – for a full list e mail the tourist office. There are two reasonably priced establishments by the harbour:

Pensão Patarata 3.ª
Cais das Lavandeiras,
18 * 4480-789
Vila do Conde
Tel 252 631 894

Hospedaria O Manco d'Areia
Praça da República,
84 * 4480-715
Vila do Conde
Tel 252 631 748
Fax. 252 631 748

Vila do Conde – Esposende  23 kms
Esposende – hostal as you cross the river and another by the old fort

Esposende – Viana do Costelo  22 kms
Viana do Costelo – lots of options including youth hostal

Viana do Costela – Camiña/ A Guarda 24 kms (28kms)
Camiña – albergue, hostals, tourist office with list or cross to A Guarda by ferry

Camiña/A Guarda – Oia  20 kms (16 kms)
Oia – casa rural in village and good hotel

Oia – Baiona  18 kms
Baiona – many options

Baoina – Vigo  22 kms

Vigo ( option 1 follow yellow arrows: modern route no probs but tedious walk in. Option 2 at outskirts of Vigo leave yellow to follow GREEN arrows to Freixo where you can stay in social centre. steep climb up......from Freixo better walk in but longer. Pass v interesting church. OJO! the green arrows tend to run out in Vigo and there are some confusing red ones as well. This is supposedly the original route. Once pass the church ask how to get to city centre.

Vigo – large town, many hostals

Vigo – Redondela  16 kms

Follow CSJ Guide - http://www.csj.org.uk/guides-online.htm

Redondela – Pontevedra 20 kms

Pontevedra -  Caldas de Rei 22 kms

Caldas de Rei – Padrón 17 kms

Padrón– Santiago de Compostela  24 kms
  


Sunday 10 February 2013

It's raining pilgrims - Pilgrim numbers for January 2013


January saw Galicia drenched in rain. Unending rain. But still the pilgrim arrived. 805 of them including 118 Korean pilgrims. All had battled through days of rain and waterlogged paths to reach the cathedral of Santiago. Another year has begun.


          The total number of pilgrims who arrived in January 2013: 805

Countries
Country
Number of pilgrims
España
389 (48,32%)
Corea
118 (14,66%)
Portugal
47 (5,84%)
Germany
35 (4,35%)
Italy
31 (3,85%)
United States of America
30 (3,73%)
Brasil
19 (2,36%)
Australia
16 (1,99%)
Francia
14 (1,74%)
Japón
14 (1,74%)
República Checa
11 (1,37%)
Holanda
9 (1,12%)
UK
6 (0,75%)
Argentina
6 (0,75%)
Venezuela
5 (0,62%)
Canadá
5 (0,62%)
Sudáfrica
5 (0,62%)
Hungría
5 (0,62%)
Belgica
4 (0,50%)
Dinamarca
3 (0,37%)
Nueva Zelanda
3 (0,37%)
Irlanda
3 (0,37%)
Chile
3 (0,37%)
Perú
2 (0,25%)
Rusia
2 (0,25%)
México
2 (0,25%)
Indonesia
2 (0,25%)
Austria
2 (0,25%)
Croacia
2 (0,25%)
Uruguay
2 (0,25%)
Taiwán
2 (0,25%)
China
2 (0,25%)
Cuba
1 (0,12%)
Suiza
1 (0,12%)
Eslovaquia
1 (0,12%)
Guatemala
1 (0,12%)
Líbano
1 (0,12%)
Turquía
1 (0,12%)

Gender
Gender
Number of pilgrims
Hombre
558 (69,32%)
Mujer
247 (30,68%)

Mode of transport
Mode
Number of pilgrims
On foot
760 (94,41%)
Bicicleta
43 (5,34%)
Horseback
2 (0,25%)

Motivation
Motivation
Number of pilgrims
Religioso y otros
396 (49,19%)
Religioso
352 (43,73%)
No religioso
57 (7,08%)

Starting point
Starting Point
Number of pilgrims
Sarria
159 (19,75%)
S. Jean P. Port
120 (14,91%)
León
47 (5,84%)
Tui
45 (5,59%)
Cebreiro
39 (4,84%)
Oporto
34 (4,22%)
Roncesvalles
31 (3,85%)
Pamplona
31 (3,85%)
Ponferrada
28 (3,48%)
Gudiña
24 (2,98%)
Ferrol
20 (2,48%)
Astorga
18 (2,24%)
Burgos
18 (2,24%)
Resto Portugal
15 (1,86%)
Vilafranca
15 (1,86%)
Resto Asturias - C.N
11 (1,37%)
Oviedo - C.P.
11 (1,37%)
Valença do Minho
10 (1,24%)
Ourense
9 (1,12%)
Lisboa
8 (0,99%)
Irún
7 (0,87%)
Ribadeo
5 (0,62%)
Vega de Valcarce
5 (0,62%)
Sevilla
4 (0,50%)
Oviedo - C.N
4 (0,50%)
Alemania
4 (0,50%)
Navarra
4 (0,50%)
Finisterra
4 (0,50%)
Le Puy
4 (0,50%)
Logroño
3 (0,37%)
Resto C. León C.F.
3 (0,37%)
Carrión de los Condes
3 (0,37%)
Fatima
3 (0,37%)
Jaca
3 (0,37%)
Francia - C.F
3 (0,37%)
Sahagún
3 (0,37%)
Resto Andalucia
2 (0,25%)
Madrid - C.F.
2 (0,25%)
Samos
2 (0,25%)
Lugo - C.P.
2 (0,25%)
Holanda
2 (0,25%)
Santander
2 (0,25%)
Roma   2 (0,25%)
2 (0,25%)
Mondoñedo
2 (0,25%)
Braga
2 (0,25%)
Bélgica
2 (0,25%)
La Bañeza
1 (0,12%)
Andorra
1 (0,12%)
Lourenzá
1 (0,12%)
Avilés
1 (0,12%)
Resto Asturias - C.P.
1 (0,12%)
Lourdes
1 (0,12%)
Cast. la Mancha - C.F.
1 (0,12%)
Vezelay
1 (0,12%)
Puebla de Sanabria
1 (0,12%)
Ponferrada. C.Inv.
1 (0,12%)
Com. Valenciana - C.F.
1 (0,12%)
Canfranc
1 (0,12%)
Triacastela
1 (0,12%)
Abadin
1 (0,12%)
Estella
1 (0,12%)
Zaragoza
1 (0,12%)
Granja de Moreruela
1 (0,12%)
Reino Unido C.Ing
1 (0,12%)
Laza
1 (0,12%)
Muxia
1 (0,12%)
Faro
1 (0,12%)
París
1 (0,12%)
Bilbao
1 (0,12%)
Viana do Castelo
1 (0,12%)
Castilla la Mancha otros
1 (0,12%)
Zamora
1 (0,12%)
Madrid - V.P.
1 (0,12%)
Gijón
1 (0,12%)
Puente la Reina
1 (0,12%)
Viseu
1 (0,12%)

PROFESIONES
PROFESIÓN
Nº DE PEREGRINOS
Students
164 (20,37%)
Employed
151 (18,76%)
Self-employed
118 (14,66%)
Technicians
87 (10,81%)
Teachers
67 (8,32%)
Manual workers
57 (7,08%)
Public workers
52 (6,46%)
Parados
34 (4,22%)
Retired people
27 (3,35%)
Housepeople
16 (1,99%)
Farm workers
12 (1,49%)
Directors
6 (0,75%)
Artists
6 (0,75%)
Priests
4 (0,50%)
Sailors
3 (0,37%)
Sports people
1 (0,12%)

Ages of pilgrims
Age
Number of pilgrims
30 - 60
512 (63,60%)
< 30     248
(30,81%)
> 60     45
(5,59%)

Routes
Routes
Numberof pilgrims
Camino Francés
562 (69,81%)
Camino Portugués
120 (14,91%)
Vía de la Plata
45 (5,59%)
Camino del Norte
36 (4,47%)
Camino Inglés
21 (2,61%)
Camino Primitivo
14 (1,74%)
Muxia-Finisterre
5 (0,62%)
Otros caminos
2 (0,25%)