Hiking the Camino Portuguese with Broken Ribs

Well, not the whole way with the broken ribs. Only halfway. More on that later. First…

Hiking the Caminho Português da Costa

Those of you familiar with our travels know that we have done a few prior Caminos de Santiago. To kick off our travels for this year we trekked the Camino Portuguese Coastal route. Two-hundred and eighty kilometres along the Portuguese and Spanish coast over 12 days from Porto to Santiago de Compostela. We won’t bore you with a step-by-step account. We’ll just share a few vignettes.

Day 1 – A Relaxing Start

The recommended first “stage” from Porto is the longest of the trek – 33 km. It’s the toughest day for a lot of people. Not us. We took a bus for the first 10 km. We’ve walked those 10 km from Porto to Matosinhos a couple of times before. We didn’t feel at all guilty riding the bus to Matosinhos. The first thing we did when we got there was sit down for coffee. No stress.

Once we got going we made good time hiking along the wooden boardwalks lining the Atlantic coastline to the town of Vila do Conde. There were relatively few pilgrims, probably because we had a 10 km headstart. Every pilgrim we spoke to whined about the 25 degree heat – a classic case of “be careful what you wish for”.

For our first dinner we ditched the usual €12 pilgrims menu. Instead we went to one of our favourite restaurants in Portugal – Adega do Monte. It is a cozy family-run restaurant under the Roman aquaduct. We gorged ourselves on empanades, cod croquettes, olives, salad, and octopus and steak grilled over a wood fire, all washed down with a bottle of Touriga Nacional wine from the Douro Valley. Complimentary glasses of port fortified us for the 23 km hike the next morning.

David and his pet tortoise

Day two was another sunny day walking along the oceanside boardwalks. It was like stepping onto a conveyor belt and being spit out 20 km later.

Day three was a different story. We started climbing into the hills along narrow cobble-stoned lanes through deserted towns. And the weather changed. The rain arrived, a taste of what was to come for the next ten days.

By 10:30 a.m. we had walked 10 km through the rain. We were relieved to see a sign for a coffee shop just off the route. Lampião Café turned out to be much more than a coffee shop. It was part coffee shop, part Camino museum and part shrine to Che Guevara. The owner David is a drop-out from the 1960s. Everyone who walked in was immediately given a free glass of port. Like any good host he never let your glass go empty, even if you insisted you only wanted coffee. David even brought out his pet tortoise to keep us amused as we relaxed over coffee and port. Great spot to warm up and dry off.

Crossing to Spain

Day 5 we crossed the Minho River from Caminha, Portugal to A Pasaxe, Spain. The trip requires hiring a private boat. It was still dark as we arrived at the dock at 7:30 in driving rain to catch the first boat. There were no boats in sight, only a lonely pilgrim from Prague also hoping to catch a boat. Calls and texts to the boat operator’s number went unanswered. We stood around shivering until just after 8:00 when a small boat appeared from the Spanish side.

After a few minutes a large group of pilgrims arrived. The boat could only hold six. Afraid he would lose business to a competitor, the boatman rushed us onto the boat and raced across to Spain at warp speed so he could get back for the next batch. The wind was howling and the rain was coming straight at us. The boatman had a personal flotation device. The rest of us only had 8 kg weights strapped to our backs in the form of backpacks. The 2-1/2 minute crossing was like a harrowing amusement park ride.

The Fall

Day 7 we walked 20 km from the sleepy town of Nigran to the port city of Vigo. We started at 8:40 a.m. in the dark with rain coming at us horizontally. It was a steady climb most of the day before a steep descent into Vigo. Approaching Vigo the rain turned into a deluge. We hiked several kilometres through the depressing, wet city streets.

The last 500 m to the hotel was a steep downhill. The slate sidewalks were slick with rain. As we stepped out to cross a street, Maria’s foot slipped and her pole gave way. The next memory is passers-by helping her to her feet with severe pain in her side. Assuming the pain would pass, we carried on to the hotel.

Overnight the pain got worse. Nonetheless, we decided to walk the next stage. Maria limped 16 km to the next town, barely able to move her right side. Day 9 we did the smart thing. We took a bus to the next town and rested for the day. As it happened, that day there was epic torrential rain that caused extensive flooding. We thankfully missed all that.

After a day’s rest and plenty of Tylenol, the pain subsided enough for Maria to carry on. The going was hard but Maria insisted she could finish. Each day got a bit better. Despite the pain and inability to use her right arm, Maria overcame the challenge and finished the last three days of the Camino under her own steam.

Into Santiago de Compostela

We were up early to set off in the dark at 8:00 a.m. for the final push into Santiago. We walked 8 km before finding our first coffee. We met a lot of pilgrims we had not seen for several days. Everyone’s spirits were high, partly because we were almost done, but mostly because there was no rain.

We finished the last 26 km of the Camino by 2 p.m. Arriving early at the Praza do Obradoira, the traditional end of the Camino in front of the Cathedral, allowed us to loiter and greet friends as they arrived. It was our third time walking into the Plaza but the moment remains special. It was even more special sharing it with friends who were finishing their first Camino.

The Big Excitement Came the Next Day

The day after finishing the Camino we rose early for the 6:15 a.m. train to Porto. At the station we met Jed, a friend we’d met along the way. In the excitement of greetings and selfies, he left his shoulder bag on the bench when we went out to the train platform. He realised his error after less than a minute. As he entered the waiting room he saw a street person heading for the exit with Jed’s bag over his shoulder.

There wasn’t much chance of the thief escaping. He was about 5’9″ and 150 lbs. He had Jed, a 6’2″, 250 lbs former rugby player on one side, and George, 6’1″ and 195 lbs on the other. The train was leaving in five minutes. There was no sign of any efforts to call the police. Afraid of missing the train, George took matters into his own hands. He recovered Jed’s wallet and released the thief to steal another day.

If you do the Camino Portuguese…

1. Don’t go in October unless you love rain.
2. Don’t try it with broken ribs.
3. Keep your eyes on your belongings.

A medical update – As we write this, Maria is well on the road to recovery. And she insists the ribs were only bruised, not broken!