The Camino de Santiago Pilgrimage, also known as the famous Portuguese Way, is a well know and much talked about walk that started more than 1000 years ago. Known in English as the Way of Saint James among other names, is a network of pilgrims’ ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tradition has it that the remains of the saint are buried. Many follow its routes as a form of spiritual path or retreat for their spiritual growth. It’s also popular with hiking and cycling enthusiasts and organized tour groups.
Camino de Santiago sign
My wife Anna and I were visiting Porto in September 2018 when she saw the seashell sign of the Camino de Santiago on a sidewalk. Immediately Anna’s idea was to walk the Pilgrimage from Porto to Santiago de Compostela.
Kobus during his Camino de Santiago pilgrimage
Arriving back home where we live on Korcula island off the Croatian coast, Anna asked me to train her. The idea was to improve her fitness to such a level that we could comfortably walk the 250km+ trail. I accepted, and we trained from October 2018 to April 2018. Our training consisted of walking more than 800km around the island, through good and bad weather
On the 9th of May 2019, we started our 11-day walk from Porto to Santiago. We planned and booked our overnight accommodation in advance and knew how far we had to walk each day. The route took us from Porto to Vilarinho, to Barcelos, to Ponte De Lima, to Rubiães, to Valença, to Tui, to Porrino, to Redondela, to Pontevedra, to Caldas de Reis, to Padron and finally to Santiago.
We finally arrived at the Cathedral in Santiago on the 19th of May. We were both tired and overjoyed with what we have experienced and achieved during the 11-day walk. Meeting Pilgrims from all over the world was great and the time we had to be with each other, both Anna and I gained in our Spiritual and emotional feelings.
The landscape on this Camino de Portuguese is fantastic and beautiful.
Will we do it again? For sure!!