Starting the Camino Portuguese from Porto
There are 3 different options for starting the Camino Portuguese in Porto, the Litoral Way, the Coastal Route, and the Central Route. Here are the 3 routes shown in the Camino Ninja app, which is one of our favorite apps. Both the Central and official Coastal routes leave the Porto Sé (“Sé” means “Cathedral” in Portuguese) through the city and out past the airport. The Litoral route goes immediately downhill to the Douro river, follows the river to the Atlantic Ocean then north along the coast.
We chose the Litoral Way, which follows the coast until Vila do Conde and we were happy with that decision. Instead of walking through the city, we walked along the water. We were able to see and talk with fishermen, see sun bathers, a waterside coffee shop, and a wonderful old coastal fort.
Some people choose to start the Camino at the Porto Airport since the walk goes back there anyway. That is another option, but if we do the Camino Portuguese again, we will probably retrace our steps for the first 2 days.
Fear and Excitement Starting the Camino
We spent the day before our start getting ready for the Camino. We had the first-time jitters magnified by the ancient architecture of Porto. Everywhere we walked, there were gaps in the sidewalks, uneven paving, and other hazards that we were sure would cause a broken ankle. Luckily, and with careful stepping, we didn’t have a problem. We did have a scare though. At lunch, our table was right next to this gap in the cobblestones and, sure enough, Laura’s chair fell into that hole causing her to tumble over. That was a scare. No harm was done, but that did make us more vigilant for other hazards.
Our First Stamp
We were expecting to see a number of gift shops dedicated to the Camino at the Porto Sé. We didn’t see any. The gift shops around the Sé were general gift shops with t-shirts and the other types of souvenirs you would expect, but nothing about the Camino. Even the Sé didn’t have a gift shop, but the basic supplies for a pilgrim were available at the Sé ticket counter. The gentleman at the ticket counter gave us our first stamp for our credentials. They also sold shells and credentials. We already had our credentials as we purchased them via mail order from Casa de Ivar. Buying our shells is another story.
Getting our Shells
We heard that you shouldn’t worry too much about getting your shells, that the right shell will find you. We wanted to have shells to show that we were pilgrims, because this is the mark of the Camino pilgrim. While we looked into a couple of gift shops, it was just a couple, because we didn’t want to obsess over finding shells. It turns out that many of the cafés, restaurants, and hotels sold shells, so there is no lack of opportunity to find the right shell. Yet, not in Porto on this day!
We did go into one gift shop, but saw no shells. The clerk suggested looking in the gift shop on the corner, just 2 shops down. We went there and looked through all the aisles not seeing any shells or other Camino paraphernalia. On the way out, Laura noticed out of the corner of her eye 2 shells hanging from the shelf that we both had already walked by. We grabbed them. One had a little sloppy paint work on the St. James Cross, so Laura asked if they had any others. The shop owner ran to their warehouse to check. The remaining clerk explained they were immigrants from Bangladesh and happy to be living and working in Portugal.
The owner returned with the news that we had the last shells available in any of the gift shops around. We took it as a sign that these were our shells when we considered the sudden appearance of the shells and that they were the last available. These must have been the last shells in all of Porto.
(We learned later that if you ask at the Sé ticket counter, they may have shells there.)
Starting out of Porto
We started our Camino at the Porto Sé, but we did two things before walking. Our credentials were stamped the day before because we wanted to start walking before the Sé opened at 9:00, and we attended Mass at the Sé the day before at 11:00 am.
From this location, there were multiple arrows directing us to the Camino, but the arrows were going in different directions. Since there are multiple route options, there are multiple sets of arrows and they aren’t distinguished. We knew from scouting the previous day that our route went straight downhill to the Douro river, which was directly behind the 248 Km marker sign.
Walking along the riverfront, we saw the restaurants cleaning up from the night before, and getting ready for the new day.
Time for Breakfast
We generally started walking in the morning and grabbed some breakfast after some time on the Camino. On our first day, we had a lovely coffee, some “Pastel de Nata”, and a friendly guest.
California Dreaming
While walking along the Portuguese coast, we were reminded of the California coast, especially near Monterey. We saw a few fellow pilgrims, but mostly there were locals going to the beach on a beautiful sunny day.
The Calfornia vibes were amplified as we approached Matosinhos, which is called the surfing capital of Europe (we heard that from the Matosinhos tourist board, although I’m not sure all the surfers agree). There were tons of surfers, many rental places, and lessons to be had.
For the whole day, we kept passing a group of 3 German pilgrims. They were walking slower than we were, but were steady. Laura and I often stopped to take photos, adjust our packs, or tie shoes. Our Deutschland pilgrims would get ahead during those stops, then we would pass them. I’m sure we would have been close friends by the end of the day, but we had the language barrier. They did warm up several days later when we saw them at a café much farther up the trail.
Commandos Memorial and Museum
Just before reaching Matosinhos, we found this cool fort on the water. The fort, Castelo do Queijo, was built in the 1600s to protect the Portuguese coast from the Galicians. It’s funny that we were passing this fort on our way to walk to Galicia.
What was even better, it was a military museum and had a café. The entrance was manned by an old veteran of the Portuguese army, who seemed to be an interesting character. If we could only speak Portuguese.
After paying our .50 Euro entry fee, we were able to see the museum, access the café, and have some gorgeous views of Matosinhos coastline. The museum was pretty small, but it felt good to support the veterans in a small way.
Matosinhos Tourism Information
As we approached Matosinhos, we were welcomed by a building covered in shells, with a St. James cross. We had to stop. This is the Matosinhos tourist information building. The young lady working there was articulate and passionate about Matosinhos. She spoke English well, having learned it by watching Cartoon Network as a kid. She gave us a stamp on our credentials and a solid recommendation for lunch, after describing how we were surrounded by the world’s best fish. She recommended the Mercado, just a short walk away.
Lunch in Matosinhos Mercado
The bus to the Matosinhos Mercado kept showing up around the Porto Sé the day before. I made a mental note knowing that we were headed to Matosinhos to look out for the market. When the tourist board recommended that we have lunch at the Mercado, we figuratively jumped on board. That was a great decision. Even though it was another 10-minute walk, and we passed about 25 other seafood restaurants, we made it to the Mercado with a powerful hunger.
Mercado Food and Drinks is on the floor next to the fishmongers. The friendly staff beckoned us to sit, and said “welcome pilgrims”. I guess being sweaty and wearing backpacks adorned with a shell gave us away. We unloaded the backpacks and consulted the menu. Since they didn’t sell Prosecco by the glass, we had to order a bottle. We were celebrating our first day on the Camino, after all. Next, I joined the waiter at the fishmonger stall and chose our fish. He brought it to the kitchen and had it grilled expertly. Paired with a little rice and some steamed vegetables, it made a perfectly healthy lunch. Of course, we blew that away when dessert came, but heck, we earned those calories.
When choosing the fish, a red porgy, I thought we would have leftovers. But, we ate every bite. After dessert, the waiter surprised us with a couple of glasses of Port wine. It was so good that our walk was finished for the day.
Accommodation in Matosinhos
We stayed at Sao Francisco in Matosinhos. This was a small hotel and the room was very small but comfortable, and inexpensive. We paid just over 50 Euros for this private room with a private bathroom. Since we were traveling together, getting 2 bunk beds at an “albergue” (hostel) would have been about 30 Euros; we didn’t mind paying the extra for the privacy.
This hotel is right above a bakery, and it was just 2 blocks off of the Camino. Our window was on the roof of the building. Poking my head out gave a good view of the town, and I could see down the street to the beach. One of the more surprising views was the top of the building, with these beautiful tiles. Portugal is covered in beautiful tiles, even tucked up where not many people would see them.
The Legend of Cayo Carpo
Your stamp at the Matosinhos Tourist Board comes with a QR code linking to an informative website about the role of Matosinhos and the Camino. This legend is one of the explanations for the scallop shell being part of the Camino tradition. This story involves a young knight, Cayo Carpo, who had his wedding on the Matosinhos beach in 44 AD. During the wedding feast, he challenged others to a horse race into the sea.
The knight and his horse make it out to a boat that is traveling north. The very boat that is bringing the corpse of St. James from Jerusalem to his final resting place in Santiago de Compostela. Upon seeing the boat, the knight converts to Christianity and returns to shore, but is covered in scallop shells.
When he reaches the shore, the wedding party describes his look as variegated, or “matizado” in Portuguese. His nickname becomes “Matizadinho”, which is eventually morphed into Matosinhos. Historian Joel Cleto wonderfully describes it much better than I can.
Laura’s Log
-Up and out at 9 am, departed Cathedral Sé.
-Walked through Porto along the River Douro coast about three hours.
-Stopped for “Pastel de Nata” at a tiny outdoor café overlooking boats on the water. With Bob Marley music playing, enjoyed our aromatic “café com leite” (coffee with milk) and “café Americano” (black coffee) made by a friendly young baristo.
-Visited a fort, saw a military exposition there, and took in sweeping views of the water from the ramparts. Lots of history and interesting people. Strangely, a heavily-accented immigrant man was selling antique items for his wife on one level of this majestic oceanfront fortress.
-Stopped to get our credential stamp in Matosinhos. Were given city pins (which we promptly affixed to our backpacks) from a well-versed young woman working the pilgrim office solo who was very interested in U.S. culture. On her recommendation, walked to the local fish market in search of dinner…she steered us right!
-John selected our fish, and then they grilled it to perfection for us at Mercado Restaurant, located right inside the market. The heady odor of the sea, as well as the sound of buckets of ice crashing as the fresh seafood cases were replenished, combined with the shouts, jokes and high laughter of the “fishwives” provided an unusual backdrop for a first-class dining experience in that massive echoing space. Partook of Prosecco and a fantastic multi-course meal. In addition to excellent service, our practiced team of waiters brought us Port wine, on the house, after the meal. Our new favorite! Oh, and dessert was a memorable panna cotta. My first!
-Lingering after lunch, met “P” (an effervescent Californian who came to our table to chat, proffering oranges she’d wrangled on the Way, a smile, and requesting prayers) and also a darling Swiss couple.
-Walked to our guest house, the Sao Francisco. Our room was teeny-tiny, practical and fun, with our very own skylight.
-Came across hikers, bikers, elderly walkers, joggers, and fellow Camino trekkers. Also, surfers in wet suits, singing black frogs in a tide pool, and a seagull (who was over my shoulder at our coffee break breakfast and got to eat remnants of a pastry within inches of me).
-First pilgrim to say the requisite “Bom Caminho” (Portuguese for “Good Way”) as he passed us was a nice man about our age in a sweater with an untucked shirt underneath. Made my day! (This simple greeting is exchanged between fellow pilgrims as well as said by others you meet, such as hotel and store proprietors.) We discovered that the maître d’ at Mercado restaurant has gone on pilgrimage to Fatima two times and that our hotel clerk has done the Camino two times.
Impressions
-This is already so much bigger than us. If you mention the Camino, the world is happy. It seems a silent majority of Christians and other seekers are all around, we only need to dare to connect — would that it would change the world if we did!
-Just loving walking the coast. After a bit of a scary start across an open-slat-look-down-at-the-water bridge walkway, it was wonderful. As we went on, it was reminiscent of a toned-down Riviera with swanky restaurants on the beach.
-Everyone is at a slower pace here, except the bicyclists who seem never to signal their imminent arrival as they sped by/through us! They were not as friendly when passing as the walkers and joggers we encountered. We were still in the city proper of Porto, even after walking for hours. That fact in itself gives you pause. Walking takes time. A lot of time.
-Lots of French folks along the way, Americans, a few Brits, and a few Germans (whose path criss-crossed with ours all day). God is here with us, too. The Camino is really happening! Deo gratias!
Let us pray for you
Spoiler alert, we did make it to Santiago and we read prayers for everyone on our prayer list. If you have a prayer request, send it to us and we will pray for you at our next holy site.