Shell motif Camino de Santiago

Camino Portugués
from Porto
to Santiago de Compostela

Shell motif
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Day 0 - Signhtseeing in Oporto

Porto - Fountain on the way to the Cathedral

The railway station

Steps to the Cathedral

View from the Cathedral


Cathedral square


Main door (right)


View of Porto from the cathedral sqaure

Azulejos (traditional Portuguese blue-and-white tiles)


The cathedral from the roof of the cloisters

Detail of the ancient sundial - now much eroded (right)

Detail of another azulejo panel (below left)

Chapter House interior (below right)





Ceiling detail

Chapter house staircase

Two bridges over the Douro

Port cellars on the far bank of the Douro



The modern Me tro

View from my bedroom at dawn (right)



Day 1 - Oporto to Vilar do Pinheiro

The first yellow arrow at the start of the Camino Portugués

Patterns in the cobble stones

Distant view of the River Douro over the rooftops

Ipomea


Rua dos Caldeireinos

Torre dos Clérigos, 18th century tower 75m. high (right)


Rua de Cedofeita, the Camino combined with a pedestrian shopping street

Different times, different customs - an ancient tiled wall with additional modern graffiti


Igreja do Cedofeita, one of the oldest . religious buildings in Europe, partly dating back to the 6th century. (left)

Igreja de Maia (below) The Metro will take you out to the Forum do Maia, thus avoiding walking through all the suburbs of Porto - it is then a walk of some 400 m. to this church to pick up the yellow arrows of the Camino

A street in Maia

Beginnings of the country

The fuente de Godim, reputed to have particularly invigorating water, very useful for the many kilometres ahead

Mostly cobbled streets in this section

Opçao

Wisteria



Lemon trees dropping their fruit

Tree lined avenue leading to the church in Vilar

Portuguese flags much in evidence everywhere
Day 2 - Vilar do Pinheiro to Rates









Large and long wall of Quinta de Alferes (with agricultural museum off to the right)



This route is very well waymarked, with yellow arrows on telegraph poles, stone walls, etc, etc.

The shaded public park at Vilarinho. The Restaurant Castelo serves very good meals.


The Castelo, a fairly modern structure (left)

The road out of Vilarinho (below)




Yellow arrow added to road sign

The recently restored bridge over the rio Ave. Unfortunately, part of the resotration has been demaged by floods, and a fence has been put across the far side to divert you to the modern road bridge further on.

View from the bridge

Barrier fence and old mill buildings in the river

The village of Ponte do Ave

Cobbled path

Capella de Nuestra Senroa do Ayuda



Section on the N-306. While there are not too many of these sections on roads with small (or no) verges, they are not too pleasant! It helps to be clearly visible - I found a Portuguese flag on my stick kept traffic a few more feet out from the side

Ancient door on a barn



About to pass under the new A-7 motorway

First view of Arcos

A stony track

but fortunately quite short



Gateway to the Quinta Sao Miguel (tel: 919372 202) - a very nice place to stay

and have a swim after a long hot day

Bedroom

View from the bedroom balcony

Arcos church in the early dawn













The church in Rates

Tiny chapel and wayside cross in the large main square



Idiosyncratic design of a house wall

Albergue de San Pedro de Rates - the first albergue on the route
Day 3 - Rates to Barcelos

Village street decorated for the feast of St. Anthony (above)

Hollyhocks just coming out to brighten the path






Combined Santiago and GR signs around Barcelos













Some ruined houses on the way





Parish church of Pedra Furada with the perforated stone (or which this place is named) on the left

Restaurant Punta Furada in Rua Nove

More main road

Capella de Senhora da Guia, complete with drinking fountain



Stooks



Traditional painted ceramic panel on the balcony of this house and a modern lounging lovely over the garage!



Ruined house with an ancient shield

A barrowful of flowers wheeled by a friendly lady





Capela da Santa Cruz



Bridge into Barcelos

Rio calvado

Ruins of the 15th century palace of the Counts of Barcelos

View of the bridge from above

The medieval Pilgrim's Hostel, now renovated as the offices of the local council

Pedestriqanised street in Barcelos

The medieval Torre de Porto Nova, originally a gateway to the city

Templo de S. Bom Jesus da Cruz

Preparations for the annual Feast of the Crosses


Day 4 - Barcels to Ponte de Lima



Chapel at Vial Boa with nice shady porch



Lavadero in active use



Wayside cross



Santiago Pilgrim's street with the red-and-white GR sign below



Chapel near Vila Boa(above)

The first of the official European Camino de Santiago signs








Shaded woodland parth (above)

Decorating the Capela de Santa Cruz for the feast day (left)





Wayside fountain



Many fields in this area have an arcade of vines all the way round them - this one also had stooks of hay





Detour to Quintaes

Fountain

Casa dos Asentos, Quintaes - the main hall
They offer accommodation


Frontage - the house dates back to the 16th century

but has a very welcoming swimming pool

Stone is so plentiful here that fences are made from it



Back on the main route at the Ponte de Tabuas, literally the Bridge of Boards, referring to an earlier wooden brindge

On top of the bridge. There is a little sandy beach for a swim below the bridge



Some of the road sections have no pavements - I tied a Portuguese flag to my stick to give advance warning to motorists

Capela de San Sebastião

Walls with built-in stone pillars

















Wayside cross and church of Vitorino dos Piâes

Another wayside cross













Recently killed snake in the road



Chapel with shade for travellers





Cafe in Bouca

Stooks of maize

The ruined chapel of Santiago in Bouca - this is the only church decdicated to Santiago on the Camino in Portugal

The statue of the saint is kept in a nearby house for safety





Detail of the statue (left)

Medieval Ponte de Barros over the Rio Trovela (above)




Chapel of Our Lady of the Snows with wayside cross (and bandstand off to the left!)

The last strectch walking along the level plain of the Lima valley







The new motorway bridge across the Lima river

An amazing avenue of very tall plane trees at the entrance to Ponte de Lima

Torre de Cadena, built as a prison in the 13th century and now housing a library with Internet connections



Street scenes in Ponte de Lima, a very pleasant little town









Footballers in the fountain!

The medieval bridge

A street market being prepared in the early morning

Dawn shadows on the bridge
Day 5 - Ponte de Lima to San Pedro de Rubiaes

View from the bridge

Coat-of-arms in stone

Looking back towards Ponte de Lima






Quinta de Sabadão

Quient coutnry lane with the A-7 motorway



The country lanes are a welcome feature of this section







The Camino twists beside the motorway





and passes over a makeshift bridge (left)


Rio Labruja (above)


One of the very few other pilgrims on the Camino in Portugal

Heather



Revolta with chapel to Our Lady of the Snows and a good cafe, plus a man with a well-loaded whellbarrow on the road





Distant view of the church in the village of Labruja













A steady climb through the forest




The Cruz dos Franceses commemorating some French soldiers ambushed during the Peninsular wars



Starting the descent from Portela (304 m)





A strange fountain the middle of the forest

Moinhos de Cabanas - a line of old watermills









Pensão San Roque on the N-201

The nerefugioat San Pedro de Rubiaes opened in May 2006

Well-equipped dormitories

Courtyard with drying facilities and bicycle storage

Common room

The refugio was converted from a redundant primary school


Day 6 - San Pedro de Rubiaes to Tui
























































































































Day 7 - Tui to Redondela




































































Day 8 - Redondela to Pontevedra













































































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