Camino Portugues 2023

While my wife has been very supportive of my backpacking trips, most of my hiking is with her at my side.  She has a ULA Circuit, but the thought of hiking five days without bathing in more than a muddy river or going to the bathroom outside is completely and totally unappealing.  She is happy to go camping and sleeping in a tent, as long as it is at a campground with a shower.  Better yet for her is to hike all day and return to a hotel room or an AirBnB.

This is the year of our 25th Anniversary.  We want to celebrate it with a big trip.  How can we compromise when our definitions of "big trip" our obviously different?  We hike a trail with a hostel at the end of every day!  Fortunately, there is the perfect trail, the Way of St. James the Camino de Santiago.  It is the oldest thru-hike in the world.

 Unlike a trail like the PCT, the AT, or the CDT, there isn't a single Camino de Santiago.  In fact, there are trails throughout Europe that eventually take you there.  That allows you to customize how one enjoys the hike.  They all end at Santiago de Compostela.  The question is where to start.

The most common is the Camino Frances which starts in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port and spans 422.5 miles.  Normally, that takes roughly thirty-two days.  Unfortunately, we cannot take off that long from work.  However, there are other ways to go.  We have selected the Camino Portugues starting in Tui.  It should take roughly ten days.  However, as a backup plan, we can also do the Camino Portugues Costal starting in Vigo.  That thru-hike meets the 100 km requirement to be considered a thru-hike and will only take five days.

The best part of this hike is that every night we will walk to a town and stay at either a hotel or an Albergues, a hostel for pilgrims, so it meets my wife's requirements for a thru-hike.

Obviously, the gear situation is quite different.  I don't need a sleeping pad, tent, stove, or water treatment.  My water carries are from water fountain to water fountain.  My food carries are snacks to get me through the day as will stop at a café for lunch.  On the other hand, I'll have to carry some town clothes and put on deodorant of all things.  Still, it is a small price to pay to thru-hike with my wife.