El Camino de Santiago and other trails.
Our second time walking into Santiago but this time with our daughters. We walked 175 miles over 13 days and started in Porto, Portugal. We are tired and sore but very gratified to have finished this adventure as a family. Santiago de Compostela is a city steeped in a rich and intriguing history. Happy to have had the opportunity a second time to arrive here on foot.
Our walk was uneventful. Good weather most of the day, we ran into our old friends, and we met new people along El Camino. The sense of camaradería between the people walking is one of the the many experiences in El Camino.

Another heavy rainy morning here in Galicia. As we get close to Santiago, more families and groups are walking. You can identify who are the ones who have been walking for days from the ones who just started walking.
Today we ran into our friends from the USA who we had not see since Tuesday. Believe me, when you find your lost friends in El Camino, it is a moment of happiness and excitement. Today we walked, ate the mandatory second breakfast and lunch together, and we took different paths when we arrived in Caldas de Reís. We said to each other, see you tomorrow and went to our hotels. Hoping to find them again tomorrow on the way.
We reached the point that walking 13.5 miles in less than five hours is not bad at all. Don’t take me wrong; After ten days of walking between Portugal and Spain, we have minor injuries in the feet or knees, and the whole body is sore. But we are in the rhythm of walking, eating, and open to discovering whatever it is in the next miles.
Doing El Camino de Santiago is not only developing physical endurance but also mental endurance.
Another rainy day. Today we passed the mark of 100 Km to Santiago de Compostela. At this stage we saw more people walking el Camino, some of them are with tours that leave the group in some point and then are pick up after few miles. Not bad if you have physical limitations.
This morning as we were leaving the city of Tui we encountered a group of the Spanish military doing some practices around the city. Some of them carrying guns, and others only backpacks. It was kind of intimidating watching these young people exercising among us.
Tui is a well preserved medieval town. There is a cathedral at the center of the citadel and three churches, and convents within a few blocks from each other, that design is very common in old cities around Europe.
Today’s hike was along freeways, rural roads, and sometimes in the forest. Today we said Good Camino and farewell to one of our Camino’s friend she was walking more miles than us today, she is planning to arrive in Santiago on Saturday.
Today was an easy hike, only nine and a half miles, and we crossed the border between Portugal and Spain. We had excellent weather, and I think we spent more time eating the second breakfast and lunch than walking, which is good because at this point, we are tired and with minor injuries in our feet and knees.
Crossing the border between Spain and Portugal is seamless, the geographical division between both countries is the Rio Minho. Beside the signs that identified each territory is the spoken language change and an hour of time difference.
Tui is a beautiful medieval town with citadel and church on a central hill overlooking the river.
Today we walked through the Via Romana. This ancestral path was builded during the Roman military dominance in the area. Today is used mainly by people walking to Santiago or Fatima.
Today is our sixth day walking, and we already recognize who is who in El Camino. We don’t know their names, only their countries of origin, and when we refer to or ask about them to other pilgrims, we refer about them by the nationalities, color, or size of the backpack they are carrying. It is the way we talk around here.
Today we walked in the rain. It was a warm rain and them humid, like in the tropics.
We arrived at Ponte de Lima, a city founded during the Roman times. There was a market at the entrance of the city and a festival. The city is well preserved and has beautiful architecture.
TrekTok 