Caminho do Norte: Day 4 – Gião to Porto

Unfortunately, day four of the Caminho do Norte was when the caminho experience all started going wrong for me.

The website didn’t exactly wax lyrically about the ‘official’ stage from Vairão to Porto – which with hindsight should probably have given us cause for concern – stating rather ominousy:

“The landscape is varied, with both rural and urban environments. As you move south, the population becomes denser and the urban areas more visible.”

Of course, when we left the delightful Casa Mindela at 9.10am, we had no idea how demoralising this mostly urban stretch of walking would be.

Harri, who keeps a closer check on these things than me, had already mentioned the first two kilometres were likely to be very dull walking. Fortunately, the increasing appearance (and roar) of planes leaving Porto airport kept me amused. Underfoot, our route was mostly along wide, cobbled roads. This meant that every time a car or lorry sped past the noise was deafening.

Over the past few years, several people from our hiking group have completed the Portugues Caminho and there seemed to be a consensus that the stage which involved walking out of Porto was a particular lowlight of the caminho experience. We’d be hiking the same route but in the opposite direction.

At first, it wasn’t too bad: the landscape was still very agricultural with large, recently harvested, fields and little villages and hamlets dotted along the route – not exactly picturesque but certainly not terrible.

With just over 17 km to go before we reached Porto’s historic centre (and tourist hub), I was beginning to understand other pilgrims’ lack of enthusiasm for this stage. Lorries whizzed past with alarming frequency, while our route seemed determined to showcase the very best of greater Porto’s industrial estates.

We could, of course, have opted to follow the coastal route and trotted along windswept boardwalks for kilometre after kilometre, however that option would have taken an extra day – an extra day we didn’t have as our pet sitter needed to return to the UK a day earlier than we’d originally agreed.

Everything in life is relative. When wheelie bins started appearing on the narrow pavements, we seized upon the sight as something rather novel and exciting! (We don’t have individual wheelie bins in the Algarve.) By the 11 km-point, I couldn’t understand why any self-respecting pilgrim would voluntarily follow this main route north. There was so much traffic thundering past, we couldn’t even distract ourselves with conversation. Eventually, we rejoined the cobbles but again these were cobbled roads with no road markings to indicate the right of way or where pedestrians could cross safely.

Harri reminded me that the original caminho routes were never intended to be scenic walks. Their sole purpose was to get pilgrims from point A to point B as quickly as possible. In medieval times, it was rivers without crossing points and unnecessary climbing that the pilgrim routes sought to avoid. Centuries later, the landscape surrounding many of those original historic paths has changed beyond recognition. Surely it makes sense then to re-route the caminhos to avoid modern-day frustrations, like heavy traffic, railways and industrial estates?

This morning, we’ve been treated to some really stinky smells, from slurry in agricultural parts to freshly laid tarmac and, later, what smelt suspiciously like a sewage treatment works.

We walked past the Lionesa business hub (which seemed to go on forever) and then a miracle … to our left and a little lower down stood the rather spendid Leça do Balio monastery. As is often the case, there have been various buildings on this religious site, including a Roman temple dedicated to Jupiter and a tenth-century monastery where monks and nuns worshipped alongside one another (I didn’t know that was allowed!).

Interestingly, the monastery was fortified by the Knights Hospitaller to protect pilgrims on their way to Compostela de Santiago. The monastery you see today has a very Gothic appearance and has been a national monument since 1910.

Despite the heat, I increased my pace, suddenly full of enthusiasm for what looked to be an intriguing route ahead. Harri shook his head. Our caminho didn’t pass the monastery, but headed off to the right. With a cry of anguish, I stomped over to the statues of King Fernando I and Queen Leonor Teles and lingered a while, taking photographs.

I’d love to get into the head of the person/people who thought the next section of the route was a good idea. It started with two large roundabouts followed by a long, uphill stretch of slip road walking – because that’s what we dedicated pilgrims enjoy most, i.e. busy main roads. Harri realised we hadn’t spotted any north-heading pilgrims for ages so I guess most had opted for the coastal route.

There are actually three basic options from Porto:

• the Caminho Central
• the Caminho da Costa
• the Senda Literal

The Caminho do Norte mostly follows the Caminho Central. With hindsight, we probably should have followed one of the other routes, which would have avoided much of the built-up corridor we disliked so much. However, Harri works full-time and didn’t have time to explore every potential option. Besides, the Caminho do Norte website appeared to be so comprehensive and didn’t mention the other, more scenic options. Readers, we felt duped.

With 6.4 km left, we finally found a café where we grabbed a quick drink and a meringue cake to share. Spotting our backpacks, the owner insisted we sit down for table service, bless him, although I’d argue our souls were suffering far more than our feet.

The remainder of the walk into Porto was similarly tedious with the traffic getting heavier as we got closer to the centre. If nothing else, it made us appreciate the tranquility of the countryside around our home in the Algarve.

And then we hit Porto proper, aka the part of the city which attracts tourists, and everything changed. Suddenly, we were surrounded by grand, historic buildings, pastelarias and gift shops. There were people everywhere, so much so that we felt sorry for a van driver who we overtook several times as he attempted to navigate his way through the narrow, crowded streets without hitting anyone.

Once we’d checked into our accommodation, we cast off our rucksacks and set off to explore Porto. Finally, we were seeing the sights that attract millions of visitors every year: the riverfront promenade, Dom Luís I Bridge (which we’d be crossing tomorrow) and Serra do Pilar Monastery on the other side of the Douro. On this warm, late September evening, street musicians were entertaining the passing tourists. It was tempting to stop and eat in one of those riverfront restaurants, but we had already bought food to cook in our apartment and, besides, when we’re weary at the end of a hike we generally fail to do a restaurant meal justice.

With no functioning GPS signal, we briefly lost our way in a myriad of narrow lanes and stone staircases … stone steps which nobody seemed to be climbing except us. All became clear when I spotted an elevator offering tourists an easier ascent for two euros apiece.

Summary

I think it’s fair to say we were unimpressed with the route on our fourth day of walking the Caminho do Norte.

It’s hard to believe that those responsible for waymarking and maintaining this caminho couldn’t have come up with a more scenic route away from busy roads. The last stretch of walking – before we reached Porto’s historic centre – was particularly tedious. Fortunately, Portugal’s second city absolutely redeemed itself when we reached the Douro and the tourist hotspots.

Accommodation

Our very central room in Downtown Porto Mouzinho Studio Apartments cost us 87 euros. No breakfast was provided, however there was a compact kitchen and a small breakfast bar where we could sit and eat.

Our route

This stage from Gião to Porto was mapped at 25.4 km with 294 metres of ascent.

Tracking with Outdoor Active, I recorded 25.9 km with 278 metres of ascent.

Download the GPX file of our hike here.