Decisions, Decisions, Decisions

It’s been a slow start to the new year. All those winter doldrums I described. But at last... something to write about! We’ve made our decision for the next ‘big walk’ and we’re getting excited.

There were several candidates we considered. The Israel National Trail and the Jerusalem Way continuing on to Rome were, of course, our first choice. Call us wimps, but the escalating issues in the Middle East were major deterrents to walking there, so that plan didn’t go away; it’s just on-hold till a later time. 

We considered walking more of England’s National Trails. We enjoyed the Thames Path walk two years ago and there are 15 other national trails to consider there ranging from short walks to the 630 mile Southwest Coast path. In fact, the new England Coast Path is expected to open this year and at 2,795 miles (4500 km), it will be the world’s longest managed and way- marked path. Hmmm... it’s on the list and a thought for the future,  but it didn’t make the cut.

We considered the Via Egnatia through Greece, Macedonia and Albania and several others in Europe. The walks in the Southern Hemisphere in Chile, Argentina and New Zealand and Tasmania were also considerations. But still, they didn’t spark quite the interest we had in mind.

Our criteria? 

• The length should be more than 500 miles, but less than 1,000. Most countries only allow a 90-day stay for visitors without an extended visa and three months away is really just about right.

• There should be adequate time in the walking schedule for laydays and tourist-type explorations.

• It should be in a country we haven’t visited before.

• It should not be an overly crowded/popular path; we dislike crowds. On the other hand, it would be nice if it was a way-marked path with food/lodging along the way. In other words, no camping out, no packing food and no getting too lost.

Lots of paths to choose from, but we’ve pretty much decided on our course.

We explored. We researched. We discussed lots of alternatives and finally, just the other day, we made our final decision. We will walk the Camino Português de Santiago from Lisbon, Portugal to Santiago de Compostela Spain. It’s another old pilgrimage route, the Way of St James, that is much less traveled than many other caminos (roads) which travel from and through France (not that we have anything at all against France!). The only problem with this route is that it’s only about 400 miles (662km) long. So I was charged with finding a way to make it longer. My research came up with lots of possibilities. 

First, we decided to add the Camino Finisterre (and Muxía) from Santiago de Compostela to the ‘end of the world’, a cape that juts out into the Atlantic. This extension adds about 70 miles (115km) to the walk and sounds interesting.

Next, I discovered Rota Vincentina (RV), a newer path in Portugal that just opened in 2012. It begins at Cabo São Vicente on the extreme southwestern tip of Portugal and travels northward to Lisbon via a network of diverse, connecting paths. From there we can connect to the Camino Português. Total mileage for the RV is an additional 210 miles (350km) bringing our total walking trip to ~680 miles (1133 km). 

This cobbled-together trek meets all of our requirements. It’s long enough to be worthwhile and fits in the 90-day window with plenty of time for side excursions. We have never visited Portugal before and though we spent some time in Spain in the past, it was 20 years ago and we were in Barcelona on business... not quite a cultural immersion.

So our work is cut out for us. Figure out dates and buy airline tickets, work out the itinerary and logistics, check out our gear needs, identify must-see sights and, oh yeah, learn some Portuguese. Things are beginning to get a little exciting. Farewell winter doldrums. 

Now that we’ve decided which route to walk, join us as we prepare for this new adventure.