Translation: To lose the way is to learn the way.
Day 1-Porto
My camino has started out with logistical challenges. I booked the trip through an agency (that I won’t yet name in hopes that they make things right), as this journey is at the end of a three month sabbatical, and as much as I would love to just go wander 250-ish kilometres through Portugal and Spain, sleeping in albergues and making loads of friends along the way, one of the things I am trying to learn during my sabbatical is delegation and accepting help. Unfortunately the agency has really let me down in not getting my guidebook, notes, luggage tags, etc delivered on time, leaving me to try and map this out on my own. Then finding out the hotel for the first night was full and they’ve changed it to an entirely different town on an entirely different camino route, presenting me with the disappointment of starting my camino on a metro train or taking a taxi. Strike three was a few hours ago when they’d not returned my email asking for instructions on the luggage transfer, I called their 24 hour emergency number, only to be directed to voicemail. They still haven’t called back.
So, with a day in Porto, I decided to take an proactive approach to all this and accept that I have to find my own way. I declared today to be day one, and set off from the Sheraton for the Cathedral, with backpack in tow to collect my first stamp and with the help of an app called Portuguese and English Way (https://appsto.re/dk/1UKN1.i), I found both the inland and coastal routes, along with the Cathedral. A huge wave of elation washed over me when I saw the first arrow, painted onto a stone near the ground next to a door. It was like I was embarking on the world’s greatest scavenger hunt! The feeling only lasted for a bit though, as when I went into the Cathedral to get my first stamp, when I asked where I can find additional stamps, he shrugged and said ‘everywhere. Churches, cafes, museums, anywhere you go.’, and when I smiled and said thank you, he just shrugged his shoulders again and said ‘it’s ok’. My expectations are a little skewed right now, I’m desperately looking for something to offset the disappointment of the agency situation, and was hoping for at least a cheerful ‘Bom Caminho’. The next disappointment came when I visited the photography museum and asked for a stamp, and was told ‘we don’t have stamps here, it’s free’. I wasn’t sure what that meant, but I left feeling very confused. Then one church, two churches…no one was around to ask for a stamp. I felt like I was chasing imaginary butterflies and for a moment I considered if getting this compostella at the end of it was really worth it, because I started to just feel silly chasing after the required second stamp of the day. When I did finally get back to the hotel, grumpy and tired, they gave me a stamp, but even he said ‘i’m not really sure if this is the right one or not’.
As the title of this post is though, as I reflect back on the day, I’m very glad I took this a ‘practice day’. I got very, very lost and in it, now I’m ready to find the right way.
Porto is a fantastic city, a contrast of old and new, of gritty and gleaming. I will definitely return here.
Notes about Porto: the coastal route begins at the bottom of the stairs from the Se (Cathedral), or if you are coming from Fatima, you can also just turn left on Cais da Ribeira when you cross the river and pick up the trail about 500 metres down where Cais da Ribeira becomes Cais da Estiva. The inland route begins about 700 metres north of the Cathedral at the southwest corner of the Dos Martires Da Patria park and is well marked for about the first 500 metres on the pedestrian street. However, it’s just one long street, so you continue on that due north until you reach the suburb of Araujo. The app I mentioned earlier is very well mapped out with the directions from there.
camino de uchuujin 