A Portuguesa

Tuesday 19 May 2026

Well, it is quite a while since I put pen to paper on these pages – back in the depths of winter – the product of a busy start to the year on many fronts! And so it is with some considerable excitement that I am about to embark on my ‘mini-challenge’ for 2026, the Portuguese Camino (or, as I have recently learned to say, the ‘Camino Portugués’)! I am setting off for Porto in northern Portugal this coming Sunday, where I will spend a day before embarking on the ancient pilgrimage route northwards to Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain – the same destination that I reached last year on my Camino Francés trek.

My 800-kilometre (500-mile) walk along the Camino Francés in the spring of last year (the yellow route on the above map) took me just over a month to complete, but a busy schedule in 2026 has restricted me to a somewhat later start date and to just a couple of weeks of walking. Hence I will be covering just the latter stages of the Camino Portugués pilgrimage trail, from the city of Porto to Santiago de Compostela, a distance of around 250 kilometres (150 miles) that should take me around a dozen walking days. I am hoping that this short spiritual journey, albeit more fleeting, will match the experience of my trek last summer – my research of the path certainly promises as much.

I will be joining the Camino Portugués at Porto, in the north of the country, then taking the inland route north to the border at Valença, where I will cross the River Minho to enter the spanish province of Galicia via the city of Tui, and from there, ever northward, I will journey to Santiago. My memories of last year’s Camino are linked intrinsically to the many good folk who I met, walked and chatted with along the way and to evenings of camaraderie that are sure to live long in the memory – and so, although I may be setting off alone, I am hoping for laughter, friendship and good company along the way. I will keep you all posted on my travels via this Blog, starting from this coming Sunday, 24 May, when I venture out to Portugal.

The song ‘A Portuguesa’ dates from 1890, with a melody by Alfredo Keil and lyrics from Henrique Lopes de Mendonça. Written as a march, the piece was adopted as the country’s national anthem in 1911 by the newborn Portugués Republic who had recently ousted the constitutional monarchy. The lyrics (translated) commence ‘Heroes of the sea, noble people / Brave, immortal nation / Raise once again today / The splendour of Portugal’, and the anthem continues in similar patriotic verve – a suitable opening to my Camino Portugués playlist perhaps?