Day 1 Santiago - Saint James Walk

Doing the Way of Saint James is an amazing experience that we really recommend! Of course you need to prepare in different levels, as we mentioned here and there. [day 1 santiago]

During the next posts and videos, we will share our experience doing the Portuguese Central Way. We decided to do this route because it is the most traditional, and because it has more infrastructures along the way (mainly the albergues for pilgrims to have a decent rest).

Day 1 Santiago – from Porto to Vairão

We started early bells on a Sunday in Porto, when the city was still half asleep. Besides going through beautiful Porto, we passed by São Mamede de Infesta, Leça do Balio and Maia until we reached Vairão (county of Vila do Conde). We rested in Vairão Monastery, a beautiful place. We really recommend it! It is one of the best pilgrims’ hostels we stayed at.

Day 1 Santiago – Leça do Balio and Lionesa graffiti wall

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A guide book we took with us suggested doing the Central route, leaving Porto, through São Mamede de Infesta and Leça do Bailio, that way we would be passing by São Mamede de Infesta city centre and the Monastery of Leça do Balio as well as the graffiti wall close to the enterprises park of “Lionesa”.

We were happy to follow these suggestions because these were really nice places as you can see in the images.

Day 1 Santiago – Tips

Take your time, do not rush. Always be aware of your body, your mind will do the rest, just keep going;
Baby steps on the uphill! It can seem as a long way up, but if you take it step by step, you will soon find yourself at the top of the hill!
Make pauses along the way to rest your legs and feet (take your feet out of the shoes to let them breath);
Have some snacks with you (nuts, energy bars and fruit were very handy for us and give you the energy boost you are going to need). Eat and, very important, drink a lot of water during the day (at least 2L);
If you are walking in a Sunday, have some food with you, a lot of places you pass by might be closed;
Rest is essential! After a shower, washing your feet properly, relaxing and a good night of sleep, you will be ready to start a new day of walking!

Day 1 Santiago – Video

We also made a video about our first day of the Walk to Santiago (The Way of Saint James), doing the Portuguese Central Way (Caminho Português Central – Camino Portugués). The video is available on our YouTube channel. Click in the image bellow to open the video.