The Second Step: Picking the Path

As I said in my first post, there are lots of ways to walk the Camino, with many common starting points. Here’s a map showing the various paths:

The path shown in red is the Camino Francés (The French Way), which is (by far) the most common route. Indeed, before I started earnestly planning for the Camino, it was the only route I knew of.

The problem with the Camino Francés, though, is that it’s long.  At 500 miles from the most popular starting point, it takes most pilgrims over 30 days to complete.  As much as I would like to do that, I’m not sure I can get 30 consecutive days off work, especially the second job.  While I could begin at a closer starting point, the completionist in me doesn’t like that.

I was looking at all the other routes when I noticed the Camino Portugués (The Portuguese Way, or Caminho Português in Portuguese).  This not only has the benefit of being shorter, but it also speaks to me because my paternal grandparents were all Portuguese.

So right now, I’m thinking I’ll be walking the Camino Portugués.  Whether I’ll start in Lisbon or Porto, I’m not yet sure.  Maybe there’s anther appropriate starting point between the two.

So the second step is largely complete.

Map credit: Map by Manfred Zentgraf, Volkach, Germany. Used under license. Original image and more information can be found in Wikimedia Commons.