A Day in Porto

Monday April 29, 2024

My flight to Europe was wholly uneventful after a handful of minor dramas in the 24 hours leading up to my departure. I didn’t sleep a wink on the trans-Atlantic flight from DFW to Madrid, but that is par for the course. I rarely can sleep on airplanes, whether someone is sitting elbow-to-elbow with me or I have an entire row of seats to myself.

Once we landed in Spain, I had to navigate through all the international flight tasks: immigration, customs, baggage claim. It amazes me how much faster this process is in Europe compared to the US. I’m not sure why, but it always seems less chaotic and more streamlined. As a bonus, I didn’t have to deal with baggage claim since I was doing this Camino trek with minimal gear and none of the items that need to be checked with the airline (i.e., trekking poles, Swiss Army knife, etc.).

My first real order of business at the airport, though, was getting a café con leche. There’s one small coffee house in Oregon that, I swear, makes a latte that tastes exactly like the ones here in Spain. But there’s no substitute for drinking the real thing or eating a croissant during my nearly three-hour layover for my flight to Portugal!

My subsequent flight to Porto itself was only about an hour in length. It’s roughly the same distance as flying from my home in Eugene, Oregon, up to Seattle. However, the big difference with this flight was the time change.

Portugal is in the same time zone as the UK, Ireland, and Iceland, while Spain shares its time zone with the rest of Western Europe. This makes zero sense on the map. It would seem that the Iberian Peninsula should all be in the same time zone, given that Spain nearly surrounds Portugal and both countries are directly south of the UK. But it is what it is, so I gained a full hour of my life back as I departed Madrid at 11:25 am and landed in Portugal at 11:35 am.

JET LAG

By the time the plane landed in Porto, my fatigue from the past 20 hours of travel was hitting full force. I deplaned and walked up the jetway, tiredly following the people directly in front of me. This is usually a safe bet when you are arriving at a new airport where you’ve never set foot before. But it was a blunder this time around. Whoever was leading the front of the pack off the plane accidentally turned right instead of going left toward the airport exit.

I followed suit just like all the passengers ahead of me. And I was about 10 paces into the airport when I saw the entire line of people do a u-turn and start walking back my direction. Apparently, that was NOT the correct way out. And we all ended up in a bit of a traffic jam as the passengers from the front of the plane tried to merge with the back of the plane as we worked our way toward baggage claim.

Once out of the airport, I found myself blinking into the bright sunshine and searching for the metro. The Porto airport is about 14 km north of the central city, and a metro system connects the two areas. So I set about purchasing my ticket to the Trinidad Station for €2.75 and went to the platform to wait for the next train to arrive.

My hotel didn’t allow check-in until 2 pm, so I decided the best bet to fight the strong jet lag enveloping me was to walk around Porto and see the sights.

This plan worked moderately well, and it was an absolutely beautiful day as I walked the hilly, narrow streets of downtown Porto, admiring the architecture and the azulejos (the iconic blue and white ceramic tiles that adorn the buildings).

Over the next few hours, I visited the São Bento train station, the Clérigos Church and Tower, and the Ponte Luís I bridge spanning the Douro River. Then I roamed through the streets of Porto before eventually stopping at a little restaurant for an enjoyable lunch and a glass of Portuguese red wine.

Rooftop views of the city with the tall bell tower of the Clérigos Church in the distance

Sé do Porto

After a short rest at my hotel during the afternoon siesta hours, I set out again for the Sé do Porto – the main cathedral in Porto. I still had one critical task left to do before I could embark on the Camino Portugués tomorrow. I needed to get a credencial – also known as a pilgrim’s passport.

This “passport” is one of my favorite souvenirs of each of my prior Camino treks. Pilgrims use it to document their journey, obtaining ink stamps from the various places they stop along the way, including churches, albergues, bars, hotels, and museums. This document outlines the route that pilgrims took to Santiago de Compostela and also provides access to the affordable lodging reserved exclusively for pilgrims.

My pilgrim passport and compestela from my first Camino

My credencial cost me €2, but it came with my first stamp from the cathedral. I also paid an additional €3 for a ticket to tour the massive cathedral and its grounds. It was well worth the small cost, and I spent more than an hour wandering through it and climbing to one of the bell towers for panoramic views of the city and the Douro River.

Once of the many ceiling murals in a side chapel

A Culinary camino

One of the small goals I set for myself on this Camino was to try at least one new food each day. I haven’t tried Portuguese cuisine before, so I’m certain this will be a new adventure for my tastebuds. Hopefully, it will also increase my memories of the journey.

My first Camino experience was on the Camino Francés in 2018, and that walk remains in my memory as a time of transition and personal growth. My second Camino was on the Camino del Norte in 2022, and it was very much about the majestic scenery and the people I met.

I want to shape my memories of this third, shorter Camino by focusing on the local culture and cuisine. Ultimately, I hope to list the new food(s) I tried during each stage of my trek. Today’s culinary delights included: