Balance on the Mountain Pass (Camino Portugues 5)

Tuesday began routinely, morning hygiene, then packing and shouldering things. After the exertions of the past few days, it was clear that we wanted to go through the finish line this day without any extra detours.

The highlight of the manageable 17 km stage was a mountain pass crossing at an altitude of 400 m. With this goal in mind, we took two breaks before the ascent. The various taverns were well filled, and the flow of pilgrims steadily increased. At each break, five to ten hikers passed by us, whom we subsequently left behind during their break.

On the mountain pass itself, it became crowded. Over an estimated 1 km of ascent and descent, approximately 50 hikers gathered.

The official hostels kept meticulous records of the number of pilgrims. They recorded the entry point, origin and age as well as the profession. A look at a statistical breakdown of origin and numbers (of overnight stays) revealed that Germany clearly led the list of countries of origin on the Camino Portugues, followed by Portugal, Italy, and Spain, all exemplary Catholic countries. In 2025, the main travel months were April, May, and September.

As the day's stage came to an end, our hike on the Portuguese Camino also approached its conclusion.

One last time we had coffee, beer, and toast at a pilgrim snack bar, then checked in to accommodation with a 40-bed dormitory, and in the evening, we enjoyed a pilgrim menu (soup, main course, wine, and an espresso) for 13 euros. The place Rubiães offered little charm, which our tour guide pointed out. However, it was worth seeing a medieval cobblestone bridge that dates back to the Roman era. It rained lightly for the first time on our journey.

In the past five days, we had covered about 130 km from Porto to Rubiães. There were no dropouts, and the weather was favorable. From Rubiães, it was also about 130 km to Santiago. Statistically, we consumed a banana every day and about four coffees with milk per person, one liter of water (far too little), and 0.5-1 liter of soda/beer. We started our foot marches around 8 a.m. and usually reached our destinations around 5 p.m. Nighttime was at 10 p.m. every day. On average, we took three to four breaks per day. In my travel reading, I managed to read 30 pages. The use of social media was less than 30 minutes per day, and streaming services were absent.

Somehow, it felt like we could go further, but we planned to continue our journey to Lisbon tomorrow.