The Camino Portuguese is an approximately 245km long Christian pilgrimage trail, which starts at the cathedral in Porto, Portugal and then ends at its architectural namesake in Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, but it isn’t just for the dogmatically inclined. The Portuguese Way is undertaken by people of all backgrounds and for all kinds of reasons, though commonly as a part of one’s personal growth. However, regardless of the multitude of possible personal life or spiritual perspectives, it’s also simply a very scenic and interesting 1-2 week long walk.
Here I highlight the most special moments of my own camino, ones in which I’d become utterly absorbed in the sunlight’s exquisite play with the continuously unfolding environments, as well as the consciousness awakening primal sounds of moving waters in the multitude of rivers and streams that I crossed along the trail.
“If you feel that you can’t go on, and your will’s sinking low, just believe, and you can’t go wrong. In the light, you will find the road.”
‘In the Light’ | Led Zeppelin, Physical Graffiti (1975)
So, please just sit back, relax and enjoy this brief sidetrack from the hustle and bustle of regular life; and please share this post with anyone who you think would find it inspirational or helpful. Obrigado, gracias & thank you!
Back in 2017, upon awakening on a cold and rainy morning, with the autumn season in Finland already in full swing, I was smacked with an undeniably powerful urge to ride a bicycle from my home in Turku to my second home in Portugal, a journey of over 4000km; but why?
About 2 years earlier, I’d reached the end of the most significant phase of my life, my 18 year long marriage. Now I’d woken up to the fact that I pretty much had no clue as to what I was supposed to do with the rest of my life. In hindsight, all the signs that this major fork in the road was fast approaching had already been there for several years. Perhaps they’d just been hiding in plain sight, but I’d just not noticed them. However, it was most likely that I’d simply not wanted, or been prepared, to see and accept the truth and reality of my situation. I guess that it had just been much easier to go through life as a functional depressive, giving the people around me the impression that I was doing ok; but I wasn’t. All I had succeeded in doing was to put all the associated painful, unaddressed issues on ice for a while. Well, no matter. The universe had eventually lost patience with me, and decided that it was high time for me to face the music.
To clarify a bit more, the initial catalyst for my recovery, back into the world of the living, had been the Camino Portuguese pilgrim trek from Porto, Portugal to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, which I undertook during the Easter break earlier that year. In retrospect, that had been my opening cry for help, which had ripped open the doors of the freezer that my heart had become, and directed the divine heat at all that had been lifelessly stored within. It was literally an act of resurrection!
From that time on, until this present day, I have completed many more adventures of exploration and discovery, which have included 4 separate bicycle tours around Portugal, as well as two long distance hiking treks, the Camino Finisterre and the Via Algarviana. Now, once again, I found myself at a new crossroads, as I reach 7 years of nomadic monkhood. While there are certainly many adventures ahead, and which I will tell you about later; here first is a video where my long-time friend and Ghostrider, Mr. Pepe, interviews me about the last ride with my trusted travel companion Matilda, on our two week tour of the Northern Portugal Coastline and Peneda-Geres National Park, as well about some thoughts for the future.
So, what’s next? In many ways, I feel that I’ve finally re-entered society, but now much more on my own terms. With that in mind, my focus going forward is on learning how to better serve others, both individuals through my coaching practice, and communities through the concepts of spiritual construction. The initial plans include a return to Portugal, but this time to the Castelo Branco region of Central Portugal close to the border with Spain. More specifically, I plan to create my own personal camino adventures, which will traverse through amazing places, such as castles, ruins and historic small villages, all connected by trails through the wonderful nature of Portugal. Ultimately, my desire is to offer previously untapped avenues of inspiration and personal development for my coaching clients, as well as fellow explorers; in fact, for anyone who is willing to make the necessary physical, emotional and spiritual effort to discover new and better ways of living and being.
Valleys of sorrow, the tears of the lost do keep. Their paths out, I seek.
‘The Path Out’ by Jyri Manninen
The more the world continues to move ever faster into an existence based around digital networks and the influence of artificial intelligence, my intuition, that feeling deep down within my belly, is to go in the opposite direction, back towards a more analog way of life, which is focused around the development and enhancement of real, organic relationships between family, friends, neighbours, communities, as well as strangers, and where the awakening of human consciousness is placed right at the forefront. Do you care to join me?
Having just completed the over 300km long Via Algarviana camino the previous day, what better way to celebrate than to go out for another walk the day after! I had a full day off to explore Sagres, which is located at the very south-west corner of the Algarve, as well as have some much needed R and R afterwards.
The name Sagres derives from Sagrado, which means holy, owing to the important local religious practices and rituals that occurred during the pre-history of the nation. Approximately 1900 people call Sagres home, but given that it’s a mecca for tourists, surfers and scuba divers, the actual number of people in the area at any given time is actually much, much higher. Historically, Sagres is connected to the early Portuguese Age of Discovery; and, very interestingly, it is the end of the world’s longest estimated straight-line path over land, which extends over 11000 km to near Jinjiang in the People’s Republic of China.
I commenced by walking tour from the Sagres Sun Stay hostel and surf resort, where I was staying for 2 nights before heading off to my next adventure, a cycling tour of the Portuguese north coast and the Peneda-Gerês National Park, which straddles the Portugal-Spain border in the north-east. However, ahead of me now was just a very chill, active recovery stroll of about 10km to see the main sites of Sagres. After passing the main roundabout in the town centre, I popped down to Praia do Tonel, one of the main beaches used by the local surf schools. From there, it wasn’t far to the Fortaleza de Sagres (or Fortress of Sagres), which is, undoubtedly, one of the key sites of interest to visit in the area.
As I made my way to the fort’s entrance gate, I got to enjoy some majestic views of the sharp cliffs that stretch all the way out to Cabo de São Vicente some 6km away, the end point of my Via Algarviana walking trek. Henry the Navigator ordered the fort’s construction to protect the strategic coastal position at Ponta de Sagres, as well as the coves that offer shelter for ships. At the site, you can find the very small, but all the more wonderful, Church of Santa Maria, which was constructed during the reign of King Manuel I of Portugal. It was consecrated in 1519 to the invocation of Nossa Senhora da Graça (or Our Lady of Grace), and its interior is adorned by a valuable gilded altarpiece from the Chapel of Santo António, as well as two images of Saint Vincent and Francis of Assisi, from the 17th and 18th century.
In May 1587, explorer Francis Drake disembarked 800 men who assaulted the fortress of Sagres. After two hours of intense combat, fortifications adjacent to the fortress were destroyed and its artillery was pillaged. After this, and some later attacks, the fortification was remodeled in the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, with its current form dating back to 1793.
After leaving the fortaleza, I descended down to Praia da Mareta to enjoy a beer at a beach side café-bar, while soaking in the atmosphere, as well as to just sit firmly in the personal satisfaction I felt after having just completed the latest big ticket item that was on my life’s bucket list.
The ultimate truth, within the fire it is forged. Sacred ash remains.
‘Sagrado’ by Jyri Manninen
After returning to the hostel, I spent the afternoon relaxing with a good meal, as well as a few ice-cold beers and some sweet aniseed Xarão on the terrace by the pool. As the afternoon merged into the evening, I fired up my final camino cigar, which I had bought at the beginning of my Via Algarviana trek, but to enjoy only after its completion. The combustion of tobacco, while watching the smoke rise up and disappear into the ether, leaving only the ash as a memory of what was, holds a much deeper significance for me. I find this deliberate and considered act, in its true form, to be a spiritual ritual. It’s a very fitting, metaphorical way to mark and celebrate the successful completion of a journey, and a specific chapter in life, and then, on the same occasion, to set one’s sights and attention on the next stage, whatever that may be.
While the achievement of specific goals is certainly important, it is also essential to take pause at these milestones, to ensure that the path you are on is, in fact, the right one, and to recalibrate your direction, if it is not.
run for your life 