Lisbon to Santiago
Map WikiPate, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Three years later, after the long pause brought on by the COVID pandemic, I returned to Portugal with a different purpose. This time I invited my nephew to join me for the full Camino from Lisbon to Santiago.
I wanted him to experience more than a long-distance walk. I hoped the Camino would give him the opportunity to step away from the constant pace of everyday life, discover his own inner strength, and experience the quiet confidence that comes from meeting each day’s challenges one step at a time.
Beginning in Lisbon made this our longest Portuguese Camino, taking us through historic cities, peaceful countryside, vineyards, and centuries-old villages before reconnecting with the more familiar route from Porto to Santiago.
Watching my nephew grow in confidence over the weeks reminded me that the Camino is a wonderful teacher. It asks very little of us beyond putting one foot in front of the other, yet it often gives us far more than we ever expected.
Camino Mystic 