8 Days riding the Camino Portuguese on Horseback

It was in 2019 and my 40th birthday and I decided to do the Camino Portuguese on horseback which I’d always wanted to do. I have been riding since the age of 12 and had originally planned to do it on horseback and my husband doing the same route in parallel on a bicycle but he said he wanted to do it with me. Unbelievably he learned how to ride a horse just so he could do it with me. (that’s true love)

He had about 8-10 lessons and learned enough to be able to do the journey which we thought would take about 5-6 hours a day for 8 days. Lorraine and her husband rode 163 km in 8 days on the Portuguese Spiritual Route, by horseback. Being Pilgrims on the Camino was awesome.

We learned so much, bonded so much. We learned to accept the inevitable effects of aging, with humour and (some) grace. We fell in love with Pontevedra province, with it’s amazing bosques, running rivers/streams, and gorgeous beaches.

We developed an addiction to Pimientos de Padrón, chancing every time whether it’s spicy or not. He finally understood on a visceral level why horses were and continue to be important in my life. He now misses the sound of their hoof-beats on cobblestone, and the gentle, rhythmic thuds of cantering through Spanish forests.

I continue to be in awe of his equestrian accomplishments, and humbled by his love.

So, yes… our Camino experience was wonderful, and our happy memories of it will last a lifetime.

We had a GoPro mounted on one of our helmets for the whole journey, so there’s lots of fun footage below and I hope you enjoy the videos.

Buen Camino