Lisbon: Camino Preparations

Sunday, June 1, 2025

Today I had entirely at my leisure and I spent the entire day preparing to set off on the Camino tomorrow morning. I still needed to get some things for the journey, which I had planned to get from an outdoor sports store near to my hotel. Before going shopping, I went out to get breakfast. There were several restaurants close by and I selected a small café with an outdoor patio. I ordered a bagel sandwich with coffee, which I thoroughly enjoyed.

I then wasted no time in heading out to the sports store to finish getting my gear. My primary need was to get walking poles, which I had found invaluable during my previous Camino. The poles are difficult to travel with and wouldn’t have fit in my checked bag, but the store had several for sale that were cheap. I also bought some other small things, and another pair of good sandals just in case my Keen sandals broke during the walk. Once I finished at the store, I dropped everything off at the hotel so I could head back out again.

My final preparation stop for the day was at the Church Nossa Senhora da Conceição Velha in the city center where the pilgrim office was located. I already had one pilgrim passport in which to collect the pilgrim stamps along the Camino, but I wanted to have a second passport just in case I ran out of space in the first booklet. The woman working at the office was extraordinarily friendly and gave me oodles of information about the Camino, including a leaflet listing out the services in the villages between Lisbon and Porto. I also got a Camino shell to attach to my backpack – the quintessential symbol of the Camino.

Many pilgrims confuse this cathedral as the official starting point, but the true starting point is at the nearby Church of St James, located close to the Lisbon Cathedral. Since I still had the majority of the afternoon left, I decided to walk over to this church to check it out. It was located uphill and I enjoyed the short walk. Lisbon Cathedral was busy with tourists, but the area around the Church of St James was quiet and empty. It is a simple church with signs in front stating that it was where the Camino began. I was glad to have scouted out where the route would begin for me tomorrow morning.

I then returned to the city center, where I had originally planned to wander around for a little while. However, the area was overrun with tourists and it was a bit overwhelming for me to deal with this afternoon. Instead, I walked over to the Arco da Rua Augusta and the Praça do Comércio, a large public square with an impressive entrance arch to the historic parts of the city. The metro was nearby and I quickly caught a train back to my hotel. I spent the rest of the evening relaxing at the hotel and getting prepared to depart in the morning. I was planning to leave very early, so I wanted to make it an early night and get plenty of rest. I was very excited to embark on my second Camino!