According to Catholic legend, James, the apostle of Jesus, traveled to Galicia sometime after the crucifixion and spread the gospel to the people living there at the time. He later returned to Israel, where he was beheaded by King Agrippa. His followers carried his remains back to Galicia, where they were thought to be lost for several hundred years, until they were miraculously discovered by Pelayo the hermit in the 9th century. As Christians from all over Europe began to make pilgrimage to visit the apostle's remains, the various routes of the Camino de Santiago began take shape. The magnificent Cathedral of Santiago de Compostela was built in the city of the same name to house the remains. For over a millennia, the faithful along with many others have made the journey to this mighty archbasilica. Today, the trek is a very popular among long-distance hikers, religious devotees, seekers of something spiritual, and many others, who walk for their own personal reasons. I'm not sure which of those categories I fit into, but today, I will start my own Camino. Maybe I will figure it out along the way.
I arrived in Porto, Portugal the day before yesterday and after meeting up with my friends (fourteen plus myself) and touring the wineries of the Douro Valley yesterday, I'm energized and ready to begin this adventure. Before leaving our hotel, we take a group shot to remember what we looked like before all of these grueling miles. With the 'before' picture now on our phones, we walk the short distance to the metro station, which will take us to our starting point in nearby Matosinhos.
Day 1: Porto to Povoa de Varzim
Departing the train, we immediately cross a bridge over the Rio Leca while a marching band crosses in the opposite direction. What an unexpected, but wonderful send-off to our long journey. I'm honestly not sure what the community was celebrating, other than it being Saturday, but it was still a very nice way to start the trip.
At about two-and-a-half miles and with a pretty big lead on my friends, I decide to take a little detour to check out an old church the stone monument above and behind it overlooking the Atlantic. This is the Chapel of Boa Nova, which was founded in 1392 by Francisca hermits. There is no description on the monument and so, I'm not sure exactly what it represents or commemorates, but it offers a great view of the ocean after doing a little rock scrambling to get up to it.
After about twenty minutes of climbing around on the rocks and just enjoying the first day of my walk, I decide to continue northward. Just as I rejoin the trail, a couple of my friends finally catch up and I tell them of the church and monument, which they decide to check out for themselves.
Still making very good time, I decide to stop for a late lunch around 1pm. To my delight, I find a pizza place and decide to try what seems like an odd, but tasty combination of toppings. Smoked salmon, hard-boiled egg, olives adorn my steaming hot pizza when it comes out. It's actually very good and quite filling. While I don't speak Portuguese, I'm finding that a combination of Google Translate and hand gestures is making communication possible, at least enough to get by. I'm also noting some Latin roots in some of the words I'm hearing from the locals. I guess those three years of Latin in high school are providing a little payoff now. Just as my pizza arrived, one of my friends entered the restaurant and sat down with me. I had provided my location in the WhatsApp group we are using to communicate through.
I tell my friend to go ahead and order while I start working on my pizza. I don't mind waiting on him. It might be nice to have company for a while. He orders some local sausage, soup, bread thing (I don't recall the name), which he says is quite rich and delicious. His food came out really fast compared to mine and so, we finish at nearly the same time and decide to head out. Just as we stand up to take off, more of our friends arrive and decide to sit for lunch. Having completely finished our meal, we explain that we want to get moving and we agree to meet up at the accommodations for the night.
After getting cleaned up, we take a series of cab rides from our hotel to the restaurant a couple of miles way. The cute little place sits right on the beach and as we enter, the normal guests are just finishing up their drinks on the patio. The place would normally be closing, but they have prepared their back room just for us. As we enter, we are greeted by the staff and treated to a magnificent view of the ocean through open windows and a gigantic table of appetizers. Over the next twenty minutes or so, our group arrives and joins us. Once everyone is here, our orders are taken. Of course, this includes a lot of fresh seafood and more bottles of vino verde than I can count. The owner seems to just keep bringing new bottles back for us. It's a wonderful experience and the food is fantastic.
Day 2: Povao de Varzim to Esposende
My biological clock seems to have already adapted to the time difference and I wake up bright and early around 6:00 am. I didn't mention this before, but our trip is what is referred to as backpacking. We're still putting in all of our miles, but our luggage is transported by a service from one night's hotel to the next, while we only hike with a day pack. Of course the day packs are completed by the white sea shell hung from each, indicating our pilgrimage. The hotel arrangements each day also include a well-stocked breakfast buffet. It's actually pretty amazing to see all of the pilgrims gearing up for more miles and stuffing down a hearty breakfast in the hotel dining room.
After breakfast, we head back out and begin our walk for the day. Again, I'm off to a fast start, but I'm slowed as soon as I get to the boardwalk by a large snail making his way across the path. It's a nice way to start the day, though the weather is a bit gloomy. I'm afraid that this little guy's friends don't always fair as well as he seems to be, and over the next several days, I will see many of his distant cousins that have been squished by inconsiderate hikers. I try my best to avoid them and as far as I can tell, I didn't step on a single snail along my entire journey.
Before long, I'm back at the ocean and it seems our path today takes us right by the place we dined last night. So, I have in effect hiked this twice (though I only count the mileage from today). There are so many Camino hikers out this morning. It's hard to imagine, but one of my friends looked it up and it seems that an average of 3,000 pilgrims a day are arriving at Santiago de Compostela right now. It's crazy to think of so many people walking such long distances.
Today's route is planned to be a little shorter than yesterday. Along the way, I travel along many more board walks overlooking looking the rocky shoreline. There are even windmills here set up to take advantage of the coastal winds, though most don't have their actual 'fans' attached at the moment.
Arriving at Esposende, I make the decision to divert from our planned route and stay on the boardwalk for a while. Eventually, I reach the endpoint for the day, which is a parish church for the community. It sits in a town square full of restaurants, which is perfect because I'm starved. I decide to eat at a place called Good Burger. I enjoy a nice cheeseburger and some terrific fries. I also opt to drink something they call a lager mango, which is a locally made beer with some red currant syrup added to it. It looks interesting, but after a single sip, I know it's not for me. The viscosity added by the syrup just throws me off and while I do finish it, I promise myself to never have another.
Eventually, everyone arrives in Esposende at our hotel and we settle on an Italian place for dinner. Lots of wine and hilarity ensue. It was another fantastic day. Today's mileage was only about 13.2 for me, but I discovered that I misread the map when I got into town and actually skipped a short section. I'll have to make that up in the morning. For now, it's off to bed.
Day 3: Esposende to Viana do Castelo
Another hearty breakfast has me ready to go this morning. So far, breakfast at this hotel has been the best so far and I'm really starting to fall in love with salami, cheese, and croissant for the first meal of the day. The orange juice is also quite amazing here - locally grown, I believe.
Discovering my map-reading mistake last night, I commit myself to completing my missed miles and depart the hotel just a few minutes ahead of my friends. I need to walk about a mile south and then back the same way to ensure I catch that skipped section. I tell my friends that I will catch up and having seen how fast I walk, they have no doubt they will be seeing me very shortly.
That happens in almost no time. After only about twenty minutes beyond the hotel entrance, I catch up to the slowest of the hikers in my group, which includes my good friend who organized this whole trip. As I've been hiking so fast the last couple of days, I've been mostly by myself on the trail and decide that it would be nice to have more company be a bit less anti-social today. I decide to slow my pace and hang back with these friends for a while.
We enjoy ourselves as we make our way through some residential streets. Even though we're in town, it still has that 'old world' feel to it, with the occasional ancient wall making up the fencing for someone's yard. It's hard to explain, but there is just a good feeling there. One of my friends puts some 80's music on a small speaker and we begin singing along to Duran Duran, When in Rome, Lionel Richie, and others. Even with all of the miles we've already walked and some of my friends dealing with blisters, everyone is in a magical mood and the miles just blaze by.
Wanting to stop for some lunch, we decide to stop at a spot marked by one of our other friends that was ahead of us, but had decided to wait for us. Here we enjoy a delicious lunch of jamon iberico and pastries. A cold coke-zero washes it down nicely - and the little burst of caffeine didn't hurt either. Soon, we're back on the trail and headed straight to the beach itself.
Through this section, there are no boardwalks and we're walking through sand dunes. At one point, we leave the beach and enter a wooded area with a creek running through. One of my female friends mentioned the need for a restroom and since nothing is available she finds a tree to do her business behind. While we wait, others of our group catch up and about twelve of us in all begin making our way through the sand dunes and brush. The trail is not quite as clear here and while there are yellow arrows painted frequently, they are sometimes in conflict and we need to do a little scouting.
Heading to the hotel, we all get cleaned up and then agree to meet to figure out dinner. Dinner becomes a little bit of a cluster as people cannot agree where to eat and we end up dining in a couple of different groups. It was fine though and after a hearty meal, we make our way back to the hotel and prepare for day four. Today's trek was 17.6 miles for me, which includes about a mile-and-a-half extra to make up that skipped section from yesterday.
Day 4: Viana do Castelo to Vila Praia da Ancora
I started my day a little early as I wanted to catch the funicular (vertical train) up to visit a hilltop church overlooking the city and called the Sanctuary of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. It's a modern building, but very elaborate and home to the largest stained glass windows on the whole of the Iberian Peninsula. Unfortunately, I discover that the train doesn't open until an hour after I thought it would. Not wanting to delay the start of my hike that much, I decide to skip the church and begin. The others though wanted to see the church and waited, though from what they told me, the train opened up about 30 minutes earlier than the sign listed. Ah well. They enjoyed themselves.
Catching up to a couple of my other friends that skipped the church all together, we explored the ruins of yet another old fort, Forte de Areosa. This one is opened up and I take a few minutes to climb up to the top of the fortification walls, which offers a fantastic view. My friends wait and shake their heads at me, but well get a good laugh out of it.
Though the three of us are walking pretty fast, I eventually develop a case of the 'zoomies' and get back to my normal even faster pace. This lasts for a few miles until I get distracted by signs indicating Neolithic petroglyphs on the some of the boulders here on the rocky seashore. As a long-time hobbyist in ancient rock art, I spend more time than I reasonably should have explore all around the area trying to spot these petroglyphs, which signs indicate are thought to be around 3,000-5,000 years old.
I spend more than an hour climbing around on the boulders and cutting a path through the thick ground foliage. After all of that, I'm still not sure I ever actually saw any of the petroglyphs. If there, they are faint and sun-bleached. It was still fun, but I really wish I could have identified some specific images. Even using some filtering tools on my phone designed just for this purpose, I'm afraid I came up short.
Heading back to the trail, I continue on and after chatting with some of my friends in WhatsApp, it seems a couple of them passed me while I was on my wild goose chase. They shared the location of a couple of good stops for refreshment along the way and I enjoyed a cold beer at one of them.
Once in town, I showered and joined the group for another nice meal. Total mileage for the day was around 13.7 miles, a pretty light day by comparison. A good night's sleep and I'll be ready to go again tomorrow.
Day 5: Vila Praia da Ancora to Guarda
Today is the day we cross over into Spain, though we have miles to walk before that happens. As is becoming the routine, I join my friends and a myriad of other pilgrims in the hotel dining hall for our included breakfast. Today's was lacking a little bit, but it's still fuel for the day ahead. I've been debating on whether I want to walk fast today or hang with the group.
At least for the first part of the day, I decide to go slower and socialize with my friends. Our path takes us right along the coast on well-traveled gravel pilgrim roads adorned with the familiar yellow clam shell wherever one looks. The cool ocean breeze blowing in battles with the rising sun to help keep us from overheating. We're passing through farmland now and adjacent to the beach, pastures are home to goats, cows, and other livestock. My friends seem to want to have conversations with each animal they pass. Nothing wrong in being friendly with the locals, I guess.
Before long, I decide to up my pace and head for the border. We have a ferry scheduled to take us across the River Minho and I don't want to be late. I figure I will scout things out a little bit for my friends. This section includes a long forested section about two miles long. Once back on the pavement, I find an interesting curved concrete bridge that we must traverse across a small creek. I note a couple of other pilgrims that I've passed over the past couple of days. I'm realizing that I'm seeing some of the same people day after day on the trial. We're all on this journey together.
I arrive in the Portuguese town of Caminha about an hour before our ferry. I was warned that there would be many people trying to sell us passage across the river into Spain and that turned out to be true. I was approached by three or four different individuals on my way into town. I guess transporting pilgrims across the border can be a lucrative business for some boat owners.
While we wait, I find a quaint little coffee shop and enjoy a bagel with peanut butter, banana, and chocolate shavings. Three of my friends show up just as I'm finishing and order their own treats. With the time of our ferry quickly approaching, we make our way back to the river, but not before checking out a medieval clock tower and gate that have been incorporated into the modern buildings. Amazing how the builders of these towns have found ways to blend the old and the new together.
Once we are all together at the ferry, we chat with a lady that seems to be organizing things. It turns out our ferry is nothing more than large johnboat complete with Popeye's face painted on its side. I think all of us were thinking more in terms of an actual ferry boat that takes cars and people alike across waterways, much like the ones used to transport people out to the barrier islands off the coasts of Georgia and the Carolinas. This has more the feel of escaping communist Cuba.
With our large group, it will take two trips to transport all of us across. The first group loads into the boat and are handed flotation devices to put around their necks, and with a wave are speeding across the wide river towards Spain. A few minutes later, the boat returns. I and the remaining group members load up and begin our flight for freedom . . . err Spain. The crossing is uneventful, but it certainly does make for a good story and we will be talking about this experience throughout the remainder of the trip.
The trail here follows the contours of the coast, but from the shade of a coastal wooded area. It's pretty ideal and even offers some views of Forge de Insua, another Portuguese fortification built on small sandbar island at the mouth of the river. The views are pretty spectacular. We're also treated to some really interesting illusions painted on some of the trees of this wooded area. Symbols and patterns, which can only be seen in their entirety when standing on a particular spot and lining up the multiple trees the pictures are painted across in the perfect way. It's quite entertaining.
We make our way to our hotel and get cleaned up before dinner. Tomorrow is a rest day and so, I will have more time to explore tomorrow. I met up with several of my friends at one of the many open-air bars for a few glasses of wine and a lot of laughs. This really is a good group of people. For our meal tonight though, we decide to enjoy one of Spain's most renowned dishes, tapas. They are quite delicious after hiking 12.4 miles today.
Day 6: Rest Day
Perhaps it is a bit unconventional, but my friend that organized this entire trip wanted to build in a rest day for the group. While a few of us are very regular hikers, she thought it would be good for everyone just to have a day off. We spent that rest day in the town of Guarda, Spain.
After our standard breakfast buffet, everyone kind of did their own thing and explored the city. I myself was most curious about another pre-Roman village set atop the nearby Monte Santa Tegra and so, I walked through town a ways to the road leading up the mountain, but not all the way to the site. When I returned, I met up with several members of the group and explained that I wanted to take a cab up to the village. A few decided to join me and we went up a little bit later. Again, I'll have a separate post about that adventure.
Returning to town after walking back down the mountain, we grabbed some lunch in smaller groups. I went to an Indian kabob place and enjoyed a terrific pita-like sandwich. After dinner, the menu included more wine as you might expect. The Riojas here are just fantastic and I could easily get addicted. We spent the evening strolling around the harbor and jumping from bar to bar. Overall, it was a very relaxing day.
Day 7: Guarda to Oia
Even though I could have easily kept going, I think a day of rest did all of us wonders for our spirit, myself included. I woke pretty early and began packing my gear. The way the luggage service works requires us to have our bags packed, ready to go, and brought to the lobby or luggage room of the hotel by 8:00 am. This is never really a problem for me, but there are always decisions to be made between what I put in my day pack and what I send on to the next hotel. Deciding between running shoes or hiking shoes, to bring rain gear or not, to bring an extra layer or not - I weigh all of these questions each day while reviewing the trail reports and weather forecast. So far, my decisions have worked out pretty well.
I join our crew for a big breakfast as usual and get on the trail pretty early this morning. It's actually going to be a pretty short day mileage-wise, but I'm feeling great and want to get to it before it gets to warm.
Along the route, more markers show us the way to Santiago and I notice for the first time a number below the familiar yellow clam shell icon. After checking a couple of the trapezoidal stone markers, I realize they are providing us a 'countdown' of the kilometers remaining until we reach Cathedral of Santiago. This may have been the case all the way back to Porto, but I'm only now realizing it. It's kind of a cool way to show progress.
Rounding a corner, I'm drawn to a little beach side café by some new age music playing. There I find an artist doing wax stamps for pilgrims. As part of the pilgrimage and as proof of our journey, each pilgrim is given a credencial del peregrino. While we travel the Camino, we are encouraged to get stamps in this folding book from various business and churches, which will then be shown to the pilgrim office in Santiago de Compostela for validation of our trek and to receive our certificate of completion. We're required to walk at least 100 kilometers (though we will have much more than that) and get at least two stamps per day. Most of the stamps are simply ink advertisements for a hotel or other business, but I had read that occasionally, we would encounter people doing intricate wax and paint stamps along the way. This gentleman is doing just that.
I'm a long way ahead of my friends already this morning and decide to stop for the stamp. There are a few others ahead of me in line and it takes the artist three or four minutes per stamp, but it seems worth it for the experience. While he works to the soothing music and sounds of the surf rolling in, his puppy sleeps beside his little table. When it's my turn, I'm greeted with the common "Buen Camino" and I place my book in front of him. He gets to work by first melting a green wax, which drips onto the page. Next he adds a strip of red ribbon and a little clam shell tassel, and finally he stamps the wax with something that looks like a fleur-de-lis and brushes it with gold paint. He signs his work under the ribbon and adds a gold arrow to the ribbon. I offer a 'muchas gracias' and drop a couple of euros in his cup. I'm pleased with the outcome and it's a nice experience. As I depart the calming music lingers with me, and I note some of my friends just arriving. I tell them of the artist and I can see the excitement in their eyes.
Approaching the outskirts of the fishing village of Oia, encounter a large golden Buddha statue in what appears to be in someone's back yard. While I'm very appreciative of this belief system and even subscribe to some of it myself, it seems an odd thing to see along a well-traveled Catholic pilgrimage.
After checking into the hotel, we all get cleaned up and meet for dinner. We dine at an outdoor restaurant, which I remember having great food and even better Rioja. Over the course of the day I've had about nine glasses of wine and the details of the evening are a little fuzzy. I do remember one hilarious encounter between a local man wearing an "I haven't lost my virginity, because I never lose." shirt and one of my younger female friends on the trip. To him, she said "Can I help you with that?" to which we all just about fell out of our chairs laughing. The young man was caught off guard, but took it well and laughed along with us. I bought her a creme brule as a reward for her boldness.
Day 8: Oia to Baiona
Today is my birthday and what a way to celebrate. Everyone wished me a happy birthday as I entered the hotel's breakfast hall and sat down for our morning buffet. I splurged a little this morning and had a couple of small chocolate donuts in addition to the standard breakfast faire. After breakfast, I returned to my room and got ready to depart. I decided to take a slower pace today and hang with the group.
As we leave town, we walk through more pasture lands adjacent to the shoreline. The sun rises slowly over the hillsides to our east and showers the beautiful green landscape with the first rays of morning light. What a glorious time and place to be.
Our route today mostly follows the coastline and we are accompanied by countless other pilgrims on the same journey as ourselves, both inwardly and outwardly. The excitement starting to build, not just within our group, but all along the trail we are greeted by art displays and the iconic yellow sea shell signs pointing us toward our destination. One such installation has hundreds of whimsically painted stones laid out around one of the official trapezoidal Camino stone markers. We stop for some pictures.
After about five miles, we come across a pilgrim's campground and café and decide to stop for some refreshment. It's a nice little spot and offers restrooms. We enjoy a nice snack and I get a coke zero (which seems to be very popular in Spain) for a little caffeine boost. The weather is very nice, but with that cool ocean breeze blowing in, it's a little chilly in the shade. We make do and before too long, we're back on the trail.
As we begin to round the peninsula and head towards Baiona, we spot a large light house structure high atop the eastern hillside above us. This is the Cape Sillerio Lighthouse, which was built in 1924 and wards ships away from the rocky coastline. Just a bit further, we find another lighthouse closer to the shoreline that houses a small restaurant and café. While we were hopeful to get some lunch here, we're finding it a bit difficult to adjust to the Spanish meal schedule, which is not only different than our own, but varied from place to place. With no real food available, we settle for a liquid lunch and I'm treated to a couple of birthday beers by my friends. It's enough to keep us going.
Rounding the corner we depart from the Atlantic and begin following the shoreline of the Ria de Vigo inland. This wide estuary will carry us inland, where our coastal route and the traditional route will finally merge for the final few days of the Camino. Atop yet another hill overlooking Baiona, a huge and intricately adorned statue of the Virgin Mary watches over the city. I consider walking up to it for a better picture, but decide against it. Besides, there will be plenty to see in town.
Though I had stayed with the group the majority of the day, I decided to stretch my legs a bit over the final three miles of the trip and sped up to my normal 4 mph pace. Much of this section is road walking, but there are wide paths for both walkers (pilgrims) and cyclists.
My friends have planned a fantastic birthday dinner for me and after cleaning up at the hotel, we had to the nearby restaurant. I enjoy a picanha dinner with Rioja. And as a special treat, my friend and the organizer of our trip ensured a tawny port was on hand to finish of my meal. I'm blessed with fantastic friends and an amazing life.
After dinner, we head back to the hotel and I lay down for a good night's sleep. Distance for the day was 12.2 miles, bringing our cumulative total for the trip thus far to 97.7 miles - well over half-way there.
Day 9: Baiona to Vigo
When I wake up, the cold has come into full effect and I'm very congested. However, the show must go on and I'll just deal with it. I eat a hearty breakfast with lots of tasty orange juice and we begin the trek towards Vigo. I decided to go a bit slower today given my congested state. One of my new friends decides to spend the day with me and we spend hours talking about a wide range of topics.
We walk up and over the hillsides imbedded within the residential areas of the city. There are an amazing number of natural springs coming out of these mountains and many of them have been piped into drinking fountains or community water fills. Much of this has been done to accommodate pilgrims such as ourselves. I'm told most of this water is potable, but for the most part I avoid it due to having carrying plenty of water with me, which I generally refill every morning at the hotels.
Stopping for lunch at a small place, I enjoy a serrano ham and cheese sandwich, while not as good as the jamon iberico, it's still quite delicious. It's nice to sit and rest for a bit. The cold is making me a bit less energetic than normal. I will probably go to bed early tonight and try to sleep it off.
Arriving in Vigo, we have to walk a long way through a very industrial area. This is a port town and there is lots of cargo traffic here along the river. It's probably the least appealing section of our trail so far, but one must take the bad with the good. A short distance before our hotel, we stop for a beer and to rest a short time again. These short breaks are helping me out while not feeling that great.
After we arrive at the hotel, I take a shower and then resign to take a nap. Awaking around dinner time, I decide to simply order carry out from the hotel restaurant and bring it back to the room. It's spaghetti Bolognese tonight. I don't really feel hungry, but I know I need some calories and so I force myself to eat. After dinner, I crawl back in my bed and listen to music for a while before falling asleep. Distance for the day was 17.7 miles.
Day 10: Vigo to Arcade
Getting a good night's sleep has made me feel much better. I'm still going to try to take it easy today though to ensure I've fully recovered from the mild cold. Breakfast is pretty good and gives me the energy I need to get rolling.
We've been using our guide-service's mobile app to help us navigate, but there seems to be a problem with it this morning. I contact them, but it takes a while to get a response. In the mean time, I decide to get moving. I follow the 'yellow brick road' through the city. This is a yellow-painted walking path designed for pedestrians and bicycles. I know the general direction I need to go and this gets me going that way. Eventually the app comes back online and I discover that I need to climb further east to rejoin the planned route. I think most of my friends had decided to wait at the hotel and get a later start, which saved them from this detour. To be fair to myself, I was going in the correct direction, it's just that the planned route took us to a higher elevation more slowly and now, I must make that up in a shorter distance. Before long though, I'm back on the trail.
From up here, I also get a fabulous view of a large suspension bridge that stretches across the estuary. That said though, there are a lot of steep ups and downs today and it's wearing on me a little bit. I've been taking excellent care of my feet, tending to them and prepping them each morning for the miles ahead. Unlike most of my friends, I have yet to get a single blister. These steep hills though are forcing my pinky toe into the corner of my hiking shoe. It doesn't cause a blister, but it certainly isn't comfortable.
Along our route, we have a long wooded section, which includes a nice waterfall known as Fonte da Frevenza do Rio Fondon. Along the trail and at the base of the waterfall, another artist is doing wax stamps. Since there isn't really anyone waiting ahead of me, I decide to get one and give him a euro for his efforts. This one is not as intricate as the previous one I got, but it does have nice little hiker icon.
The next few miles lead through what are largely residential areas. I'm struck by how many of these homes have large vegetable gardens. I'm greeted by many of the people out tending them. These are a beautiful people and I'm glad to have the opportunity to walk among them.
Entering the town of Redondela, I decide to stop for some food. I've been using the camera feature of the Google Translate app extensively to help me navigate menus and I use it here as well. Unfortunately, I failed to look at the section heading. While I thought I was getting a cheese tray with fruit and nuts, I ended up getting a pizza with blue cheese, dried fruits, and walnuts. This should have been obvious to me since it was listed under the pizza section, but I overlooked it. Still the pizza was good a nice glass of local vino blanco washed it down nicely.
Before we arrive at Arcade, the trail requires quite a few more steep climbs and descents, but eventually I get to town. Our hotel is before a very famous bridge that we will cross tomorrow and so, I decide to pass the hotel, visit the bridge, and then return, which adds a mile or so to my day. I'll do a separate write up of the Pontesampaio Bridge, but only mention there that it is built on the foundation of a bridge from Roman times.
Finally, we decided on a charming little restaurant, where the owner was quite a character and treated us to a magnificent meal. Arcade is known as the oyster capital of Spain and so, several of us indulged in a dozen on the half-shell, along with a beautiful Rias Biaxas. The pairing was perfect and these succulent oysters are among the best I've ever had. The 'meat' to shell ration seems much greater than those we normally get in the states. I enjoyed every one of them.
Heading back to the hotel after dinner, I was able to fall asleep quickly and dream of the quickly evaporating days of our grand adventure. We only have four days left. Today, I walked 16.4 miles, which includes the added distance from the bridge to the hotel.
Day 11: Arcade to Pontevedra
Another beautiful day to hit the trail. We got our normal breakfast and hit the trail pretty early. Today another friend asked if she could walk with me, knowing that my pace is very fast compared to most of the group. I hike with her regularly back in Atlanta and know that she can keep up. I'm happy to have the company. We hit the trail pretty early to get an early start, though today will not be a terribly long day.
We start the day by walking across the Pontesampaio Bridge, which I visited briefly yesterday. I'm actually pretty amazed that this narrow bridge is still used and confused by the direction of traffic. It's only wide enough for a single car, but I've seen travel in both directions. I'm not sure if it's a 'time of day thing', 'day of the week thing', or just a game of chicken, but if two cars were to start onto the bridge going opposite directions, one would need to back down. It does leave plenty of room for Pilgrims though.
After a number of climbs to get out of Arcade, the today's route takes us through several villages and lots of farmland. Early on, we encounter a retired Methodist minister doing his pilgrimage. We end up chatting with this nice gentleman for several miles. He's actually hiking from albergues (hostel) to albergues, and has to arrive pretty early to ensure he's able to secure a bed, as they fill up pretty fast.
Our minister friend parts ways at a fork in the road that he must take in order to get to his planned albergues. We wish him 'buen camino!' and he does the same. There is so much good spirit on this trail; it truly warms the heart.
Since we had arrived pretty early, I took the time to refresh my wardrobe at a local laundromat before dinner. Meeting up with the rest of the group later in the day, we decided to do our own thing for dinner and split into smaller groups. I was back at the hotel at a reasonable hour decided to get a good night's sleep. Our hike was only about 8.6 miles today, but we walked several more after getting into the city to visit all of the interesting sites.
Day 12: Pontevedra to Caldas de Reis
Today's breakfast was a little on the skimpy side, but it will suffice. I got out ahead of the group as normal, but soon afterwards a light drizzle started. It wasn't much at first, but started coming down a little harder after a bit. I stopped under the roof of on outdoor spring-fed fountain to put my rain jacket on and get my umbrella up. I waited for a few minutes in the hopes it would stop, but it seemed as though it was going to be going for a while and so, I continued my walk.
After a few miles, the rain did slow down and I removed my rain gear. I really can't complain about the weather. This is our twelfth day on the trail and our first rain on the whole trip. I think we've been really lucky in that regard. Just after removing my rain gear, I passed by a small local parish church and stopped in for a stamp in my book. It seems some high-school aged girls were doing some kind of fund raiser. I gave them a euro or two, whatever I had easily accessible.
Once out of the city, the trail mostly wonders through farmland and vineyards today. There is so much Albarino growing here. It seems everyone has a few vines growing in their backyard and most have them trellised on stone frameworks that appear to be ancient. For a good long distance, it seems I'm walking along grape vines everywhere. In some cases, the trail even passes under some vines. I'm so tempted to reach out and grab one, but I know the tiny green berries will be super acidic this time of year and I resist the urge.
At one point, one of my friends caught up to me. He seemed like a man on a mission and we walked together for a short time before I decide to stop for a snack. I had mentioned to him that I was going to explore a waterfall just off the trail. He seemed interested, but decided to continue on. Again, I'll do another write-up for the waterfall, but it seems to be a local park built around a natural water slide (a pretty big one). It was only about a half-mile total departure from the trail and was well worth it.
Making my way towards our destination town of Caldas de Reis, I encounter a few sheep grazing. As this brings back memories of my trek across the UK along Hadrian's Wall Path and with a couple members of our group having completed that trail with me a few years ago, I sent a picture back via WhatsApp.
During this last part before town, I really start chewing up the miles and passing pilgrims left and right. Before long, I've arrived in town, which requires walking over a beautiful bridge laced with ivy and spanning an overgrown watery river. I spot a number of restaurants with outdoor seating along the river that will probably be great for dinner tonight. For now though, I head to the hotel and take a rest, while I wait for the others to arrive.
Dinner takes the form of several tables group together along the river. We enjoy a variety of dishes, including the best calamari I've ever tasted. It also includes a healthy helping of Rioja. It was nice getting the whole group together for this dinner after the hot springs soak.
With the sun set and darkness falling on us, the walk back to the hotel is freezing in the shorts and flip flops I'm wearing. I practically run the two or three blocks to get back. Overall, it was another fantastic day, but we only have two more left and I find myself a little sad that it will all end soon. Today's distance was 14.7 miles.
Day 13: Caldas de Reis to Padron
As I wake in my hotel bed, the excitement of reaching the climax of this journey starts to swell in me. It will be amazing to finish this pilgrimage tomorrow, but also sad in that the experience will be over and done with. After getting another shower, I head down to meet my friends for breakfast. Today, we'll be hiking to the city of Padron along the River Sar.
Leaving our hotel, I decide that today is a day for reflection and spending time with friends. I decide to get an earlier breakfast with some members of our group and hit the trail early. Four of us meander out of Caldas de Reis along the well-worn pilgrim trail, all the while discussing religion, history, aliens, and more other topics than I can now remember. It was great conversation.
One of my friends that I'm hiking with today has a fondness for cats and even brought cat food to give to felines we meet along the way. She gets distracted by a couple as we make our way out of town. Later in the day and after I had taken off from the group, I happen across a pilgrimage stamp with a cat on it and WhatsApp a picture of it back to her.
My left foot is hurting a bit today, as that pinky toe is once again getting pinched by my shoe. With only thirty-ish miles to go though, I'll make due. At one point, we find ourselves walking on a trail parallel to the road and having nowhere to relieve myself, I duck under a railroad tunnel for the best cover I can find and say hello to the world. It's not an uncommon sight on the trail. I quickly rejoin my friends and we stop at a small outdoor café for some snacks. I enjoy a small chocolate croissant.
Most of the mileage today takes us through small towns on gravel trails. When I finally arrive I pass through a large courtyard alongside the river and stop to admire a statue of some notable figure with two enormous stone sphere's placed at the base of the pedestal. It shouldn't be difficult to imagine the comment I sent back to my friends with this picture. They got a laugh from it. At the other end of the courtyard, sits an old church and inside, I'm able to get another stamp. One of the last ones I will receive along this journey. I ended up walking about 12.2 miles today to reach Padron.
It's too early to check into the hotel and I'm hungry, but the pizza place I've been eyeballing isn't open for another 45 minutes or so. I decide to sit at an outdoor bar nearby and enjoy a cold beer. I take my shoes off to give my aching foot a little relief. Soon some of my friends catch up and join me for a couple of pizza pies once the place opens. Afterwards, we check into our hotel and I shower and rest for a while before dinner.
For dinner, I check out a nearby Mexican place. I've found that if I start a discussion with the group about where we should eat, we struggle to make a decision. I've resolved myself to just making the decision and informing my friends of where I will be. If they want to join me, I'm happy to have them, but if not, it's not a problem. The food is okay; not great. I get a margarita, which has a strange flavor note to it. I didn't really enjoy that very much. One of my friends goes a little crazy with the hot sauce, which is truly hot, even to a chili-head such as myself.
