Camino Portugues Day 11 - Redondela to Pontevedra

I woke with my leg feeling not especially stiff, and no sorer than yesterday, so I decided that all will be well. There was no breakfast in the hostel, and no cafes open near it first thing today, so I bought a cheese and ham empanadilla from a bakery ( surprisingly covered in sugar) and walked as I ate some of it. Spain wakes up later than Portugal, there the bars were going at 7, here they aren’t generally open at 8.

The weather is much better for walking now, it’s in the low 20s I guess, often with a breeze. So much easier. Today’s interesting buildings were stone grain stores, known as ‘horreos’ that were in a number of places along the route.

I enjoyed a house with a letter box for bread, I’ve seen a lot with baguettes left by the front doors, or in bags hanging from the door handles too, similar to France.

There was a period when it was quieter on the path this morning, indeed one section when I was the only one, but generally it’s been busy.

I was told by people this afternoon that they were getting up at 4 or 5am to avoid the crowds. I just don’t think I could sustain that, especially with the restaurants not opening till later in the evenings in Spain. All the people walking definitely changes the feel of the Camino compared to the Portuguese section. But maybe it’s part of the accepting discomfort thing that is part of the journey, and having a lot of people around can feel uncomfortable after all the peace.

I stopped for coffee and a banana at about two miles, much earlier than I usually do, but I was firstly needing a drink and secondly watching how my leg was doing. A bit tight, and the skin pulls a bit with every step, but nothing muscular/skeletal, I don’t think. I was so lucky.

I have seen 4 buskers on this walk, and they have all been bagpipers. I’m no expert, but these Galician pipes look more like our Northumberland ones, being smaller than the Scottish ones. But they’re quite penetrating, I would suggest that they’re more outside instruments than indoors. Google tells me that their proper name is Gaitas. All were played with bravura, the most surprising was the one playing Sinatra’s ‘My Way’.

I walked up the first hill with Lizzie.

Originally from China, she now works in epidemiology in Oxford. She’s a new starter to the Camino, arriving yesterday. It was good to talk to her about my home city, and to talk about the changes in China since our honeymoon there. She was also good at spotting good photo places, and typos in Chinese lettering on signs!

The views down over the river Verdugo as it moves towards the sea were unexpected and lovely.

Arcade is on this river, and was the first proper town of the day. The ancient bridge only just had room for one car and a pilgrim walking abreast, and was the site of a historic battle at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

I walked through the back streets of Arcade with Neil from the albergue in Porriño.  We talked about his interesting career travelling all over the world, and we laughed together at the problem of being stuck in a traffic jam of people on a steep hill with lots of boulders.

We thought we’d got to the top of the hill, which was definitely taxing, and so stopped in the shade for a drink.

There I also met Gary and Monica from the north west of England. Neil and I had been talking about my accident yesterday, as he had been there, and I was showing him my bruise. I then realised that Monica had a far worse one on her face. They had been walking from Lisbon, and a couple of days out of Porto she had tripped over a paving stone. She had been so badly hurt that the ambulance had to be called, though in fact it was the bambedeiro (possibly there’s spelling issues here!) which I think is maybe the fire brigade?  Apologies for the hazy recounting of this part of the story!  Anyway, they were saying how the treatment they had was excellent, and was also good ongoing, as the different follow up appointments have taken place in partner hospitals along the Camino. They made me very pleased that I’ve brought my GHIC card with me, as with that all her treatments have been free.  Monica was remarkable, gritty and determined to continue.

On leaving the little drinks stall I realised that it wasn’t the top of the hill, there was still a lot of climbing to go. But then eventually there was another mobile cafe in the woods, where the stall holder was doing the most beautiful wax stamps on the credencials. By far the most lovely so far. He was also charming, letting Max, a little boy from England who told me he’d walked from Vigo and was having a really fun time, do the stamping into the molten wax.

I was told a few days ago that one of the reasons that people went on pilgrimage was as penance for some sort of misbehaviour, normally instructed by the priest. Sending them away would give the community a chance to calm down about the crime, and give the miscreant a chance to reflect and come back a better person. The stamps in the credencial served as proof that the pilgrimage had been undertaken.

I was then delighted to sit for a while with Austin, Tina, Ari and Archie, possibly for the last time, as I will be heading in a different direction to them tomorrow. Archie is the only one of the four that hasn’t yet had his photo included here, so I rectified that too.  It was good to catch up for a bit before heading off on my own.

It was peaceful walking as the path got nearer to Pontevedra, moving through tall woodland with the eucalyptus bark peeling.

I passed a girl whom I’d seen a while back, sitting on a step looking dejected. I’d asked then if she was ok and she’d said yes. She was now on the move again, playing house music from a speaker on her rucksack whilst other pilgrims walked silently past.

At the Chapel of Santa Marta there were lots of pilgrims sitting on the road looking a bit beaten. Because some people have only just started, they haven’t had the chance to build up their fitness on the trail, and this was a longer day.

Then came the choice between a slightly longer river path or a shorter route on the side of a road. That really isn’t any sort of a decision. It was one of the highlights of the day, wandering along the course of the river Tomeza, through the trees.

After a little while I watched three Italian peregrinos paddling, exclaiming ‘bello!’ And I walked on.  And then I wondered why I hadn’t stopped, I love getting my feet in the water. I was feeling a bit regretful, when suddenly there was a hidden sandy beach that I just caught a glimpse of. Nobody else there, completely out of sight from the path. I sat on the sand watching the dragonflies and looked for fish, and then went for a paddle. Perfect.

And as I emerged from my idyll, I met

Emma (Jane) and Claire from Dublin. We talked about the Irish walking routes, and they suggested perhaps the

Wicklow Way. It’s one to look up. But as they pointed out, the weather is better in Spain….

Coming out of the river route, there was impressive street art on the underpass where the road path joins.

The approach to Pontevedra was much more urban than I expected, with apartment blocks and graffiti amongst the Camino signs. But in the centre it was delightful, an ancient Galician city with style and beautiful historic buildings. I went into the church to get a stamp, had a look at some of the other landmark buildings and then had a call from my lovely friend Janet to see how I was getting on, and filling me in on the village news.

I dropped my bag at my hotel. I’d not eaten much at all today, so went straight out again to get some tapas, only to find that all the kitchens had closed. So lunch was a beer and some olives, but it was fine, as I met Laura, Ana, Angelica and Helena on the table next to me. They were three Portuguese peregrinas, the first I’d met, and a German who had joined their albergue dorm band. We discussed why so few Portuguese do the Camino, and why so many Germans do, and also talked about the difference in friendliness between the people of Portugal and the people of Spain. Helena said that in other areas of Spain a pilgrim would be welcomed openly, but that this is Galicia, and it’s different here.

An extremely successful ice cream search resulted in a Dubai chocolate bar flavoured cone, which seems to be quite the rage in both Portugal and Spain. I strongly recommend, and will be searching one out again.

After a bit of a rest, I headed out to try to get some dinner.  In a square that I had identified might be likely there was a bagpipe band setting up, with the MD walking round and tuning them up individually. Like I used to with my primary school orchestra. But he left some really flat, and one or two out of tune with themselves, so I waited with some trepidation for the ensemble to start. I was very relieved when he went back to the couple I was nervous about and gave them another go. They played one short piece extremely well, and then all got up to chat to their friends. 

So I went to a cafe and had a pricey salad and some bread. The tapas portions here are huge, very much more suited to sharing. It was the first time that I felt a bit discombobulated about eating on my own, normally not a problem for me.

But after my expensive dinner (so much more than Portugal!) the bagpipe band were playing again. And as I arrived at the square they played a piece in 3 4 time, and lots of the audience got up to dance in pairs. Then a piece in two, to which others of the audience did a dance with complicated steps in front of the band. The MD was very accomplished, conducting them with confidence and clarity, and the whole experience embodied the pride this community clearly has in its ancient culture. It was a great end to the day.

Stats

Distance travelled - 13.5 miles / 22 km

Total ascent - 1393 feet / 425m

Local tipple - verano tinto with a caprese salad and a piece of pizza