Today we walked from Caldas de Reis to Padrón. In Ptolemy’s Tables (2nd century AD) the town Caldas de Reis (in Galician Language) appears as Aquae calidae (Ancient Greek  Ὕδατα Θερμά, meaning hot springs). It is known for its hot springs such as those at Acuña Thermal Spa and Dávila Thermal Spa. The mineral content at Acuña is high in bicarbonate, fluoride, lithium, nitrogen, silica, sodium, sulphur, and radioactive elements and the hot water emerges from the thermal springs at 42 °C. The mineral content from Dávila is high in chloride, nitrogen, sodium-rich, sulphur-rich, and radioactive elements with the hot water emerging at 48 °C.

It was a beautiful day as we set out from our hotel with greenery all around us as we walked up into the wooded hills. The sun was shining but (and this was for a lot of the walk) the trees provided a nice bit of shade and the occasional breeze helped as well.

As yesterday the scenery was constantly changing with very little signs of habitation until we reached the Igreja Santa Marina de Carracedo, a parish church that has its origins in the mediaeval monastery of Santa Mariña de Carracedo, to which Alfonso VII made various donations in 1147. A stamp for the passport and off we went again.

Nothing much of note to see today as we walked along, a fairly steady climb back up into the wooded areas. The paths, valleys with burbling streams and the proliferation of ferns and eucalyptus trees really remind me of hiking in Australia.

Lovely views as we came down out of the hills, we passed the Iglesia de San Miguel (built in 1750) and its cemetery, as we came closer to Padrón.

Down the hill we walked, through a couple of quaint villages with their characteristic narrow streets and some nice displays of flowers on the wall. As we crossed the Rio Ulla we could see the industrial Finsa Padrón on the left. Finsa is a Spanish multinational family business, founded in 1931 in Galicia that is the oldest board manufacturing company in the Iberian Peninsula still in operation and one of the main Spanish companies in the wood processing sector. We then walked alongside the River Sar for a bit before entering the main town.

A Sunday market was in operation as we walked into town – absolute bedlam. The official population of Padrón is about 8,500 – we think they were all at the market, plus everyone from surrounding towns as well! Passing by a bar that advertised the most beautiful “stamp” in Galicia we had no alternative but to check it out. Nice old man using sealing wax for the stamp – you can make your own mind up as to the “beauty”.

Having escaped the throngs, a few more old streets and we were at the end point, the Iglesia de Santiago Apóstol de Padrón, rebuilt for the last time in the 19th century, although within its thick walls are elements of other churches that were erected in the 12th and 15th centuries. The patron saint of Spain is Saint James the Greater, also known as Santiago. The last picture is the view from our hotel of the Padrón “mainline” station. Tomorrow we are walking to Santiago de Compostela (or we could be there in 18 minutes by train).

Today we walked from Pontevedra to Caldas De Reis. A local legend relates the foundation of Pontevedra to Teucer, hero of the Trojan War, a legend which was reinforced with the suspicion that Greek traders might have arrived to the Rias Baixas area in ancient times. However, historians and archaeologists tend to agree that the initial settlement was probably formed during the integration of Gallaecia (old Galicia) into the Roman Empire in roughly the 1st century BC. The current name of the city is a Latin composite, derived from Pons/Pontis (bridge) and Veteris/Vetera (old) giving “the old bridge”, in reference to the old Roman bridge across Lérez River. 

The town itself was deserted as we left this morning, in complete contrast to the full streets, bars, cafes and restaurants of last night. We crossed the Ria Lérez via the Puente del Burgo as we headed up and out of town.

Our walk then took alongside the railway line for a while and then through another wooded area before we passed by a local cemetery and the Parroquia de Santa Maria (parish church).

The scenery was constantly changing as we continued on past newly planted fields, areas of vines and back onto woodland tracks with many streams running across them until we reached the railway again.

More newly sown fields (probably corn) and fields of vines. Its early in the season but was nice to see the baby grapes enjoying the sun that had recently broken out from behind the clouds that had been present all morning.

We passed the Igrexa de Santa Maria de Caldas de Reis, but didn’t stop as they were just finishing Saturday mass, on our way into the town. After crossing the Rio Umia we came to our endpoint for the day – the Parroquia de Sante Tomas Becket. In 1167, English Archbishop Thomas Becket passed through Caldas de Reis, on the Camino de Santiago before being assassinated in December 1170, in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral. In 1167, English Archbishop Thomas Becket passed through Caldas de Reis, on the Camino de Santiago. In December 1170, in the crypt of Canterbury Cathedral, he was assassinated by four English knights, who believed they were fulfilling the wishes of King Henry II. He was canonised in 1173 by Pope Alexander III.

After a freshen up at the hotel (calling basic would be a compliment) and some lunch we went and found the Lavadorio Publico, an old public laundry heated by the thermal waters of the area. It was pretty hot but really nice and soothing on the feet. The bottom was covered in blackish debris – couldn’t tell if it was just old leaves and other dirt or the dead skin from the thousands of pilgrims who bathe their feet here. Tomorrow we head to Padron on our penultimate day before Santiago.

Today we walked the very short (12km) distance from Arcade to Pontevedra. Arcade’s claim to fame is its oysters. The Arcade Oyster (Ostrea edilus) in seed form comes from France or Greece but the cultivation in the confluence of freshwater coming from the Verdugo River and salt water coming from the Ría de Vigo gives them its unique flavour.

Arcade is a small “blink and you’ll miss it” type of town so it wasn’t long before we crossed the River Verdugo and headed up into the hills. We passed a lovely chap from Cork who had barely spoken to us on previous days but today he was almost loquacious. He said that because of our red shirts and the speed that we walked he thought that we were first aiders providing support to walkers on the route.

Up and over a pretty steep hill certainly got the heart pumping and sweat flowing, despite the lack of sun and threat of rain. We saw our first vines of the route and many more walkers than on previous day, maybe because Vigo is the start of the “final 100km” to be able to get the completion certificate in Santiago.

As well as more walkers there was also a greater proliferation of Camino related “tat” probably because we were now also on the main Camino route from Portugal rather than the coastal route. A small church (and a stamp for our passport) and (only 2 hours after leaving our hotel) we were in Pontevedra. We checked in to our hotel, unsurprisingly at 11am the rooms weren’t ready and headed into the old town for a coffee.

We stopped by the Igrexa da Virxe Peregrina constructed in 1778 which houses the statue of the Pilgrim Virgin (19th century), patron saint of the province of Pontevedra and, in turn, of the Portuguese Way. The balcony, accessed by a very tight spiral staircase, gave nice views down into the church.

We had a brief wander around some of the old town, as it was now raining, before settling down for a coffee under shelter.

Tomorrow we head to Caldas de Reis.

Today we left Vigo for our walk to Arcade. Vigo has an exciting history, in 1585 and 1589, during an unsuccessful attack by the English counter-Armada, Francis Drake raided the city and temporarily occupied it, burning many buildings. In 1702, the Battle of Vigo Bay occurred, and in 1719, because a Spanish fleet which departed from Vigo attempted to invade Scotland in support of theJacobites the city was occupied for ten days by a British force. In 1808 the French Army annexed Spain to the Napoleonic Empire, although Vigo remained unconquered until January, 1809. Vigo was also the first city of Europe to be freed from French rule, in what is annually celebrated on March 28 as the Reconquista. 

The route out of Vigo was a long, and fairly steep, climb up along a main road until we turned off this and started climbing higher into the hills and villages above Vigo. As we walked higher we could see a small peninsula with Monte da Guía, a restored 16th century hermitage, overlooking its surroundings.

The walking was quite pleasant at this stage, the (first) long climb was over and we could enjoy the views of the Bay of Vigo. There were hundreds of bateas which are rafts for cultivating typical Galician bivalve molluscs. The Galician mussel reaches commercial size (70-95 mm) in approximately 17 months, while in other producing countries growth is much slower: mussels in the rest of Europe need 2 to 6 times as long to reach this size. As well as mussels, scallops and oysters are grown on these bateas.

Our route continued through a mixture of villages, where we saw the distant bay and the Ponte de Rande which spans Vigo Ria across the Rande Strait, linking the municipalities of Redondela and Moaña, and woodland paths.

We then walked through Redondela and past the Convento de Vilavella (Convent of Old Town), also known as Conxunto de Vilavella (Ensemble of Old Town), a complex of buildings and monuments dating from the 16th century when a convent, church, and a cruceiro (stone cross) were built. Redondela is the town where the main Portuguese Camino route joins with the Coastal route.

We then encountered our second steep climbs for us back up into the eucalyptus woodlands. We hadn’t seen the sun all day but the air was warm enough to keep us sweating a lot, so when the rain came it was nice and cooling. Luckily as the trees sheltered us somewhat we didn’t get soaked and then rain had stopped by the time we got to Arcade. The somewhat rural nature of our journey today meant we didn’t get the opportunity to stop for coffee and cake earlier so we stopped in the first cafe we came to in Arcade as it was too early for our hotel checkin.

After checking in, and a quick lunch, we strolled into the town to check out dinner options. Safe to say that Arcade is not a bustling anything but at least had a couple of interesting options down by the marina.

Tomorrow we will walk to Pontevedra.

Today’s walk was a predicted 29.9km from Biaona to Vigo. Biaona is a tourist town situated by the outlet of the Vigo Bay. Its population of just over 11,000 rises to around 45,000 in summer, if one includes the tourists. Since it is on the Portuguese Way, one pilgrimage route of the Camino de Santiago, roughly 30,000 hikers also visit the town every year. Other than tourism the major economic activities revolve around fishing. In 1585 the inhabitants of Baiona repelled an attempt by the privateer Francis Drake to take the town. Five years later, Philip II of Spain beat the pirates that were laying the Galician coast to waste with a fleet of 98 vessels and 17,000 soldiers.

The sun was just rising in the sky as we set off this morning, giving rise so some lovely views over the sea. both looking forward and back to where we set off.

As we walked past the lovely beaches we could see the mountains of Galicia in the distance. The route today was mainly urban on our right and beaches on our left as we walked through towns with great names like O Burgo, Santa Cristina da Ramallosa and Santa Pedro da Ramallosa.

The tide was out as we walked into Nigrán and its stunning beach. Nigrán population practically triples in the summer months as it is on the Atlantic coast of Spain and considered a summer destination for tourists due to its beaches and mild summer weather.

We continued past plenty of beaches, the differing sand colours was fascinating and comes from varying mixtures of quartz, feldspar, granite and limestone. Obviously a fairly well to do area as some of the houses overlooking the beaches were glorious with very well maintained gardens.

We came to Samil, on the outskirts of Vigo and this is where the first real evidence of tourism showed up. The boardwalk was packed and the beach pretty busy. From the accents (and the dress sense) it was pretty obvious that Vigo, and its surrounding area, is a popular holiday destination for Brits.

A break for a cold drink (it was very warm) and a revitalising coffee before we walked the last 4km into the centre of Vigo. The first part was through a very marine industrial area and then into the centre itself. It was rammed, every restaurant / bar with outside seating was full – certainly not what we expected. After checking in to our hotel we headed out for a spot of lunch and the inevitable ice cream.

Tomorrow we walk to Arcade.

This morning we set off from Oia to Baiona, continuing northwards up the Galician coast.

This was apparently the last night of a week long festival. Some nights the concerts finished at around 5am, I guess we were lucky that the last night finished early at 3am.

Construction of the Santa María de Oia Monastery began in the mid-12th century, during the reign of Galician King Alfonso VII, gathering monks who previously lived in various parts of the region. In 1185 it joined the Cistercian Order. Thanks to its strategic location it played an important role in defending the coast. In 1624 the monks managed to thwart an attack by the Turkish fleet, for which Philip IV granted the monastery the right to use “Royal” in its name. Following the 1835 Disentailment Act it passed into private hands, although the church serves as the parish church.

The sun decided that is would hide behind a pretty persistent sea mist this morning, making walking much more pleasant. This was not the first time we had seen part of a boat in someone’s garden being used as a “man hut”.

The sun was trying hard to beat the mist but was succeeding in making for an atmospheric environment. One of the walkers her we passed said it reminded her of the horror film “The Fog”. We could partially see the Farol Silleiro (lighthouse) which was built in 1866 and only converted to electricity in 1960.

Finally the sun came out as we arrived into Baiona where the Igrexa de Santa Maria marked the end of our days hike. On the way we saw the Virxe da Rocha, a statue of the Virgin Mary holding a boat, on the hill overlooking the town.

After a freshen up in the hotel we visited the Fortaleza de Monterreal, a 12th century fortress. The earliest record of a castle on this location was from 60 AC when Julius Caesar conquered Baiona.

Tomorrow is a longer day as we head up to Vigo.

We set off this morning from A Guarda on the fairly short walk further up the coast to to Oia.

A fairly large lunch yesterday meant no great desire for a big dinner so we had a couple beers sitting enjoying the view of the town and the harbour before heading up to a town square where a large screen was showing the French Open tennis and the Portugal vs Spain Nations League final. It was very much a family occasion with locals of all ages filling the square.

Due to its geographical location and the confluence of the Miño Riverand the Atlantic Ocean, A Guarda has both small river and small marine beaches. The beaches of O Muiño, and A Lamiña, are salt water when the tide rises and fresh water when the tide goes down.

As we walked out of A Guarda, and a last look back at the pretty town, we passed the Museum of the Sea (I tiny museum showing fishing gear and shells from around the world) and past a pilgrims statue sitting on the ever present scalop shell.

Even though this a short day, the path was still varied. We walked through some small hamlets, along the coast for a while the ascended up onto the hillside for stretches of walks through wooded areas and alongside a (not too busy) main road. We caught up with a group from Tasmania (Husband, wife and 2 sisters) that we talked to yesterday. He asked if we wouldn’t mind him walking a bit with us to give his ears a rest from the constant chatter of 4 women. We were happy to oblige and walked with him as far as the next cafe when duty took over and he went back to his group.

A few more spectacular views and we found ourselves in Oia where Whit Monday mass and celebrations were in full swing. The Mass could be heard from quite a distance outside town – we didn’t see but think the church gardens were also full of celebrants. There was a school band preparing to play and apparently this evening will be live music and dancing.

Today was short and tomorrow is only a little bit longer as we head further north to Baiona.

This morning would see us leave Portugal and enter Spain as we walked from Vila Praia de Ãncora to A Guarda. Vila Praia is a fishing village with a beautiful long beach that was designated a village in 1924 and had its official name changed from Santa Marinha de Gontinhães to Vila Praia de Âncora. From a population of 1,199 in 1864 the village has barely grown to 4,623 in 2021.

The village church, built in 1936 in the local style, was looking beautiful decked out in flowers. We walked out past the inevitable photo-op town sign and the Forte da Lagarteira built in the reign of Pedro II of Portugal (1667-1705), who strengthened the defences of the border line of the Minho River and the oceanic coast south of its mouth.

As we walked along the coast path to Caminha (and the ferry to Spain), the path was lined with Flowering Gum trees on one side and rocky coastline on the other in what was quite a change from the long sandy beaches oof yesterday.

We could see Spain in the shape of Monte de Santa Trega in the near distance as the coastline slowly returned to sandy beaches. After a couple of kilometres on a sandy path through a wooded area we came to the River Minho and our “ferry” to A Garda in Spain.

The ferry was a short speedboat ride across the river and our disembarkation point was where the boat was pushed partially up the beach. From there we wandered around the coast a short while to sit on the balcony of a restaurant for a coffee and admire the view. In the distance was an island that held the Farolim da Ínsua de Santo Isidro (Ínsua Lighthouse). We were in no rush as today was a very short day.

The coast path around Monte de Santa Trega seemed to be a very popular walking / jogging path for the local population – this was the most people on one path that we had seen and very few were pilgrims heading in our direction. We saw some Roman Salt pans as we walked (the exploitation of salt by the Roman by evaporation dates back to the seventh century BC).

We then walked into A Garda, which was bustling with people out enjoying Sunday lunchtime. By the time we had checked in to the hotel, showered and headed out for a beer everyone had disappeared for their siesta!.

Tomorrow we head up the coast to Oia on another short walking day.

Today we left Viana do Castelo and headed to Vila Praia da Ãncora. The port in Viana do Castelo played an important role in the city’s development. In the 15th century, it was on the trade routes between the Mediterranean and the North Atlantic, when textiles, fruits, wood and iron were headed south while salt and agricultural products were northbound and the city was an important supplier of textiles to the newly established colonies in Madeira and the Azores.

Rather than following the traditional Camino path we opted to go “A Costa” and walk up the coastal camino as far as possible. As we walked towards the coast, the sun was out but thankfully not too hot early in the day. We came to the Igreja de Nossa Senhora de Agonia (aka Chapel of our Lady of the Agony), built around 1750, and popped in for a look and a stamp in our pilgrim’s passport.

Walking beside the sea, looking back the hill with monastery and church on top, looked quite moody but the clouds stayed put and didn’t disturb our journey. The shore was very rocky, and with the tide quite far out, was completely different to previous days beaches.

We walked past the Areosa Fort, built during the War of Restoration of Portuguese Independence (1640-1668), this was one of three similar forts built along the coast between Caminha and Viana do Castelo with the aim of strengthening the defence of the Atlantic coast of Alto Minho which was vulnerable to possible attacks by pirates or the Spanish navy. We also passed a handful of old Moinhos de Vento (windmill) as we continued northwards.

Our favourite boardwalk came back for a short while – this could do with some maintenance though as it was not only bound but also very wobbly. The seashore was now back to the familiar sandy beaches and it was warm enough for little lizards to start wandering out onto the footpath. We left the coast here and started uphill into the town of Montedor. Visible from quite a distance was the Farol de Montedor – it is the northernmost lighthouse in Portugal and was opened on 20 March 1910.

It’s wonderful how, in a short distance, the scenery goes from the coast, through a village and then up into the green hills. After some meandering uphill and along wooded paths we came to a quite delightful cafe with seating arranged throughout the garden and some in the shade beside a rapid stream. The homemade lemonade and tarts were commensurate with the surroundings.

We always seem to hit a hilll climb straight after some food and this was no exception. Not as steep to as long as yesterday but in the heat this was still an effort to get to the highest point of the day. Periodic views of the sea in the distance confirmed just what a beautiful area this is. At the foot of the hill was a strange curved bridge where the water running under it was crystal clear.

A bit more boardwalk as we walked past a wetland area and then we were into the seaside resort of Vila Praia de Ãncora and its beautiful sandy beach.

As the room wasn’t ready yet (we walk too fast !) we found a local restaurant for a cold beer and some fresh sardines before heading down to the beach for a quick paddle. The hotel is very nice, only 10 rooms and only a few years old – the pool a definite bonus as well.

Tomorrow we say goodbye to Portugal and hello to Spain as we head to A Guarda.

Today was Helena’s last day with us as we set out from Esposende to Viana do Castello. She walked with us for an hour before heading back for an Uber to Porto airport. Esposende is situated alongside the final stretch of the Cávado River before it empties into the Atlantic Ocean and has a heritage that is mainly fishing but the area’s history goes back far beyond this. Close by are a number of Bronze Age sites, most notably the fortified village of Castro de São Lourenço which dates back to the 4th century BC.

Walking out from our hotel we walked past the Forte de São João Baptista de Esposende, a navy fort built 1699-1794 to defend the mouth of the Cávado River, and the rather large Esposende town sign.

That was the last we would see of the sea for quite a while as we headed inland past fields of newly planted corn and a surprising number of eucalyptus trees – Portugal has the 5th largest area worldwide of the trees which were introduced in the 18th Century to prevent soil erosion.

Encountering our first climb of the day we passed the parish church São Miguel de Marinhas built in the 1930s but the Renaissance High Alter is preserved from the original 11th century church. We also saw plenty of these flowers, Brugmansia, also known as Angel’s Trumpets. Apparently these are toxic (part of the nightshade family) and are extinct in the wild.

We then talked in to the village of Belinho and took a few minutes respite (it was now warm and getting hilly) to look around the church of Matriz of Belinho.

We then wandered off, up a pretty steep incline, into a beautiful wooded area. The smell of the eucalyptus was lovely, as was the noise of the river down below and the cool shade of all the trees. We passed a couple from Nevada doing the Camino of a tandem bicycle – due to the tree root and stone covered path we both passed each other multiple times as they had to get off and walk!

We thought we were done with hills but as soon as we passed the Igreja de Santiago de Castelo do Neiva we were then back climbing up into the wooded hills again – this time is a loop around the cemetery and the church before descending again. It was pretty humid and the hill climbing extortion meant we needed to stop for a drink at what seemed (judging by the crowds) the only cafe on the route for quite some time.

Finally we could see our destination, Viana do Castelo across the river. On a hill above the town stands the Santuário do Sagrado Coração de Jesus, built in 1904. During the pneumonic pandemic in 1918 and terrified by the violence of the outbreak and mourning the loss of so many who had perished, the people of Viana vowed to climb annually on a pilgrimage to “Monte de Santa Luzia” if no more lives were taken. When the mortality ceased, the inhabitants fulfilled their promise, and they began ascending the mount annually in 1920. 

We walked across a busy, long bridge where the footpath was pretty narrow and the railing was quite low – a definite no-no for people with a fear of bridges/heights. We walked through the town square on our way to our hotel.

Following a needed shower (and clothes wash) it was time to head back into town for a cold beer. Tomorrow we are walking to Vila Praia da Ancora.