Today would see us walk our last day from Olvieroa to Finisterre. Olvieroa is a tiny village with a population of 128, this probably trebles when all the albergues and the single hotel are full. There is a lot of restoration / regeneration in the village due to its place on the Jacobean route.

As ever we started the day with a climb up into the woods and, as yesterday, there was quite a mist hanging over everything, with the sun trying to peek through in places.

There were nice views of the Rio Xallas in the valley below as the mist slowly dissipated and some large displays of honeysuckle to provide a bit of a chance in scenery.

Some road walking, some gravel path walking before we headed back into the woods and came across an almost five-meter-high statue of the werewolf from the legend of ‘Vákner’, the human monster that has not been seen since the Middle Ages. This legend originated 500 years ago after an Armenian bishop who made the Camino from Santiago to Fisterra left a written testimony for the first time. The text in which he tells about the existence of the ‘Vákner’ dates from between 1491 and 1493. It records his encounter with a figure who is not clear whether he looked like a bull, a wolf or a dragon. Many hypotheses were considered but the description that best fits what the pilgrim reported is that it was a werewolf, a ‘lobisome’ as they are known in Galicia.

By now the sun was out and, although not fierce, was sufficiently hot that we were pretty much soaked through. Other than the sound of our footsteps it was perfectly still and quiet with both the sounds of birds singing to be heard.

Finally we came down(steeply of course) from the hills and woodlands to see, and then walk into the town of Cee. There is abundant documentation of Cee in the sixteenth century and fishing was of considerable importance, especially that of cetaceans. It was then that the church or sanctuary was built, in late Gothic style. The church was rebuilt after the destruction caused by the French, but it preserves some parts of that old building.

A few more hikes up into woodlands overlooking beautiful beaches and we found ourselves at the town of Finisterre and a great view from the hotel room.

After a freshen up and some lunch while we waited for the tourist office to open, we then received our certificates for the camino and went to the end of the world lighthouse to finally round out what has been a really enjoyable jaunt up the coast, and cross country, from Porto to Finisterre. Nest stop Camino Frances in 2026

Today was our penultimate day of walking as we set off across country to from Negreira to Olvieroa. Negreira is not a location on the typical tourist map and has no medieval or historic district hiding away in an old town centre. Also, very unusually for Galicia, Negreira’s streets are wide and straight and the town itself is nestled in somewhat of a valley, masked by hills and mountains on all sides.

On the way out of town, we passed under the arch of the Pazo de Coton a large baroque manor building built in the 18th century. The weather forecast had promised a slightly cooler start, and for once it delivered. The whole area was misty and a lot cooler than the last few days.

Today’s elevation profile showed that we would be climbing up from the outset, maybe not as steeply as before but over a much longer period of time. Winding paths with distant views, followed by nice calm forest paths led us to an abandoned village, even the church door was locked.

Narrow stone wall lined paths, hedgerow lined paths and misty views as we continued walking, the only thing of note to see was a large cemetery.

We were pleased that the mist persisted in keeping the sun off our backs. The landscape was becoming much more agricultural now as we walked past farms and fields of corn. The smell of silage as we walked past the dairy farms was very potent and not at al pleasant. A fairly long stretch along the roadside bought the first (very long) climb of the day to an end.

More fields of corn, a couple of streams and we stopped briefly in Mazaricos for an ice-cream before carrying on through the cornfields. At this stage the sun had beaten the mist but thanks to being a few hundred metres high was a little less hot.

A very spiky hill, up to our highest elevation so far of 482m before a long steep descent bought us to a cafe for a cold drink and some Tarta de Santiago. Literally meaning cake of St. James, this is an almond cake from Galicia with its origin in the Middle Ages and the Camino de Santiago. We crossed the river via the Ponte Olivieroa – during the War of Independence, on April 12, 1809, a confrontation with the French took place in Ponte Olveira, to prevent them from crossing the bridge. The French won and in retaliation they beheaded the leaders, the priests of Mazaricos and Colúns, in A Picota. We then came to our hotel in the minuscule town of Olvieroa.

Tomorrow is our last day as we walk to the end of the earth.

After a nice rest day in Santiago de Compostela, we started out in the Camino Fisterra – a journey to Finisterre on the Atlantic Coast, that ancient pilgrims called “The end of the world”. But first a short precis of the legend of how Saint James came to be buried in Santiago de Compostela. Medieval sources from the late 8^th century asserted that James had answered Jesus’s call that his apostles should spread the word of God as widely as possible. James chose or was assigned to travel to the Iberian Peninsula. On his way back to the Holy Land, James stopped at Caesar Augusta (modern Zaragoza). There, he built a church on the banks of the River Ebro following instructions from the Virgin Mary. After arriving back in the Holy Land, James incurred the wrath of Herod Agrippa and was beheaded in Jerusalem in 44 AD on the orders of Herod Agrippa. Tradition has it that the remains and detached head were recovered by two of James’s disciples who took them in a boat which, although having no rudder, oars, sails or even sailors, miraculously carried its precious cargo along the Mediterranean, through the Straits of Gibraltar and up along the coast of modern Portugal to Galicia and Padrón. After travelling to the kingdom of Queen Lupa who set tests for the disciples if they were to bury the apostle in her territory. For example they had to pacify two wild bulls and were so successful that Lupa converted to Christianity and bequeathed her palace as a burial place for James’s body.

Leaving a bit earlier than usual due to the heat (and promising ourselves to walk a bit slower than normal) we headed off through the Parque de Almeda, past the Igrexa de Santa Susana which seemed to be in disrepair and closed, the Estatua de Rosalía de Castro and the Balaustrada do Parque da Alameda with lovely views of the route ahead.

It was warming up by this stage but we had periods of shade under the trees as well as sunshine to the temperature was more tolerable. Just into the woods and we passed a derelict building that was being smartly repaired with modern materials. As we emerged from the woods we could see a great view back to Santiago Cathedral on the skyline.

We then spent a while walking through nice shaded woods and baking hot roads with great views and started our main descent through the village of Roxos.

As well as the views all around us there were lovely displays of flowers outside lots of houses. We then started the big climb of the day – we knew it would be tough by the sign warning cyclists of a 10% gradient for the next few kilometres. Had the weather been cooler we probably would have charged straight up it, but our steady pace meant we arrived at the top soaked but not as out of breath on some climbs.

Obviously every ascent has a descent but this was a lot more gentle and shorter this time and we came to the charming hamlet go A Ponte Maceira and stopped for a cold drink overlooking the Rio Tambre and the pier. Getting back on our feet we crossed the medieval bridge, built in the 12th century, that served as a crucial connection between Santiago de Compostela and Finisterre.

Just a few more kilometres and we walked into Negreira. The town welcome sign is a status depicting the two wild bulls from the Saint James legend. Tomorrow we have a long and hilly walk to Olviera.

Today would be the last leg of the Portuguese Camino as we headed from Padrón to Santiago de Compostela. The most famous produce of Padrón are its peppers (Galician pementos de Padrón ), which are small green peppers from the Capsicum annum family. They are served fried with olive oil and coarse salt (and are delicious!). Most taste sweet and mild, though some are particularly hot and spicy, which gives its character to the dish and is perfectly captured in the popular “Os pementos de Padrón, uns pican e outros non”  (Galician for “Padrón peppers, some are hot and some are not”). 

One last look at the train to Santiago before we headed off this morning. Due to the weather heating up we decided to leave earlier than our usual 9am. The route today would broadly follow the train line. After a while we passed the Parrish Church at Iria Flavia, the small hamlet so named when the original Irla Flavia became Padrón.

Some small climbing up through small hamlets, past crop fields and a surprise bagpiper at a random crossroads before heading back down a bit beside grapevine’s on narrow pathways.

A public laundry (given the state of the water it doesn’t look like it’s in use anymore!), a short stint beside the track and a quick look in the Igrexa de Escravitude. In 1582 the parish priest of Cruces was about to be crushed by a large chestnut tree during a storm. Thanks to his prayers, the Virgin saved him from death and priest asked to build an image of the Virgin in stone and had it placed in a fountain. In 1732, a sick pilgrim who went to the Hospital of Santiago, when passing by the fountain, begged the Virgin for her healing and was fully healed shortly after. Grateful for this, he donated his belongings so that a sanctuary could begin to build to praise the Virgin who had freed him from her “slavery”. And, thus, in 1852 the temple of the Sanctuary of Slavery was built or Santuario da Escravatitude.

But now the sun, although not fully high in the sky was beating on us and every piece of shade was a nice relief. We crossed the railway again (not even 10 minutes to Santiago from here by train) as we continued our walk past small and larger smallholdings.

Now the promised hill appeared and we climbed up to our highest elevation of the journey so far. Thankfully this was spread over several kilometres and was not one mad steep climb. On the way down we saw a local farmer pulling his hay (he didn’t appear to be impressed with us taking his photo) before we finally saw Santiago in the distance.

One more hill which was a long slog up through Santiago itself before we were in front of the Cathedral to finish our second Camino. We got our certificates and settled for some lunch and a drink in the shade. This was a tough day in the heat (as noted by the relative effort on the strava picture). Tomorrow is a day of sightseeing in Santiago and then we start the Camino Finisterre on Wednesday.

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.