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).
