With Debbie's career change we decided to mark the occasion by going on holiday in term time! Debbie had always wanted to do part of the Camino De Santiago and the route through Portugal was a little quieter so seemed ideal. We booked through Inntravel, this being the first year they had offered this trip, and upgraded throughout to wonderful rooms and extra-special suites!
Travel Day: Departing from Gatwick on the 13th September we arrived at Porto Airport for a Taxi to Tui. The wonders of an Irish passport saw myself pass through security within minutes! Sadly Debbie took 45 mins to get through. Anyway cases were collected, sweets purchased and taxi awaiting.
The drive to Tui took a couple of hours. The countryside was greening up after a very hot summer and further rain greeted us and remained with us for a couple of days.
We had booked into the Parador at Tui and had upgraded to a junior suite. We were not disappointed!
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| The Parador de Tui |
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| Parador de Tui: Junior Suite |
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| Parador de Tui: Junior Suite |
The town centre was very quiet and pleasant to wander through.
That evening we dined in the hotel, enjoying views towards the church in the centre of Tui and the rain clouds that brought quite a downpour!
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| View from the dining room towards Tui |
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| First of many wonderful spanish croquettes |
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| The Walls of Valenca |
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| Looking towards Tui |
That night we walked back into Tui for lots of tasty tapas!
Day 2: 15th Sept: First day of the actual walk. O'Porrino to Saramagoso: 21.km: 8hrs approx walk.
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| The start of our walk |
A taxi dropped us off at a roundabout on the outskirts of O'Porrino after a fifteen minute drive and off we go. There were quite a few other walkers making there way out of O'Porrino and it soon became apparent that navigation would not be a an issue as it was a case of just following along and the route was well signed.
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| Just under 103 km to go! |
First stop for coffee and cake at Mos and the collecting of our first stamp of the walk in our credentials!
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| The second of three pipers we came across during our walk, she stamped our credentials as well!! |
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| One of the nicer section of the day's walk |
Walked into Redondela with a couple from Scotland. They had started the walk further south and were not greatly impressed with the section they had covered. Too much road walking and little to see! Stopped in an Irish pub on the route for a refreshing pint of Murphy's Red!
We continued out of Redondela along the route until we departed up a long haul of a hill to our hotel As Chivas at Saramagoso.
Arriving hot and thirsty and tired after such a long slog up hill we were met with total and utter disinterest! The only greeting we received was a demand for passports. A young man who worked there, watched two, tired and hot 'mature' walkers drag their bags over cobble and up steps without even offering to help! It was not to improve as the evening went by. The room was small and suitcases had to be spread out on the floor as there was no surfaces to put them on. The evening meal was the poorest I've eaten any where in the world. Over salted, three thin pieces of ham from the land of ham, chips and Viennetta ice cream. A number of other walkers left their food and went in search of a meal elsewhere.
The peaceful surroundings promised were ruined by the same young man's awful spanish rap music played at great volume. We retreated to our room in the hope of better in the morning....... it wasn't. No cereal, pastries or fruit. Plastic ham and cheese and the only good thing was the coffee. We were glad to depart!
Day 3: 16th Sept: Saramagoso to Pontevedra: 15.7 km: 6 hrs approx
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| Debbie reflecting our view of As Chivas |
Shaking off the dust of As Chivas (check their website to see what we missed!: https://aschivas.com/en/home/) we set off on our second day of walking to Pontevedra. We descended to the medieval town of Arcade on the banks of the River Verdugo. The town is famous for oysters not that we had the opportunity to try some but we did enjoy another breakfast along with a number of other walkers.
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| A 'replacement' breakfast! |
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| Early morning mist |
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| Arcade in the early morning |
Leaving Arcade we also left the main Camino Portugues to join a 'complementario' path along the banks of the River Tomeza. The contrast with yesterday's walk was amazing and this route through the woods and meadows by the river was a true delight.
We rejoined the Camino on the outskirts of Pontevedra and walked to our hotel The Parador de Ponteverda.
Once we had cleared the outskirts of Ponteverde and changed onto the Variante, the number of people walking diminished and we had long stretches to ourselves. The route took us through some lovely countryside and we passed numerous Horreos (grain Stores) on the way.
The weather was beginning to warm up as we made a brief stop at the Monasterio de San Xoan de Poio. Preperations for mass were being undertaken so we were not able to go inside. However it did have the largest Horreos in the region.
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| Bridge into Arcade |
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| A pleasant track way to Pontevedra ` |
We had upgraded our room to a junior suite and once again were not disappointed.Pushing open the large double doors we found ourselves in a large, pleasant room with balcony and view over the gardens to the river.
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| Parador Gardens |
17th September: Rest day in Pontevedra
Two days of walking and a rest day? Such softies! However it was nice to stop and explore Pontevedra and to enjoy a little bit of luxury living. The hotel was full of character, good food and friendly service. We spent the day exploring the city with its plazas, churches and markets. We particularly enjoyed the Pasteis de Nata with a glass of port while watching people pass by.
The city was very vibrant with lots of families out on the Friday night we arrived.
Day 4: 18th Sept: Pontevedra to Meano: 20.4 km: 8 hrs
We left Pontevedra around 9 am and headed across the Lerez River following the route for a short while. After a few kilometres were left the main route and followed the Variante Espiritual and headed towards Combarro.
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| Heading west through the O Saines Region. |
We made an early stop at the baroque church at Igrexa De San Pedro de Campano. Shortly afterwards we passed a number of walkers having breakfast in the local cafe!
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| Igrexa De San Pedro de Campano. |
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| An open-air pulpit |
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Horreos |
We arrived into Combarro as the heat of the day was increasing even more. The village is reputed to be the most beautiful fishing village in Galicia with over thirty Horreos that line the shore. The streets are narrow with tight alleys down to the coastline. It was also very busy! We found a cafe for a coffee butt our plan to eat lunch by the water failed due to crowds and the heat. We ended up eating lunch under a horreos off the main road.
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| Views towards Combarro |
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| A drink stop for pilgrims. |
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| Port barrels. Combarro in the distance |
The temperature had now reached the high 20s and was beginning to take its toll on us. I went all English man abroad and rigged up my brolly to provide shade.
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| The English man abroad! |
Debbie decided that this appraoch was not for her and so by the end of the walk was suffering from a terrible heat rash all over her legs and back!
We had a brief reset bite from the heat as we descended through the woods to our destination at the Monasteiro de Armenteira and a most welcomed drink while we waited for our taxi to take us to the next hotel!
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| An ancient stone aqueduct |
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| Crashed out at the end of the walk and one beer. |
I'm getting to enjoy enforced rest days especially in such a location and hotels as this one. Set in vineyards and with plenty of places to sit and enjoy the view the Quinta de San Amaro was definitely a hotel to return too. We had upgraded the room to one with a balcony, which, in truth, we only used to dry out our clothes! The room was pleasant and quiet with views over the valley to the sea.
The hotel had a small pool, which we did not use and the meals were excellent! The highlight for me was the white chocolate soup that was a dessert!
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| Evening meal |
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| Lunch by the pool |
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| Prawns to die for! |
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| White chocolate soup for dessert! |
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| Hotel grounds |
On our rest day we visited the local vineyard to sample some of its wonderful produce and to tour the processing unit. We sampled some very nice wines including a young one and one that had been matured in oak barrels. Sadly due to our exit from the EU there were unable to send a bow to home! Another result of the stupidity of Brexit!
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| Samples of wine from the local vineyard |
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| Just a drop or two of wine! |
We returned to the hotel to find that they had put on the tvs for the Queen's funeral and that the english visitors were gathering to watch the proceedings. Being a good republican and half irish I went bird watching before we had lunch by the pool and a relaxing day reading and snoozing!
Day 6: 20th Sept: Meano to Vilanova de Arousa: 24 km, 8hrs
Sadly, after an early breakfast, we left the hotel and after a short taxi ride back to the Monastery for the start of our walk to Arousa.
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| Starting point for Day 6: Walk to Arousa |
As we approached our destination we came out of the shady woods and had to walk along the sea front. The temperature now was around 30 degrees C and was taking its toll on us. Stopping for a cool drink at a sea front bar and with only of few km to go we pushed on. However, the heat was beginning to really effect Debbie and her rash was really flaring up. After a slow walk through the town we reached our hotel, the Hotel Bradomin, and Debbie was immediately placed in a tepid bath and made to drink plenty of water. She then slept while I went in search of food for a room picnic as neither of us really wanted to go in search of a meal that night.
The Bradomin proved to be a very pleasant hotel. Known as a pilgrim hotel we were able to share our experiences with people from all over the world over breakfast the next morning.
Day 7: Sept 21st: Vilanova de Arousa to Lestrobe.....and beyond
The route we are taking is the only one that is by boat, the body of St James being carried along this route in 44AD. So it was that we down by the docks for our 9.30 departure along with other pilgrims.
Thankfully Debbie was feeling much better and we were both looking forward to this section of our walk.
The boat was much smaller than we expected but we were quickly settled onboard and set off across the Arousa River to visit a number of mussel beds for which this area of Galicia is famous.
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| Mussel farming |
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| The stone crosses that mark the pilgrim route |
The wetland near Pardon produced a couple of Great White Egrets and two Buzzards. Other than that a bit disappointing.
We disembarked at Pontecesures just before 11 am and it was a short walk into Pardon for coffee and cake.
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| Bridge into Pardon |
The given plan was to walk for an hour to our hotel. However, the final leg the next day was over 27km and given the heat could prove to be quite a challenge.
We decided to start that section of the walk and see how far we could get before calling a day, hence reducing tomorrow's walk. We walked until we got to A Escravitude chopping of about 8 km of tomorrow's walk. In all honesty is was not really the most pleasant of walks as it passed through industrial areas and back streets of villages.
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| 24km to go |
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| A bit further and 20km to go |
We got a taxi from A Escravitude (with a very grumpy driver) and headed to our rural hotel Casa Antiga de Monte. We had upgrade again our room and so was really pleased to find that we had a sitting room separate from our bedroom and a couple of nice balconies over looking the gardens. The hotel also had a pool and we did make use of it this time.
We booked a meal at the hotel and it turned into a rather strange affair! We all had to be sitting down for the meal by 8 pm and then we all sat waiting while tables we individually served by a single waitress and it took ages! At the end of the meal we had to pay before leaving the table. We also booked a taxi for the next morning for a 8.30 am to start the final section of our walk.
Day 8: 22nd Sept: Lestrobe to Santiago de Compostela: 27.3km (19.5 km), 10hrs
The taxi was late! Booked for 8.30 arrived at 9.00! However he was a very chatty chap so the journey back to our new starting point was rather pleasant. Wish I could say the same for the start of our walk. As we arrived a coach was dropping off a large group of spanish teenagers. It was apparent that they were walking part of the Camino and did so with rap music blaring it. Needless to say we did everything in our power to avoid them. Luckily after an hour or so they stopped to eat and we were able to put a distance between us and them.
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| Down to the last 9 km. |
The walk into Santiago was fairly pleasant at the start but as you get closer much was along tarmac lanes and the back streets of the city.
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| Last of the country lanes. |
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| Distant view of the Santiago Cathedral |
As we got closure to the end of the walk we left the main camino and followed the Camino Complementario Conxo Santa Maria which takes you away from the more urban route on a quieter one into Santiago.
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| The division of the ways! |
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| The end is in site |
The walk into the Prazo do Obradoiro took us through the town and as we got closure there seemed to be pilgrims coming from all directions. Entering the square and seeing the Cathedral was quite awe inspiring. There was the beauty of the buildings, the excitement of the pilgrims as they walked into the square and the overall sense of achievement. Photos were being taken by numerous people and it was within a short time that I was taking pictures for others posing before the cathedral and we were having ours taken by another pilgrim.
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| The end of the walk, 105 km covered. No blisters but tired feet! |
We drunk in the atmosphere of the crowds and location. Our walk was never about the religious aspect but the opportunity to walk an ancient pathway over which many have passed. We felt the sense of achievement but this was also mixed with a little sadness as our walk had ended. We had no desire to collect a certificate for finishing, our walk was never about religious achievement so we walked the 100m to our hotel on the other side of the square to enjoy the last Parador of our trip.
We were not disappointed! The Parador de Santiago is housed in the old Hostal dos Reis Catolicos and is possibly the oldest hotel in the world. It is full of history and art and it was a joy to stay in.
Arriving at our room we once again found the joy of upgrading! A sitting room led to a massive bathroom and then on to our large, cool bedroom. Waiting for us was a bottle of Cava from Inntravel, which was quickly opened and enjoyed!
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| View from our suite |
We are in agreement that the whole trip was a wonderful experience. Given that it was for a special occasion (Debbie's career change) and that we had pushed the boat out, upgrading hotel rooms and adding extra days made it all feel very special.
As for the walk, we wouldn't return to do it again. We spoke to a number of people who had done this walk a number of times, but we felt no call to return. For us there are plenty of other places to go, miles to cover. We fulfilled an ambition which is very satisfying now we move on to something else!
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