Day 9: Valença to O Porriño

Today I crossed into Spain. The ironwork bridge glimmered in the morning sun and the Tui river peacefully moved beneath me. 

It was so cool to have one foot in each country & watch my phone change times on me. Soon after crossing the bridge I met & started walking with a German woman.  She’s been walking alone since Porto, and it was her first solo trip, so I was happy to keep her company for the day.  I still remember the nerves I had before my first solo trip, but now I don’t think twice about it. 

Our first stop in Spain was in the massive Tui Cathedral. We were able to acquire a stamp here – only one more to go for the day – and take a quick glance inside before starting our day’s trek. The morning streets of Tui were quiet, and while I was looking for a Spain/Portugal difference, I didn’t see one yet. I definitely still had Portugal on the mind as obrigada and bom dia came out of my mouth before I had time to switch to their Spanish equivalents. 

I hadn’t really thought about how this part of the camino would change in terms of crowds. Because Tui is the last large town before the 100km marker, and you have to complete the last 100kms to earn the Compestelo, there are a lot more walkers on the trail now.  Some are individuals like myself, but there are also large tour groups who help shepherd their people from stop to stop. They meet them along the way with the van for motivational talks and assistance.  Additionally, this is one of the places where people move from the coastal routes inland.  So it’s a huge change in numbers and dynamics. 

Along the way, we passed the banana stamp man, a man playing bagpipes, and a dog meet up group. So with the people comes some more infrastructure, and not just for the pilgrims.  As I struggled to hear my walking partner across the table at our cafe stop, I also remember that the women I met on my first day of the Camino (who had just finished their own Camino) remarked that the Spanish are more outgoing.  I guess it’s time to wake up & up my game.

I think this will be the vibe for the rest of the Camino – or at least until I take the Spiritual Variant in Pontevedra. After the quiet meditative moments the Camino has given me so far, it’s going to be a hard shift for me. 

My German friend and I found a good pace and reminded each other to drink more water and take more breaks in the shade to combat the heat of the sun.  It’s only April and we’ve had some warm days; I can’t imagine what this journey would be like in the real heat of the summer. 

Near the end of our day, we passed a cold stream, and it reminded me of the videos I had watched of a woman who made sure to end each day with her feet in the water.  While the shock of the water made my feet throb at first, after they dried off and we continued walking, they felt so refreshed.  I need to remember to look for these opportunities as I continue. 

I felt more tired by the end of the day – partly because of the heat, the length, the pace, and the socializing. But it was a lovely day overall. 

I ended the day with some drinks with new friends & dinner with past friends. We had tapas at a local restaurant where we ordered too much food, but did our best to make a dent in it. Traveling solo, tapas is not an option, so I enjoyed this sharing of stories and tastes. 

Time has shifted and the journey seems to as well. Now that I have a few people in my circle, I feel a little lighter, a little less alone, a little more of a family. 

Day 10: O Porriño to Redondela

Today has been my least favorite day so far. The path has been busy – with cars, roads, people. Large tour groups have joined our ranks and walk in mass, which makes it hard to focus on the sounds of nature and life around us. 

This is the land of granite, so large granite tables dot the hillside & granite remnants sit within the side brush along the trail. 

The terrain is more concrete than anything else, and it is fairly hilly. The first half of the day is gradual uphill, but today, the downhill – which offers some of the best views all day – is steep. So steep that it’s necessary to walk zig zag down the hill. This is the day I wish I had poles. 

On top of the busyness, I’m starting to have a pain in my leg – not really sure how to describe it, but a quick shooting pain from my inner thigh to my knee has been surprising me all day. I started feeling these pains last night & in the middle of the night. I’m hoping that I can just walk it out. 

Because of the pain, my plan today was to go slower. And I was doing well to start. People who I passed yesterday passed me today. And I was happy to be in my own world. However when the tour groups started appearing, I just wanted to get through them & find my own hole in the wave. This meant that I didn’t want to stop for a break or stop for too long because they would catch up with me again. Probably not the best plan for my injury, but it was good for my psyche. This reaction to groups is something that I struggle with all the time. If you look at my experience at Plitvice Lakes National Park, my urge to get past the large groups meant that I missed out on the beauty of the trail and ended up redoing the whole route. 

I waited till Rondendela for a lunch break. This is the first time that I’m walking through a major town instead of making it my end point. So before I keep going the 5km more to my lodging in the woods, I wanted to take some time to explore the city. It’s definitely a more modern city than the places I’ve seen so far on the way, though I guess last night’s town was too. Gone are the tiled houses of Portugal. Now it’s the wrought iron balconies that remind me of New Orleans. 

Spain takes siesta seriously – even all the dogs & cats are fast asleep and don’t move as I walk by.

I ended the day with a massive hill, but the reward was a peaceful casa in the woods with hammocks and tables set outside to enjoy the outdoors. After a day of traffic (people & cars), this was exactly what I needed. 

Day 11: Redondela to Pontevedra

Yesterday was rough & I went to bed still sore from the day worried that it would carry over to today, but once I got going, my body got into its rhythm, and I actually made it through the day with only one bout of shooting pain in my leg.  I hope that it continues to get better because I’ve been worried an injury would take me out of the walk completely. 

I was hoping that my wooded retreat would give me a head start on the masses, and while I’ve been free of the large groups, there are still a lot of people. This is a hilly day & steep hills too. Everyone talked about that one hill a few days back, but yesterday and today’s hills are steeper & more frequent.  Instead of focusing on the inclines, I try to focus on the tall eucalyptus trees that provided shade with glimmers of light and the hard packed dirt that is a welcome reprieve from the days of cobblestones.

Today offered 2 forks in the road, and it got me thinking about how people make choices: ease, pleasure, convenience? The first choice was in the midst of the steep hills where the choice was about ease – go further but easier or shorter but harder. 

There are now souvenir shops along the way – in the small towns & tables set up outside of houses & in the woods. The commercialization of the walk feels at odds with the history of it. Still, it is nice to have something to remember the experience with. Many of the tables offered a special wax stamp for a small donation. 

It’s been another solo day of walking. The more people the less mingling – I guess this is true in the outside world too.

The hilly terrain provides views of the world below. The highlight so far has been the views of the water – both from afar at the top of the mountain & while walking over a stone bridge that spans a harbor.  

I know the coast isn’t that far away, but it feels like it is.  Those first few days along the coast feel like so long ago. 

Today’s a shorter day & really the last short day for the journey. 

This is the last day on the Central Route. Tomorrow I branch off to the Spiritual Variant & while I’m worried about the terrain & distances, I think it will bring back the lighter crowds, which will hopefully translate to the vibe that this journey had in Portugal.

At the fork in the road, I knew to go left despite it being longer. I was hoping the 2 Dutch women who I had just passed would catch up so I could tell them to do the same. The last time we had a fork, they didn’t know to go left & were complaining about how industrial the shorter path was. All I could do was hope that they would take a quick look at the app & decide on the extra distance this time.  

The 2nd choice of the day was about tranquility. Are you willing to take a longer path for a more peaceful journey? For me, this was a hardy yes!  Not only did it take me back into nature where I was engulfed with wildflowers & trees, but it also separated the pack, which allowed me to finally hear the birds again 

For a while the stream that meandered on the side of the trail taunted me with its clear cool water. I couldn’t find a good entry point, but then I did & frigid water shocked my feet & gave them the jolt they needed to finish the day.  Hurts so good.