Caminho português - Page 4

Cerdal - O Porriño

Breakfast today was also shared together before everyone set off on their own. The landscape looked beautiful in the morning, the fields were still half in the fog and the dew covered everything. Hours later we arrived in Valença, the last city in Portugal. Passing a large fortress, we descended to the border river, the Rio Miño. The sky was blue as we crossed to the Spanish side, to Tui.

Past the cathedral, we crossed the town, then it became more rural again. The Bar's now offered Paella or other small snacks to one's drinks, simply as a gift. On the Portuguese side it was mostly olives or chips. Before we reached the small town of O Porriño, we had to walk several more kilometers through its industrial area. The hostel was located on the banks of the Río Louro. It was our first Spanish hostel on the way. It had everything you needed, but it was not quite as nice as the previous hostels. At the end of the trail, we summed up that we had liked the Portuguese hostels better.

In the city we first sat down in the sun, in a cafe with Wifi for communication. Later we indulged in extensive culinary pleasures: first we had pizza in a bar and at the end of the day we sat down with a bottle of wine and a spicy cheese in the sun at the river.

O Porriño - Redondela

After breakfast in the cafe, the route first led a few kilometers out of the city before we had something other than asphalt under our feet again. Varied as on most days was the wandered landscape, forest, meadows, small towns. Everywhere lush green with blue sky. A small dog followed us a few kilometers, is sweet, but then you always hope that he finds his way back. Trotting along won’t work 🙂

We crossed the small town of Mos, where some of our fellow pilgrims had spent the night, after which we once again went steeply uphill. Many people ran hurriedly to the church, it was sunday and most Spaniards are strictly Catholic. We visited a bar at the summit and then walked downhill towards Redondela.

The hostel was right in the center, a kind of fortress tower, restaurant with pilgrim menu around the corner. We were there early, so after checking in we walked around the city. Manu wanted to look for a beach, because Redondela is located at a bay at the Atlantic Ocean. But that turned out to be not so easy, we had to walk along 5 km of annoying suburban streets until there was a sandy beach and access to it. After a few beers and Manu's sunbathing we went back to the center of Redondela. In the evening we walked to the highest point of the city and enjoyed the sunset. With beer and good food we then concluded the day.