Fortunately enough, I used almost everything in my backpack during the walk, with very few exceptions. I’m also glad I only had to look up what Compeed and Ibuprofen mean (because I heard people mention them so many times) after I got home. So here’s the lowdown:

Things I’m happy to have taken

Raincoat. Don’t even think about not taking one if your destination is Galicia.

Hat. Although I’d thought I’d get along with sunglasses alone, I didn’t regret taking a hat, because I got sunburnt on my arms after the first two days.

Earplugs. I’m not an easy sleeper, and after the spending the second night surrounded by an army of snorers, I gave in and started using them. To my greatest delight.

Nappy as towel. I don’t even try to imagine what I’d have done with a terry towel in rainy Galicia.

Things I’m happy not to have taken

Flask. The half-litre plastic bottles were just fine.

Walking stick. Being an amateur skier, I might have made use of a pair, :) but either they carry you or you carry them, as they say.

Things that may have been useful

Maps of each section. On the very first day, despite having followed the obvious yellow arrows all day, I became quite desperate after some time that I thought could have been enough to reach my destination, Vilarinho. So I sat down, opened my netbook and looked for the PDF I had saved beforehand – to discover that Vilarinho was the very next village. What a shame. Perhaps I should have printed these sketches of the route, one page for each day, although it was a lesson I learnt and I was happy with the yellow arrows ever after.

GPS. As Jörg put it, “Every boy needs a toy.” OK, I had my netbook, :) but it might have been nice to record my entire route step by step, because it was sometimes quite difficult to identify the villages I was crossing through. (I asked where I could, but sometimes there wasn’t a soul out there, save the occasional sheep.) Of course, you can find everything on the internet, and are not an exception, see EveryTrail or Wikiloc, for example. The only problem is now that neither Google Maps nor Bing Maps are accurate enough on the village level in Portugal and Galicia.

Things that proved to be of no use

Swimming pants. Adrian was wise enough to take a day off in Redondela and spend a day at the Cesantes beach – before the rainy weather would arrive. I took my day off in Tui, which wasn’t a bad decision either, but no beaches there. Or anywhere else on the route, for that matter.

Pocket knife. As I didn’t steal any lemons from the trees, make campfires, open cans of food or wine bottles, have blisters or encounter savage pilgrims on the way, I never used it.

Plaster. As I didn’t make campfires, open cans of food or wine bottles, or encounter savage pilgrims, I didn’t suffer any injuries. I couldn’t even find a person to lend one to.

Reflective straps. I had decided not to leave before the sun would come out and stuck to that. I arrived in Barcelos near dusk, but that was it.

the Northern façade of the Cathedral

I took my breakfast in the hotel, and then set out for the Pilgrims’ Office to get my compostela (the certificate you get in Santiago that testifies you walked more than 100 kilometres on any of the routes). I was just passing by a café when I heard someone knocking on a window. I looked and lo and behold, it was Krisztina and Jörg. They managed to get the last room in some hostel, and now they were having breakfast. I guess it’s really hard to actually hide from people in Santiago. :) They gave me Adrian’s phone number which he gave them because he had taken the alternative way just before Padrón, to Herbón, and he wanted to give me some information about the accommodation there. How thoughtful is that? So I got to say farewell to Jörg, who was leaving for Porto, and Krisztina saw him off to the bus station.

laymen's compostela

Then I bumped into Rolf again, just at the corner of Praza do Obradoiro, told him how sorry I was not to have met them yesterday, and wished him some more Buen Camino, as he was just starting his walk to Fisterra. Fisterra (Finis Terræ, the end of Earth) is the westernmost point of Spain, and for many pilgrims, the journey really ends there – as they have nowhere to walk from there finally. :)

I lined up for my compostela, and got a special one indeed. You have to indicate the reason for which you did the walk: religious, religious and other or non-religious. I marked the third option, and the nice girl who was issuing the compostelas asked me once again if this was to be my choice, because in this case I’d get a laymen’s compostela. Of course, why would I have lied? I’ll scan it anyway when I get home and compare it to a ‘regular’ one.

expectation before the grand event

Then I went to the pilgrims’ mass, which is traditionally held at noon every day. The priest (or bishop, I don’t know) welcomed the pilgrims in at least five languages, and a man read out the numbers and nationalities of pilgrims who arrived today (after yesterday’s mass, to be more precise). Apparently I was the only Hungarian from Porto, but I didn’t expect anything more than that. :) There was a nun, who, before the mass started, went through the parts that would be sung commonly with the participants. She was also the ‘lead singer’ throughout the mass, and has a really pleasant voice. I have ambivalent feelings about the mass. On the one hand, it was a nice event, something that makes you feel you have reached your destination. On the other hand, I was really disappointed with Spaniards and the way they were behaving.

here it comes

They were just chatting behind me during the entire ceremony so loudly that sometimes I couldn’t hear the speaker. Others had mobile phones ringing, greeting friends, always moving around, and the portals of the cathedral weren’t closed, so there were also people going to the museum or to the shop, or just trying to find a place even if they were three quarters of an hour late. So it was quite hard to concentrate. For me, at least, because these locals (OK, some of them were pilgrims, but unmistakably Spanish) seemed to be quite comfortable with it. Of course not all Spaniards are like this, I’m sure Juan and Francesco could behave themselves, but I was wondering why the hell did these folks come here if they were not interested in the mass. OK, I know, who am I to tell them how to behave when it’s their own cathedral… :)

the Botafumeiro

The swinging of the botafumeiro (the big incense dispenser that’s hung from the ceiling where the transept crosses the nave) was fun, because when it started to ascend, suddenly everyone took out their cameras and mobile phones to take pictures (including me), so the place looked like there was some concert going on. :) When they stopped swinging it (actually some clergyman made a quick move to snatch it and then just held on to it briefly), and also the music and singing ended, the crowd applauded just like in a circus. :) It’s a nice spectacle anyway.

After the show mass, I queued up to see the Apostle’s tomb, and noticed Adrian at the other end. We waved to each other and when he finished with his visit, he came up to me for a hug and also, luckily, to correct his phone number, because I’d made a mistake writing it down. :) He’s on parental leave right now and still has two months to stay at home and to go on holiday with his family back in Germany.

the Puerta Santa, open this year

So then I entered the Puerta Santa (open only in jubilee years like this one), gave Santiago’s statue a pat on the shoulder, paid a visit to his tomb (the cathedral was built where Saint James the Greater’s remains were found, and that’s when the whole pilgrimage thing started), and that was kind of the finale to my pilgrimage. I then turned into a pilgrim again and walked to the ends of the city (I really did more than 10 kilometres) to visit the albergues recommended for pilgrims. Two of them are really near the “end of Santiago” signs (on the east side of the city, because that’s where the most pilgrims arrive from).

dinner of the lucky ten

This took quite a long time, but then I had one more thing to do: I’ve read that in the Hospital de los Reyes Católicos (the oldest hotel in the world, right next to the cathedral), ten pilgrims are traditionally welcome for breakfast, lunch and dinner. So I went to try my luck and I got number eight, and I only had to go there half an hour before dinner time (7 PM, that is). We had to wait at the garage door (the five-star hotel could not afford dirty pilgrims sitting at the front door three times a day, of course), and then some receptionist guy let us in, checked our compostelas (I was a bit worried if they’d let me in with my atheist compostela, but there was no problem), had us enter our data in a guestbook designed specifically for this purpose, and said we could now go through the main entrance. There we found someone who led us through hallways, doors and courtyards, and finally to the pilgrims’ dining room. It’s such a wonderful tradition; even if you don’t get invited to the real dining hall, I like it very much.

well-fed pilgrim

I had dinner with nine strangers (OK, all fellow walkers): two Canadians, two Italians, a Brazilian, a Czech, a German, an Austrian and a Korean. I’d recommend this for all of you out there as a special event even if you have to carry your own tray from the kitchen to the dining room and then back. :)

So basically this was it, I’m taking a bus tomorrow to Porto, and then flying home on Sunday.

Iria Flavia

I started out at half past eight, when rain had just stopped. It was cold today, and clouds were hanging low, but at least at didn’t rain so much. This last stretch to Santiago resembled the first one from Porto in that I was walking through lots of villages. The difference was the big climb in the last ten kilometres. OK, I’m exaggerating, it wasn’t more than 300 metres. :) It’s just that it has been unusual on this route to climb more than 200 a day.

Cruzeiro, Carboeiro de Francos

I stopped for lunch in Milladoiro, which is really the last town before Santiago. I had luck before as soon as I went into this bar, the rain just started pouring down. So I took my time, had two sandwiches (never before) and watched the news that were on. Today it was all about various parts of Galicia being flooded by the rain, so you can imagine. I also had to notice that all the men that came in for a coffee dropped the empty sugar sachets on the floor.

Never did they put them on their plates or on the counter, always dropped them. So another Galician custom for the day. :) Before moving on, I bought a doughnut at the bakery next door, and oh my, it was extremely soft, sweet and delicious. Exactly the lift I needed for the last couple of kilometres.

this is what you get from constant rain

By the time I reached Santiago, it was raining again. I made my way to the cathedral, and on my way I met Rolf. He told me they would meet with Michael and Adrian at 8 PM, and invited me as well. I then walked some additional kilometres until I found a hotel that had accommodation for tonight and tomorrow. I took a really hot bath, and went to bed because I just felt tired. Maybe it was because of the rain.

Santiago waiting with open arms :)

I went to meet my fellow German peregrinos, but I waited for half an hour on Praza do Obradoiro and they never appeared. I must have misunderstood something Rolf said. :( So I went to a tapas restaurant by myself, and treated myself to two beers (that’s about four times more than usual, but it tasted good, just some local beer from the tap) and some quality tapas. They even had patatas bravas. :)

I’ll do all the ‘official’ stuff tomorrow. Hope it won’t rain…

Santa Mariña de Carracedo

Some of the Portuguese guys woke up at 6 AM, when it was still totally dark and raining, so I tried to stay in bed as long as possible. Most of us had breakfast in the bar next door which offers pilgrim breakfasts (which means you have to pray to get one – OK, just kidding), and then set out after eight.

Today’s walk from Caldas de Reis to Padrón was quite short (a mere 19 kilometres), I even think the shortest of all sections. I also made good use (finally) of the raincoat. It was indeed comfortable, I didn’t sweat as much underneath as I had expected. As for the flora, I’ve seen the lushest vegetation today – no wonder. For some time, I walked with Krisztina and Jörg, then alone, which is cool because I could sing while walking.

Padrón promenade

I caught up with the other two at some point, and we walked on singing until just before Padrón, where we made a stop for a coffee and a bocadillo. We reached the albergue just after 1 PM. I took a nap and then went to the town centre, where the girl at the information kiosk provided me with all kinds of maps and brochures about Padrón’s sights. Then I looked for the usual bar with wi-fi and some coffee because it was still raining and cold.

the famed stone

Padrón is I think mostly famous for the mooring stone that is on display in the Igrexa de Santiago. Tradition has it that this was the place where Santiago’s disciples, carrying his dead body over from Jerusalem, disembarked. The village was an offspring of the nearby Roman settlement, Iria Flavia, and “padrón” means “big stone”. Then they also have a small botanic garden, and the house of Rosalía de Castro, a popular Galician writer, that has been transformed into a museum.

like a small Basilique Notre-Dame de Fourvière

In the evening, we went to the city with Krisztina and Jörg and had some fine tapas. I even tasted the pulpo a la gallega – not bad (tastes like squid to me), but it’s not going to be my favourite dish, that’s for sure. ;)

So, only 24 kilometres left to go tomorrow and then I have no idea what to expect. Yesterday I came across a newspaper from April that read one day a thousand pilgrims lined up for a compostela until noon. Krisztina, who has already walked the French route (like many of my co-walkers here), told me today she wouldn’t really recommend any of the albergues in Santiago, so I might end up in a hotel again. ;)

nice waymarking

I made very good use of my earplugs last night, because the dormitory rather resembled a concert hall with all the different voices and tunes, all snoring (save other noises). :) Anyway, the earplugs worked, and indeed there was no turning on the lights in the morning, only some door slamming. Maybe I just had bad luck with those Portuguese bikers. :)

I hit the road at half past seven. On my way out of Pontevedra, I just realized that there is an Irish pub in every town in Galicia – maybe this is to emphasize the common Celtic roots?

Wet conditions continued today: drizzle and heavy rain were alternating all day. I guess if Santiago would always listen to the pilgrims’ prayers, it would never rain in Galicia and there would be large-scale famines every year. Thankfully, Santiago always measures if there are more farmers or pilgrims praying. I guess, today it was more farmers praying for rain than pilgrims praying for sunshine… :)

making power out of clouds?

In a bar in San Amaro, I met Adrian who introduced me, to my greatest surprise, to Krisztina, who is Hungarian (I wouldn’t expect any other Hungarians around here) and walking the Camino from Valença, and also to Francesco from Alicante, Spain. Adrian also told me that Juan decided to quit somewhere after Tui. There was too much asphalt and too many people for him, so he decided to call it a day and took the train back to Barcelona.

Other than that, there’s not really much to write about, the rain just dampened everything. I used the gaiters today, but not the raincoat. I kind of save it as a last resort, for even heavier rains.

Santo Tomás e Palmeiras, Caldas de Reis

I arrived in Caldas de Reis at 3 PM, looked for a bocadillo and had a siesta. This albergue is the first one on the way that has wi-fi, so I did not have to wonder outside, which I didn’t feel very keen on doing in the rain. It is also the first one (except for the 4-bed abrigo in Vilarinho) that doesn’t have a lobby, but has shop windows, so pilgrims are really on display, and you almost bump into the beds when you enter from the street. :) This albergue has 36 beds, and is almost filled up to capacity: we have Adrian, Krisztina, Francesco, Jörg from Germany, at least two Portuguese groups, two Italians, two Finnish women, and some others as well.

no, this isn't a shop, this is the albergue

A siesta always ends when two Spaniards enter the albergue/dormitory. That’s a rule here I had to learn. they would run their lap of honour, shouting to each other. OK, to be honest, that’s not shouting, only talking on a volume that most Europeans would regard as shouting. Then they would sit down on their beds and start discussing their day (remember, they have been walking together), totally ignoring the fact that there may be 20 other people in the room wanting to take a nap. Sometimes it only takes one Spaniard. One of these guys today went solo yesterday, “Este aquí… y estes aquí… bo-bo-bom… vamos… bo-bo-bom” and so forth. I’m starting to accept it – part of the Camino. And we’re in Spain, after all, they can do whatever they like. :)

Ponte Romana, Caldas de Reis

I treated myself to a bar of chocolate from the nearby supermercado, and when returning to the albergue, one of the Portuguese guys asked me if he could use my netbook to check the weather forecast. During the process he  found out I spoke some Portuguese, so he called one of his friends, who in turn called his daughter because she had been to Budapest. :) So we had some conversation, and I later continued with Inês, who apparently had the most patience for me. :) She studied music and also knew about Béla Bartók, by which I was quite impressed. We talked about Hungarian and Portuguese music and culture, and I guess I used just about all my Portuguese vocabulary and knowledge of grammar. :)

if you're out of yellow paint...

Fortunately, Ina and Florian are not those early birds you get to meet a lot, but they rather let me sleep until 8, so I left at half past eight. A nice old man told me on the way out from Redondela that the Camino actually wasn’t going that way (this was type one from yesterday’s post), and gave me a friendly pat on the shoulder, which I returned. (When in Rome…) I hope I wasn’t disrespectful because he was much older than me.

never forget where you are

Today’s flora was characterized by pine groves, many ferns, and the occasional oak tree. I had to climb two hills on the way: one right after Redondela, and a seemingly bigger one after Arcade. It possibly seemed bigger because Arcade in itself is already a roller coaster ride to cross. Weather was perfect: it was mostly cloudy today, not too hot, and as one lady in Arcade remarked, “a good day to walk the Camino.”

In Arcade, there is an old bridge that is famous, because it was here that the Battle of Pontesampaio took place. According to the information board set up at the site, the Spanish army and the Galician militia jointly defended Marshal Ney’s troops here in 1809 during the Peninsular War (1807-1814).

hórreo

I’ve noticed that people around here often utter a ‘b’ instead of a word-starting ‘v’. For example:
- bino instead of vino
- ben aquí instead of ven aquí
- bale instead of vale (a most useful word, remember this if you don’t speak Spanish – it means “OK”, “it will do”, “you’re welcome” and a lot more, I guess :) )
This means I have to listen even more carefully to have a chance to understand what I’m being told. :)

Also, I’ve seen enough so far to write about hórreos and cruzeiros. An hórreo is a granary on pillars, and I guess they mainly store corn inside. The cruzeiro is basically just a cross on a pedestal, which they erect everywhere from public squares to people’s own gardens, next to the swimming pool (I’ve seen that). :)

cruzeiro

I arrived at 4 PM at the Pontevedra albergue, which is new, just like the others I’ve visited here in Galicia, and also has his own little library in the common room. Neat. :) Also, the first albergue I’ve been to that has a computer with internet connection.

Pontevedra has a really big and nice historical center, although there was a light drizzle in the afternoon. I visited the Capela de la Peregrina, the Franciscan church and the Basílica de Santa María.

Pontevedra é...

Juan told me that when he was young (he was born in Badalona), his grandmother would always tell him to behave, or else the Hungarians would take him. I thought she had meant the Hungarians of the 10th century, but as it turned out, she meant the Gypsies. Now, yesterday in Pontevedra, I heard a grandmother saying to a little girl, “el gitano viene y te lleva”. Some things don’t change, but there was definitely no “húngaro” in that sentence. :)

la Peregrina

Finally I found a bar that had wi-fi, and of course, I met Ina and Florian. ;) By the time I left for the albergue, the drizzle had already turned into rain. (I’ve read somewhere that Galicians have quite many words for the different types of rain. No wonder.) Back in the albergue, I met Adrian, who decided to take a break in Redondela and enjoy the beaches there for a day. Wise decision, I must admit.

114 kilometres to go

Today was quite a long day again, but not as tough as day 3 from Barcelos to Ponte de Lima. I must admit the obvious: it very much depends on the terrain you’re walking on, and since there are no cobblestones in Spain on the Camino (yay!), it takes less energy to walk a given distance.

life in the fast lane

I had breakfast in the hotel, and left at half past eight, in wonderful weather. The first third of today’s stretch was very pleasant with lots of shade, so I made it quickly to Orbenlle through Ribadelouro. Ribadelouro is the first village that has vending machines for pilgrims. There I also found these pictures that people make on the ground (like in Ponte de Lima), and got to examine them a bit closer. The materials they use are mainly coloured powder, green leaves and rose petals.

Jesus and the... um... four thieves?

I passed by the Río Louro and wondered what makes a river blonde. (In Hungary, the river Tisza is also called blonde.)

I didn’t get an instant answer, so at least I have something to ponder about in the next days. Orbenlle has a nice resting place for pilgrims with lots of shade and a café, so you can prepare yourself for what’s coming next, which is in fact a long and dull industrial zone – and as it was Sunday today, it was even duller.

finally a koala

The town after that, Porriño, is really nice, with a long introductory part. Ideal for pilgrims who want to split up the 30 kilometres between Tui and Redondela into two. Strolling on the main pedestrian street, I suddenly found myself in the middle of a procession at the main church (I guess), with pictures on the ground, children all dressed up in fancy clothes and a marching band.

procession in Porriño

Then, after Porriño, I did about an extra kilometre following an “Albergue” sign, which turned out to be a non-pilgrim albergue somewhere between Porriño and Mos. I found a helpful lady who gave me the directions back to the Porriño albergue. I start to notice those people that would put on either a friendly smile when you approach them and show me the correct way without asking, or an encouraging smile knowing that I’m looking for the perfect person to ask them some question. This lady exemplified type two very well. Anyway, the albergue in Porriño is very nice and new, and the girl at the reception was very helpful in giving me all kinds of information.

I walked alone today but saw many pilgrims, and said hello to some of them. They were mostly Spanish, I reckon. Indeed that’s what I expected, Spaniards walking the last 100 kilometres from Tui. But then they magically disappeared after Porriño, so I guess that’s an obvious choice to stay.

Mos

Entering Mos, I found myself in the middle of a war zone again – fireworks that had not been fired being used up, and the surrounding hills echoing the sound. I started wondering why people wouldn’t fire them the night after the feast, but I didn’t have too much time to wonder, because I noticed sticks falling down from the sky. Literally. They had these 2-metre-long wooden sticks that had rockets attached to them, and when the rocket went off, the stick started to fall back to the ground. Furthermore, they were falling everywhere, and after finding one at my feet on the path, I quickly decided to take a detour (“to flee is a shame but useful”, as the Hungarian saying roughly has it). Through a hill, of course, but I didn’t mind that, as long as I wouldn’t be hit on the head by one of these sticks. And now I also had a pilgrim’s staff… :) They kept on firing for another half hour – I think they had kind of overestimated the necessary fireworks…

funny guy wuz here

I checked out the Mos albergue, which is right next to a tiny palace (but there is practically nothing else in the village). Father, mother and daughter were having lunch next door. When they noticed me coming, the father came out and asked me what I wanted, and strangely enough, he didn’t understand that it was a stamp (peregrinos usually want that, or maybe I’m totally mistaken :) ). Then the daughter came, told me that it was a ‘sello’, not a ‘selo’ :) (I used the Hispanized Portuguese word, as usual, so dad was totally right in not understanding me), gave me one, and started answering my questions. Then, after a minute, she decided to fetch her mother instead, because she is the one really responsible for the albergue. So I got to talk to the entire family. :) The mother seemed a caring lady, giving everything she can to pilgrims.

Ayuntamiento, Redondela

I arrived in Redondela finally at about half past six in the afternoon, and checked into one of the two albergues I know of here. I went to see the other one, which is very nicely situated in a tower in the old town, and then just mingled with the crowd. The crowd was huge, because there was some kind of medieval fair going on today, with the usual stuff you can imagine (wines, honey, various cakes, ham, shooting with the arrow and bow), lots of kids around, and families walking to and fro on the promenade. I ended up in a tapas bar that also had wi-fi. Which reminds me…

From the moment I stepped on Spanish soil, wherever I go, I always get a tapa if I order any drink, may it be a glass of wine or just an ice tea. Nice. Also, Spanish waiters would sometimes give you a friendly pat on the back without any reservations, and always address you as “tu” – this wouldn’t happen back in Hungary. By the way, I’ve been addressed as “tu” all the way from Porto by everyone (another difference from Hungary), but there’s no touching in Portugal. Maybe in the South, where they say people are more open, there is.

I got a place in a 6-bed room, and have only two room mates: Florian and Ina from Germany, who also started from Porto. Tomorrow it’s going to be only 19 kilometres to Pontevedra. Can’t wait to go. :)

Tui and the Ponte Internacional as seen from Valença

I had planned this in advance: I though it was a good idea to stay here for an extra day, to see both cities, and of course, to celebrate that I have already walked more than half of the total distance. :)It’s not that my feet need the rest or I’m exhausted, although the Austrian lady was snoring so loudly last night that I actually had to go outside to the public room and wait there until I got really sleepy (that’s kind of normal for me, having a hard time falling asleep, especially if there are any disturbing circumstances). This morning, of course, I was woken by her having a conversation, not so much sotto voce.

this is clearly still Portugal

I guess she was then the first to leave. :) Anyway, that’s how it goes here, no matter how disgruntled I was by that. (I thought “why can’t hospitaleros just ask the pilgrims upon arrival if they snore or not, and put the snorers in a different room?” I know this kind of approach just wouldn’t work here, so I try to take it easy.)

So today I transformed into a tourist. Because we had to leave the albergue by 8, I went to the first hotel I could find, was fortunate enough to get a room instantly, and then just slept until eleven. :) Then walked back to see Valença. The interesting part basically is in the fortress there, so up I went.

a place to rest in Tui

There I got a fabulous view of Tui, and had a nice walk in the narrow streets. Apparently the most popular thing here is towels, because 3 out of 4 shops sells these, and they often only write “toallas”, which is in Spanish. It kind of works, because I could then see a lot of Spanish families carrying bags full of them.

The fortress is situated on two small hills, so it has two parts. I don’t really know if one is meant to be a citadel because the two hills are the same height. It also boasts a Roman milestone  from the first century AD.

I took a siesta in the hotel room after visiting Valença, and went out to see Tui in the afternoon.

Santiago Matamoros

Tui doesn’t have a fortress but rather a fortified cathedral. (In fact, both towns have a long history, but Valença was populated and fortified by the Portuguese (after Portugal was established, of course) to counterbalance Tui on the other side of the Minho.) The cathedral is nice from the  inside, and has one of these Santiago Matamoros representations that I just can’t get my head around. (OK, back then when this was invented, it was considered a cool thing to kill other people, especially if they were following a different religion, and even cooler to have a saint do it for you.) The cathedral has a nice cloister, and you can also climb a small tower (Torre de Soutomaior) in one of its corners to get a splendid view of Valença.

the fortress in Valença

After wandering about the old streets, I had a bocadillo and returned to the hotel. Tomorrow’s going to be a longer one again, walking 30 kilometres to Redondela. Oh, by the way, the room is just great, I can see Portugal (Valença) from the window.

leaving Rubiães

Staying in albergues is funny. At 10 PM, everyone is already asleep and those who go to bed late go around tip-toeing, and use their headlamp for fear that they would wake someone up. But when the new day arrives, people don’t care about each other any more. As if there were a competition for who leaves the albergue first. (I know that on the Camino Francés there is a competition for who gets a bed in the next albergue, but that’s a different story. And also, that’s why I’m not considering walking that route – I’d get sick of this pretty soon.)

This morning the first people woke up at 6 o’clock. Using an alarm clock, of course. And remember, the albergue was full. So they start to pack their things, and then the guy next to them wakes up, so they strike up a conversation. First in a low voice, and then, as more and more people join, louder and louder. Soon they switch on the lights in the room – no one would dare to do that at 10 PM, but it’s somehow fine at 6:30 AM. I only made one attempt out of curiosity: I switched down the lights to see if they notice that somebody is still asleep – they switched them back on in two seconds. Of course, the last one to leave (before me, but I was still lying in bed) didn’t care to switch them off, because hey, they had always been on… So I guess some people start early because they feel they have to for whatever reason, and others just have no other choice. :)

Fontoura

I got to know why the Camino Portugués is so popular among Germans: there is a comedian called Hape Kerkeling who wrote a book about it. So I added it to the list of books to be held accountable for the growing popularity of the Camino, so far having Paulo Coelho and Shirley MacLaine (they both wrote about the Camino Francés).

It was cloudy in the morning and even cool – Galicia is getting close –, but the sky cleared out a couple of  hours later. After Cossourado, there’s a nice forest walk, and when you get out of the forest, you can already see Valença. This section has a couple of more villages, so I could actually afford the luxury of skipping a bar today. :)

vintage table

One of these typical Camino phenomena happened to me today: I went into a bar in Arão, but it turned out to be a restaurant, so I went to see the next one. Entered, but the bartender just wouldn’t appear. After waiting a minute or so, I decided to move on (that’s what I’d usually do anyway), to find Adrian, Rolf and Juan in the next bar, so we could play a game of table soccer. :) (So that’s something that happens a lot along the Camino, I know, and I’ve read and heard a lot about it, but still I’m not really convinced. :)

OK, they were there, I went there, because the yellow arrows led me. I’ll probably meet some of them in Santiago, because however big the place is, they will hang out where I will.) The bar had this table that I reckon the first medieval pilgrims already played on – it’s a piece of antiquity really.

there's a debate

I just passed through Valença because it was too early to stop there and also I had no clue to where the official albergue was. So I walked past the fortress and crossed the river Minho on Eiffel’s international bridge, thus arriving in Spain. I checked in to the official albergue right behind the Tui cathedral. A couple of people were already there: Michael and Adrian from Germany, another gentleman named Peter also from Germany (see?), and then later Rolf and Juan also arrived, Giuseppe, an Italian, who began on 5 May in Lagos, a lady from Austria, and Spencer also showed up with three other Americans he joined (they did the last two stretches on one day): Chris, Joel and Radomir (actually he has Portuguese parents but was born in the States).

Tui in its full pride

With some Portuguese cyclists arriving later there were 16 of us in the 36-bed albergue. Spencer had been really thoughtful because he tried to memorize as many details of the albergue at Tamel São Pedro Fins as he could, and now he told me everything.

After taking a nap, I went to find the other albergue in town but actually found a third option, a bar also offering accommodation to pilgrims. The woman in charge was really helpful in providing information, and was clearly amused by my Spanish. I only speak Portuguese and Italian to a certain extent, so I was just throwing randomly created words at her, but she was in a forgiving manner. Only threatened me once with a knife, when I asked her basically in Portuguese, “¿Cuanto é qué pago?”, and she corrected me with a smile: “es“, and I was starting to explain that I wouldn’t use it because “és” means “are” in Portuguese: “pero estamos en España.” :) (She was having multiple conversations going on with other clients, both in Galician and in Spanish Castilian).

the cathedral in Tui

Later Adrian and Rolf joined me to see the restaurant where they had a pilgrim menu, but ended up on the terrace of this very restaurant, having some very good tapas (finally! :) ) and beer from a jar (Spanish speciality, I guess, I mean the custom of serving it in a jar). I took the courage to taste the pimientos, and they were really good (I don’t really eat too many kinds of vegetables). We arrived back to the albergue just after closing time (10 minutes before 10 PM), but the receptionist guy was really nice and forgiving. The albergue was still to hold a surprise for me: there is only cold water in the bathroom, so I took a really quick shower and went to bed.