Done Like A Matador: May 2016

Myself and my wife recently walked the last leg of the Camino Portugues , which goes from Tui to Santiago De Compostella. It is part of the Camino de Santiago (The Way of St. James), which is a large network of ancient pilgrim routes stretching across Europe and coming together at the tomb of St. James (Santiago) in Santiago De Compostella.

We flew to Porto from Stansted, where we stayed overnight. Porto seems like a great city. We had a bit of a look around, but I think I will need to go back there someday.The next day we took a train to Valenca, a town on the Portuguese/Spanish Border. We then walked across the River Minho, on an iron bridge to the town of Tui on the Spanish side, where we were to start our walk.

The walk proper started from Tui the next day. We walked to a town called O Porrino. We walked 21.95 km that day.

The next day we walked from O Porrino to Arcade. That was a walk of 26.91 km, up and down some quite steep inclines.

Arcade to Pontevedra was next, a short 21.83 km. It said 11 km in the notes we were given by the company we booked with.

Next day we walked from Pontevedra to Caldas De Reis, which was 28.03 km. Caldas De Reis was pretty unremarkable apart from the hot thermal springs it has in the centre of town.

Onward to Padron the next day, 18 k in the notes, but by the time we found our hotel, a gentle 24.96 km. The hotel was by far the best one that we stayed in along the Camino. A building that had been the summer house for the Archbishops of Santiago. Not that there was anything wrong with any of the other hotels along the route, but this was definitely the best. It was called the Hotel Pazo de Lestrove. Check it out if you're in that part of the world.

The last day was the longest walk, from Padron to the cathedral in Santiago De Compostella. It definitely felt like the longest. It took us about nine hours with a few stops, but all the pain was worth it in the end as walked walked through the final streets to get to the cathedral square. By the time we had walked around Santiago a bit and made a bit of a detour to find our lost luggage we had clocked up 38.71 km.

I didn't do this walk for any religious or spiritual reasons. I did find however a great sense of being away from the hustle of London and the constraints of the clock. We met some lovely people along the way, and saw some beautiful scenery and sights. I also got the chance to push my body to places it doesn't normally go. I'm not in anyway an athlete or a gym bunny. I'm an overweight 55 year pink person who probably drinks too much beer and eats too many poppadoms. But I did it, and I'm quite pleased about that.

Bom Caminho !!!

PS. I have just finished captioning the photos, nearly three weeks after I wrote this. Looking at it all again makes me want to go back to Galicia as soon as I can.

A tiled plaque on a building on the Avenue Rodrigues de Freitas in Porto.It was opposite the Jardim Sao Lazaro.

The Coliseu in Porto. It is the leading venue in Porto for music and cultural events. An example of the Streamline Moderne school of architechture. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Streamline_Moderne

A forthcoming gig in The Coliseu. Wouldn't have minded sticking around for that one.

The Majestic Cafe in Porto. Like the Cafe Royal in London, or Bewley's in Grafton Street.

Up the workers.

Beautiful produce in the market in Porto.

Porto market stall.

By the Rio Douro.

This was taken in the station in Porto while we were were waiting for the train to Valenca. Those train trolleys you can see through the arch were full of logs. They were long trains.

The metal bridge over the Rio Minho which is the border between Spain and Portugal in these parts. You had to walk along this gantry at the side of the bridge.The car dove through the middle and the trains were on top.I didn't like it one bit and was glad to get back on Terra Firma.

Rio Minho.

Border Control.

This was the bit on the bridge for cars. The trains travel above.

The fortress in Valenca can be seen in the background. It as destroyed by the Barbarians, the Arabs, the armies of Asturias and Leon, and even the French in the 19th century. We had to walk around the outside of it. It would take some destroying and some rebuilding.

View from the hotel room in Tui.

The cathedral in Tui.

Tui street scene.

A chapel in the old town in Tui. There were metal gates to stop people going in. They had probably had some theft issues in the past.

Over the Tui rooftops looking down on the Rio Minho.

A splash of colour.

We had our wedding anniversary celebration in the this restaurant. Made our first acquaintance with the local Albarinho wine. Ate a lot of cheese also.

Tui old town.

A view through a gap in the houses in the old town. You could spend a good day wandering around here.

Lots of lovely granite and wood.

Another chapel. More metal gates.

Awakening on the first morning of our walk.

Everyone you met or passed on the way would say these words.

People from all over the world walk the Camino. The first people we met were from Tullamore.

Nice font.

This is the type of bridge you can imagine Robin Hood and Little John fighting over.

You see these structures in a lot of gardens along the way. The were used to store grain and are supposed to be mouse proof.

Everything was so green and blue.

This went down well. This is a very civilized way of drinking.

We were sent to this cafe by the hotel for our evening meal in O Porrino. We didn't have high hopes when we got there, but it was fine and dandy.

A Seat 1430. they were made from 1969 to 1975. Like the Fiat 124 and 125 that were so popular in the early seventies in Ireland. It was in lovely nick.

A view of the roof tiles directly outside our bedroom in the Hotel Azul, O Porrino.

We met these two nice German ladies, Hilli, and Daggi on the road from O Porrino to Arcade and walked with them pretty much the rest of the way. They were good company.

There were grape vines everywhere.

Grape vines and granite.

On the way to Arcade.

The symbol of the Camino is a scallop shell. This wall had been festooned with them from travellers, each with a message or inscription on it.

A grotto in the wall of a house just outside Arcade.

The view from our Hotel Room just outside Arcade.

Early morning view from the hotel in Arcade.

On our way to Pontevedra.

Early morning reflections in Arcade.

The bridge taking us out of Arcade.

A lovely doorway just on the other side of the bridge.

A view on the walk from Arcade to Pontevedra

It was so nice when the path was like this, firm and fairly level. Wasn't always the case.

I don't know what these flowers are, but there were so many different ones all along the way.

You would see these communal washing places in nearly every village along the way. I don't think many of them are in daily use now, but nearly all of them were very well preserved.

We went into this chapel. I said my version of a prayer.

It was always a welcome sight to see the town signs. They were usually nowhere near your final destination, but they did give you a little bit of hope that a rest and a cold beer were just around the corner.

There was a lot of graffiti along the way for Galician independence.

A war memorial in Pontevedra. I don't know which war.

A bandstand in Pontevedra. There were a lot of bandstands along the way. Can't have enough bandstands.

Graffiti in Pontevedra.

Orange trees in a little square in Pontevedra. They wouldn't last five minutes in Leyton.

If you need a pair of desert boots or a Ben Sherman ....

We spent ages looking for door furniture like this once we had seen it. No luck.

Peregrina Church. The Church of the Pilgrims. Rounded Baroque.

Burgo Bridge coming out of Pontevedra.

On Burgo Bridge looking back on the more modern Corrientes Bridge.

A statue of a popular Galician musician, Diosino, on the outskirts of Pontevedra.

Graffiti on the road to Caldas De Reis. It looked very much like someone I know.

People would leave stones on the bases of the stone crosses that were prevalent along the way. I expect each one had a meaning for the person who left it. I liked it.

More graffiti along the way. This one reminded me of Graham Norton.

Everywhere you went there were these yellow daisies. this picture doesn't really do them justice.

You were never far away away from running water. Sometimes all you could hear was the sound of water and birdsong.

When you see this sign you know you're on the right path.

It would have been a lot quicker just to have walked along the tracks.

This cafe appeared at the top of a very steep hill. It had excellent coffee, wi-fi, and a toilet.

Traffic on The Camino.

Miles to go before we sleep....

Another welcome cafe. One old lady making the coffee and the sandwiches, a couple of locals sitting up at the bar. The type of place you used to see in Ireland that sold Guinness, hairy bacon and baling twine.

40 kilometers ? About 35 - 40 minutes ? We still had two days and some to go.

The ubiquitous grapevines.

Me under a tree in brick coloured shorts.Not my best look. Not my worst either.

Church on the outskirts of Caldas De Reis.

Rio Umia at Caldas De Reis.

Bathing my feet in the hot springs. My feet were in bits by this stage. I had bought proper walking boots and broken them in. I was wearing them every day and they felt like trainers. Got a huge blister on the outside of both heels.

Walking past the hot springs on the way to Padron. The old lady that you can in the corner started shouting at me. I think she though that I was taking pictures of her washing her knickers in the springs.

Two days to go. Doesn't seem that far.

The Esperon Cafe, Carracedo. Hilli and Maria.

No matter where you were, there was always a church. In this area, always big imposing stone buildings.

Gatepost finial.

Love the bandstands.

Must be great being able to heat your house with wood you've chopped yourself.

Striding purposefully towards Padron.

Pile 'em high.

This wall reminded me of the Metals back home. Specifically the bit just coming up to Sandycove station.

Rio Ulla outside Padron.

We got the room with the balcony.

The courtyard at the front of the hotel in Padron.

Late afternoon breeze.

Dinner in Padron.

A house of ill repute on the way out of Padron. Rooms by the hour.

A nice little cafe we stopped at on the last walking day.

Fussbol.

A deserted village on the way to Santiago.

Roadside lilies.

Cooling Off

I stuck a second class stamp on this waysign. I don't know why.

Confused ?

Finally arriving in the main square in Santiago De Compostella, where we met Christine from Ballyfermot.

Renovation works at the cathedral in Santiago.

Octopus in the tapas bar where we had a meal to celebrate finishing the walk. Not for me.

These prawns were excellent.

Those steaks were winking at me every time I walked past.

Selfie in the Hotel Lux in Santiago Di Compostella.

Every town we went through had a bookshop. There were loads in Santiago.

Santiago alleyway.

The little tourist train goes by the St. Franciscus monastery.

The old town in Santiago.

A saint,or a scholar, or a hipster in a dress.

Cafe Derby Bar. First opened it's doors in 1929.

Underneath the arches.

This place is called Petiscos Do Cardeal. I would quite happily eat my last meal here.

Form and function.

There was a funfair in the Parque Alameda right in the middle of town. This was stall selling donuts and other dangerous things. I'm sure they were very nice