Month: April 2023

Today was always going to be difficult as I was not happy with the Sunday stopover for the night. Firstly I Travelled down to Braga which is famous for its quantity of churches. Not a chance to park anywhere so gave up after a drive through. So headed on down to Guimaraes which is about twenty minutes away. It’s a very old town with a baroque character of churches . Parked up easy enough and walked into the centre. It consists of a main square with the old town off on the north side. Pretty impressive buildings. One thing that was noticeable was that there were lots of elderly men mixing together in the centre. It did feel very strange seeing that. I’ve no idea what that was all about. There must have been something going on!!!

i decided to go to Lanhoso where there was supposed to be a good aires but when o got there it was full. Decisions had to be made. I could go back to Braga  or head to a camp site at Bouro beside the lake. It’s a private site and only small. Further east tomorrow.

After a damp start it brightened up to be a really nice afternoon. I’d decided that if you just went down the coast in Portugal you’d be done in days. So I headed for the hills! First stop was a small village east of Viana called Ponte de Lima. A really cool place with deep historical background. It was said that the Roman troops refused to taste or cross the Lima river here because they would loose their memory and never return to Rome. It’s true of course but there a lot going on in this little place. There are a lot of pilgrims crossing the bridge. It must be some sort of water sport centre because there were dozens of kids training on the river. And they were giving it some hammer. Lots of statues around. There was even a circus in town. Lots going on.

Next stop was Ponte da Barca which is further east. A bit smaller than Lima but really nice river bridge with cafes and restaurants all near the centre. There was a larger than normal supermarket there so I decided to stock up as it’s sunday tomorrow and May Day on Monday so the shops will be shut. Believe it or not I bought six bottles of stout!!! Portuguese Stout???? No way!! I’ll let you know.

i pressed on to get to Soajo but gave up as the road was too small so turned back to a fantastic Aires by the river at Barca. Lots of space with the river not more that 20 yards away. Excellent.

I’m in Portugal!! It was only a five minute drive from Tui over the narrowest bridge you have ever seen. I did not enter at first as I though it was a one way system. A policeman told me it was okay. Mind you it was designed a long time ago before motor cars by Mr Eiffel of Paris fame. The town across the bridge is called Valenca and it a walled city. Proper tall walls. I’d set off at my normal 9ish but there’s a time difference between Spain and Portugal so I was back in UK time at 8am. No wonder there was no one about!! But an impressive place and you had to park outside the walls so no worries there.

On west to Caminha which is a small port on the top west coast of Portugal. The only interesting thing about it that there a ferry taxi across to Spain. There were several cheating pilgrims waiting to cross.

The coast line down to Viana do Castelo is pretty spectacular with lots of beaches along the way. Waves crashing in off the Atlantic. Not a person in sight other than the pilgrims.

There was a full market going on in Viana but managed to get parked up by the fort near the harbour. The old town is quite nice with lots of shops and cafes dotted along the streets. It’s worth a visit.

Ive parked up for the night at the beach south of Vania were the locals are coming in. There’s surf schools and two really nice restaurants on the beach.

Suns out!!!! First time in a while. Hoooooooooray. I decided to give Vigo a miss as I thought it would be too frustrating  to get parked. So the first stop of the day was over to Praira de America which is supposed to be one of the best beaches in Spain ( so they say). It was nice but just okay. It’s north of Baiona so on the way. Baiona is quite famous. When Columbus came back to Spain in 1493 this was the town he first landed at. Of course it’s Columbus this and Columbus that but you can’t blame them can you. They have a replica of his ship Pinta in the harbour so I gave it my best tourist shot. It’s absolutely minute!! It’s no bigger than a cricket pitch and the crew totalled 30 people, doctor , navigator etc. I’m sure they threw some overboard on the way back to get the tobacco and potatoes on board. But worth a visit. The old fortifications are still there protecting the harbour.

On to A Guarda and then to my resting place for the night, Tui. Yet another medieval town with walls and a fine cathedral right on top of a hill.

Two observations today. It was the busiest pilgrim day so far on the Portuguese pilgrimage. There must have been 300+ I’ve seen today. How they do it is a mystery to me. The odd thing is the vast majority are girls. They must outnumber men 10-1. Honest. I spoke to an America couple and they did not think it was busy. That’s because you’re all moving in convoy so you don’t see the train.

Secondly, at the aires I’m staying at a motor home has rocked up with a cat on board. That’s a first!!!

At last it’s warming up a little but still overcast until after lunch. I’d promised myself a trip into O Grove to try and see what these nets were all about. Some of the fishing boats were coming in when I got there and sure enough it was mussels. All the way down this coast all the small fishing villages have nets out to see. As fishing has declined it’s a new source of income.

Down through Sanxenxo and into Combarro where i saw my first sign of a tourist!! Three o aches had stopped and emptied a load of people who were going on a glass bottom boat. The complete town was shut down but it’s a start to the new season.

I could not get parked in Pontevedra although I did try. So moved on to the naval bad at Marin. Through to Cangas and then on to Arcade which is at the top of the estuary above Vigo. It’s a very small place very reminiscent of a Swiz Lake.

I have to decide if I’m going into Vigo tomorrow or just head for the Portugal border. I think the later.

First stop was Padron which was about twenty minutes up the Arousa estuary . It had long silted up towards the town but the river was still strong going through the centre. Parked up next to the indoor market to have a look round. It’s all pedestrian now which helps. I saw a couple of pilgrims who must be heading north to Santiago.

Then south to Vilagarcia which would appear to be a shell fish beach. A bit like Morecambe but with sunshine. There were several people out in waders raking up the sand. Nice beach were I was but there’s an industrial harbour further along.

I then stopped at Cambados on the way south for some lunch and a look see. There’s a lot going on here with small boats out fishing in the bay and quite a few tourists visiting the old town. Lots of original fisher men’s houses that have been restored and probably bought as second homes. There was one small shed like building that had been covered with scallop shells. Looked nice.

Then finally on to a peninsula west of Cambados where the main village is called O Grove( must have been formed by an Irish man!,!,). The reason for this stop was it had a campsite that was open and more importantly it had a washing machine. But it was a beautiful stop over with a small beach right below the site. Further out to sea are rows and rows of cages . Without exaggeration there must be over 500. They are all square so Not salmon. I suspect mussels. I’ll ask in the morning.

I forgot to mention we are starting to hit a wine growing region. From Padron to Vilagarcia it was all very much a few vines in peoples gardens. But once you got south of there it was more industrial in size. One thing that is interesting is that the vines are all on trellises about 4-5 ft off the ground. I suppose it makes the picking easier.

Well at least it’s not raining but it is overcast and looks to be staying that way for the remainder of the day. I discovered that the end of the Camino is actually by the lighthouse at the end of the cape de Fisterra. Obvious really. So I headed there first thing. There’s not much there apart for a Camino milestone with K0.000 engraved on it. Cool. Plus a lighthouse and a cafe. The square it’s on is named after Stephen Hawkin.One thing I noted. As I arrived two taxis pulled up and ten girls got out complete with rucksacks and walked the final 20m to the end!!! I’m sure that’s not right.

So I’m now heading south rather than west down the Atlantic coast. There’s lots of little sandy beaches and passed through  several villages Murps,Porto Do Son (which had a nice harbour) and onto Ribera.i did stop at Noia as there was some sort of market taking place. There was worse tat than they sell in Bolton market and that’s saying something. But a girl told me they were have a fiesta that evening and a couple of stalls were preparing a BBQ with lots of pork and octopus. I turned down the offer to try some.

Onto an Aires at Boiro which is a small seaside town for the night. I’ll plan where I’m going tomorrow.

It absolutely lashed it down overnight. Never seen anything like it. It kept me awake a lot of the night. Not happy! Also I’ve got a very small gap in my side window which is usually okay but not last night. Water got in and soaked the floor and also the back of the drivers seat. Must get that seen to when I get back home.

Set off to A Coruña not knowing what to expect other than another large town but good reports about the old harbour houses and the beach on the east side. I’d no idea what was going on but a lot of the streets were blocked off by the police so round and round I went. I must have been trying to get to the port for at least half an hour. I passed one policeman three times trying. On the third occasion he waved at me. Very helpful. Tried to get to the beach and finally gave up after it became clear there was a half marathon or 10K race on and they wanted to run along the nice bits. So DID I. So packed it in and headed for Fisterra one of the most western places in Spain. It’s also the actual end of the Camino but not many make it past Santiago. It rained all the way there. Serious stuff. There were still a few straggler pilgrim on the final track. It’s a long way from Santiago so well done them. I actually made an effort to find the exact end of the walk but google maps let me down. Not even a plaque!!! But it’s a really active town with tops of restaurants and bars by the harbour. Many hostels for the pilgrims. And I had a coffee ice cream by the harbour to celebrate.

Bright start to the day but that did not last long. It clouded over very quickly and the turned to driving rain for most of the morning. So I decided to cut my losses and make the final passage to Santiago. It was only two hours away inland over the mountains. Initially passed through a small village called Mondonedo but did not stop long there.

I got into Santiago around 12:30 in the rain but thankfully that actually stopped about an hour later. The aires is just onside the city limits and about 2Km from the cathedral (downhill I may add). So here we are at the near end of the pilgrimage. There were some very tired people in the square opposite the church. Lots of hugging and kissing going on as they had reached their goal. Quite a few Japanese pilgrims which surprised me. Also every age group you could imagine. To have done what they have achieved is truly remarkable for sure. After a quick look around eventually found the entrance to the church. No photography but everyone was taking photos on their phones. What’s the difference???

The church itself is not all that impressive but the alter is something else to behold. Very ornate with lots and lots of gold!! I was intending to stay here for two days but I think one is enough so I’ll head up to A Corina in the morning. Good day though.

Well that was an advent full day. I called in at Vegadeo on the way west then Ribadeo which is at the bottom of the estuary. I needed supplies so stopped at the municipal car park and called into the adjacent supermarket. It’s got a good centre and a nice small harbour plus it looks like there is a ship building facility in the town.

Onwards west and just about five miles out of Ribadeo was a sign for Praia as Catedrais which was mentioned in my guide book. Basically cathedral type rocks on a beach cove. The car park was full of motor homes but the place was not busy at all. Quite spectacular rock formations when lava hit the sea millions of years ago. You have to be careful with the tide as there are parts where you could get stranded. There are lots of warning signs about this. I managed to escape!!!!

i had intended to get as far as Mondonedo which was north of Santiago but decided to stop of in Foz and found a beautiful aires right on the banks of the estuary. It’s all silted up now but the moorings are still there from when it was a port. Cool place. I’ll leave Santiago until tomorrow.