Vigo to Pontevedra
It was still dark when I left Vigo, leaving the old town behind me and following the main shopping street. Christmas decorations were already up and I enjoy following this long, straight street, slowly ascending. It changed a lot. After the pedestrian area, it became a busy road, full of…
A taste of the Galician Caribbean
Another day with rain in the forecast, but if lucky, only from 3pm. So despite the dark clouds I was optimistic. Hey, there was even some sunshine coming through. It was one of the longer days though, so I was fully prepared to change into rain gear. As I left,…
Sunny Spain till Baiona
How nice are sunny days. It’s not terribly warm, with the sea breeze cooling things down, but everything looks so much better. I divided my leg from A Guarda to Baiona in 2 sections, leading to an easy 12km day to Oia and then 19km the next day. So I…
Rainy days
It’s Sunday. The streets are quiet even though I left the hostel late. I was up before 7am, but enjoyed writing, having tea and generally taking it easy. The elevador down the hill wouldn’t go till 9 anyway and… it was raining. A lot. So I got off the elevador…
A wet but dry day
It’s about 28km from Esposende to Viana do castelo. On the map it looks like there’s a coastal route and one that travels a bit more inland, through a few towns. I chose to do the latter since this one was laid out with arrows and signs. I left early…
Through the drizzle
It was already raining when I left Póvoa de Varzim. It wasn’t a lot, just a drizzle, but enough to make my jacket look super wet. The weird thing is that I didn’t wear rain pants and yet my trousers felt totally dry. I didn’t want to have my camera…
Watching wild waves on the camino
After a free walking tour in Porto I started my way out of the city. I had hoped to arrive at my hostel before the rain started and left with my sunglasses on. It was an easy 10km walk today, all flat, following the river Douro until it reached the…
Hitting the first milestone
Day 5 and 6 on the camino went from São João da Madeira to Porto via Grijo. It’s about 37km and like most of the others, I didn’t feel like doing it all in one day. Luckily there is a small albergue in Grijo to spend the night. The first…
Zigzagging around train tracks
The morning was absolutely stunning. The sun was out. There was a breeze. It was quiet on the streets because it was Sunday. And my path led me into the forest between Albergaria-a-Velha and Albergaria-a-Nova. Here it was clearly visible how close the fires got to people’s houses. A scary…
An unexpected bright day
The forecast wasn’t good. It would rain a lot today. But just like the other day, it turned out better than expected. Much better. Just before 7am I got up and saw two Spanish pilgrims standing in the doorway. Outside, in the little alley with the decorative umbrellas, the rain…