We hit the road at 10am, knowing it was a short day. There are no hotels at Redondela, only an alberque, so we would have to stop 2km short at a pension.

It didn’t take long to get out of Porrino, and we were soon climbing up to Concello de Mos. A car pulled up and waved us over. The driver handed Judy a shell inscribed with the Camino and Mos the town. It was a kind gift. We stopped at the bar at Mos, to get morning tea an ice cream and coffee. There were 6 pilgrims just in the bar. We are on the last 100km to Santiago, so we think lots more spanish pilgrims have joined the Camino. In the first 2 weeks of the Camino from Lisbon we would have been lucky to see 6 pilgrims altogether.

It was then a steep climb out of Mos up the hill to Monte de Santiago de Antas. We passed a Roman road military marker, and then decended down again. We reached Vila da Infesta,and then descended down a very steep road, until we reached the valley floor. We met a pilgrim who we have bumped into several times over the last few days. She complained about how little sleep she got last night at the alberque at Porrino, because there were lots of people, and it was noisy.

It was then a detour through some raodworks until we found Pension Brasil 2, which was on the N-550 highway. Later we walked into Redondela, accidently found the Yoigo shop, and using google translate we managed to get a new sim card in out Yoigo dongle that we used on the Camino Frances in 2010

the lunch carrier

We walked around the fortress of Valencia and then crossed the bridge out of Portugal and into Spain. We had been in Portugal for more than a month, and we enjoyed our time there. It was a warm day, and once we reached Tui on the Spanish side, it was a nice walk along the riverside pathway. Tui ia another fortress town like Valenca. Leaving town we walked along paths by the Rio Louro, passing (but not crossing) another roman bridge. We then crossed and recrossed a couple of freeways, with for a period a special pilgram walking lane at the side of the road.  It was then back to forest, with long stretches of mud, that because of the recent warm weather was easy to avoid, but could be much more difficult in wetter weather.

After a diversion of the camino we finally reached Orbenlie, where there was a cafe. We had our first Spanish bocadillo, a baquette sandwich, which we had with ham and cheese. We sat down with a German girl who was doing her first camino. She had spent the first 3 nights in Alberques and thought they were terrible. She couldn’t sleep, people got up so early and woke everyone else up. So she had stayed in a hostel and got her own room, and had finally had a decent nights sleep. Her German guide had no accomodation at Porrino other than the Albeque, and she wanted a room. She copied details from our Camino Portuguese guide which had three hotels in Parrino, including the one we stayed at Hotel Azul (which is on the camino route).

It then a hard slog through the industrial areas of Porrino. Several kilometres of straight road past factories dealing in the granite mined out of the surrounding hills. We followed the camino track in the grass that ran parrallel to the footpath. We crossed the railway line, and eventually made our hotel at 6pm.

on the bridge leaving portugal

the Minho River at the Portugues border (click for larger version)

special pilgram walkway next to the road

the long slog through the industrial area

walking the soft pilgrim path next to the hard footpath

We met  a Swiss pilgrim who like us had started from Lisbon, except that he had started about ten days after us!

We walked on a lot of farm tracks, we passed the church at Vitorino do Plaes, but missed the turnoff to the cafe. We climbed up over a saddle and then dropped down into the Lima valley, getting a view of the 400m high hills we will be climbing tomorrow. We stopped at a cafe, then continued along a string of villages towards Ponte de Lima. We noted how many women drove tractors. South of Porto we had never seen a woman drive a tractor.

We followed the banks of the Lima River to arrive at Hotel Imperio de Minho to find it ws closed for renovations, the second hotel on this camino that we have found closed.

We looked for Pensao Beira Rio, but could find no sign or indication that anyone wanted guests. So on further to Pensao Sao Joao where we found a room and settled in. We went out later to a Pizzeria near the river, and walked back to the Pensoa in light rain, more of which is expected tomorrow.

Dry stone walls

Grape vines over the road

It was market day (every Thursday) in Barcelos so we spent time wandering around an enormous market, that had been set up in the town square. Everything from fruit and vegetables, to furniture, to clothes to handicrafts. We left at 11:00am, walking out in warm weather about 26C. We were passed by another pilgrim from Spain. We are meeting pilgrims everyday, when in the camino before Porto, we were lucky to see a pilgrim once a week. It was all quiet roads and farms tracks until we reached Portela, where we saw the new Alberque that has been built, and bought 3 litres of cold bottled water from a cafe (they gave us two glasses to drink it).  We crossed Ponte das Tauas, where we met a pilgrim from Amsterdam who (with his dog) has been on the road since last August (walking all the way from Amsterdam to the Camino Frances, and then backwards along the Camino Portuguese).

We then left the camino at San Bento to walk to Casas do Rio, which without doubt is the best place we have stayed at on the whole camino.

Directions from the Camino Portuguse (red) to Casas do Rio (green). It is 1 km (click for larger image)

Detailed map with directions to Casas do Rio (click for larger version)

Walking along farm tracks (click for larger version)

We walked a kilometre up the road, which thankfully had a footpath, then left the main road for quiet country lanes. However we were soon back to the main road, with stone walls at the sides facing oncoming traffic. Greg donned the safety vest and his flashing headlight torch. It lasted about 1km and then we had a footpath, and left the main road again. We had forest paths most of the way to Sao Pedro de Rates, where we stopped at the local bar/cafe and had an icecream and drink. It was warm, and sunny, about 26C, and we enjoyed the shade under the umbrella. We left Sao Pedro de Rates and went through quiet dirt tracks through farming country.

As we approached Petra Furada we were forced back to N-306. This section of road had large signs warning drivers to be aware of pilgrams walking on the road. However it was narrow again with stone walls either side, and we were forced to walk on the road. On the first corner we faced a semi-trailer and several cars behind it (who could not see us), and we squeezed ourselves against the stone wall while the truck and cars went past. This section was probably 1km long, but half-way along, while a tractor was travelling the same way as us on the other side of the road, a hoon in an Audi overtook the tractor at high speed squeezing between us and the tractor missing us by centimetres.

When we reached the end of the road, Judy was all for us taking a taxi the rest of the way to Barcelos, she thought it was just too dangerous. We stopped at the Restaurnt at Petra Furada where the proprieter, who has been trying to improve safety for pilgrims, convinced us that the road ahead was much better, and that if we took a scenic detour (over a large hill) it would be a quiet walk into Barcelos.

We took up his suggestion and climbed up 290m to Capela de Sta da Franqueira along a quiet tree-lined shady road. We had great views of the Atalantic ocean from the summit.

We decended down from summit to walk though the suburbs of Barcelos, over the bridge, and along to our hotel. We were pretty exhausted for the day. However we managed to both limp about 800metres to a nice restaurant that did not have any other customers, but provided a nice meal of veal stroganoff (no pork involved).

Greg in his road walking safety gear

Walking up to the summit at Capela de Stada Franqueira (click for larger version)

We stopped a couple of times for snacks along the way, but it was too cold to sit for too long, so we just kept on walking and reached our hotel in Porto by 3pm. We’re staying at the B&B Hotel Porto Centro, a gorgeous new hotel in an old cinema. There is a large B&W photo of Ingrid Bergman on the wall of our room.

Rest day tomorrow, which will give us a chance to see a bit of Porto.

Walking in the rain again on a Roman road

Flowers on every grave

Judy at the Pont Louis I bridge (click for larger version)

Porto and the river (click on image for larger version)

Porto stage options: If you are walking to Porto there is another hotel that has been built about 7km north of Sao Joao Da Madeira. It is the Hotel Feira Pedra Bela. This would make the leg to Porto a more manageable 28km.