Skip to main content

Camino Portuguese Tuesday 05/05/2026 - Baiona to Vigo - Julie

Tuesday 5th May
Julie 
We ate early and reluctantly left the comforts of the Paradores. It was a 750 metre walk just to get out onto the road to join the Camino. We began our walk around the bay in the rain with our ponchos on. The walk was flat with stones, dirt and some boardwalks. We stopped for morning tea at about 10.30 and the Paradores was so huge that we could still see it. We passed through villages, had an ice-cream at a skate cafe, detoured onto the beach at one point and tackled some steep stairs and hills. Lunch was in the shade in a secluded bay and by that stage the rain had stopped again and the ponchos were off. Then… walking again for a couple of hours.🤨We caught a cafe just before it closed for siesta for a quick cup of tea. Sometimes that’s enough to keep you going for another hour. We reached the outskirts of Vigo and decided to eat as we knew that if we didn’t then we would probably not go out again. We had walked 22 km by this stage and Kim was exhausted. She decided to catch a taxi and Louise, Ali and I kept walking the remaining 4km to our hotel. I’m not sure why but it feels like they throw in hills at the end of the day just to make it difficult. Those last 3km took forever. Today ended up being our longest day. By the time we reached our hotel I was exhausted. I went through the nightly routine of washing out socks and undies and then trying to find somewhere in the room for them to dry. It’s often over bedposts, on hangers from drawers or from a curtain rail, wherever you can find. The hotel in Vigo was lovely but I didn’t get to enjoy it. I got in my pyjamas, read a chapter of my book, curled up and went straight to sleep.💤

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Camino Portuguese Friday, 24 April 2026 - From Lisbon to Porto: Castles, Miracles, and a Chapel in the Sea

Friday, 24 April 2026 – From Lisbon to Porto: Castles, Miracles, and a Chapel in the Sea Today we finally headed to Porto. Alison had the brilliant idea months ago to book a private tour from Lisbon to Porto, and it turned out to be the best decision. Our driver, João, picked us up at 9:00 am, and we slipped out of the city, leaving the morning rush behind. The scars of the storm Driving north, we couldn't help notice the pine forests. Many looked brutally harvested, but the truth was worse. A cyclonic storm tore through here a couple of months ago, flattening homes, villages, and vast swaths of trees. The ones still standing are permanently bent—eerie sentinels of what came through. Petrol watch €2.13 per litre. Back home in Australia, we grumble at $2.65. Perspective is a funny thing. First stop: Óbidos We entered through the Porta da Vila, a tiled gateway into a 12th-century medieval hilltop town (because of course it's on a hilltop). Our first order of business? Gin...

Camino Portuguese Thursday, 23 April 2026 - Exploring Lisbon.

Thursday, 23 April 2026 - Exploring Lisbon After a simple but perfect breakfast of croissants with butter and jam from the supermarket, we set out for a full day exploring Lisbon. Our walk began along Rua Augusta, where the street is lined with restaurants and outdoor seating with a variety of food - lucky we had breakfast. At the end of the street stands the impressive Arco da Rua Augusta, which opens into the vast Praça do Comércio. The square stretches out toward the river and is home to the grand equestrian statue of King José I, giving the whole space a sense of history and scale. From there, we began the steady climb uphill to the Igreja de Santo António de Lisboa, the birthplace of Saint Anthony. Not far away, we visited Lisbon Cathedral, where we received our first stamp in our pilgrim credencial—a small but meaningful milestone. By then, we were ready for a treat, so we stopped for ice cream before heading downhill toward the Tagus River, where cruise ships quietly lined t...

Camino Portuguese Friday 01/05/2026 Vila Praia de Ancora Portugual to A Guardia Spain

01/05/2026 Friday Today we walked from Vila Praia de Âncora, Portugal, to A Guarda, Spain. We started along the coast, passing donkeys and goats, plus a peloton of cyclists up on the highway—we could hear them coming long before they arrived. A celebration race for May Day, a public holiday. When we reached Caminha, we found a water taxi and crossed the Minho River into Galicia, Spain. We ordered tea and a cold drink at a café, though Kim and Alison only got half a small cup of tea. Then we ate our bread rolls in a park and decided our routes. Kim and Julie took the long, flat coastal path, while Alison and I tackled the hills to see the Celtic village ruins. When we finally reached the first house, I told Alison to look around while I waited. She took two steps up and said, "You have to see this." She was right—it was amazing. The village houses were built of stone in circular shapes, packed so closely together that you couldn't walk between some of them. Was the climb w...