Day 20: Pedrón & St. James' boat

9.2k👣 Exploring Caldas de Reís and Padrón

Spent most of the day in Caldas de Reis, walking in my sandals with bandaged toes. Got to do some art (yay!) and explore a bit. Caught the bus to Padrón in the early afternoon to meet up with the gang at our digs for the night.

Another day beginning at 6:45am and a simple café breakfast of croissant and cafe con leche. Wished Joe a good day, and then found the Ponte Romana on Río Bermaña to sketch. It was damp and threatening to rain, so I found a café that was closed but had an awning and a couple stacks of chairs. I set up my Caldas studio and worked away for a couple of hours, during which the café owner started opening up and allowed me to keep on working.

After packing up, I had a coffee there and got a stamp for my Camino credential. We need 2 stamps a day to earn a Compostela certificate, and even though I don't think I'll qualify because I've missed so much walking, the credential is a wonderful souvenir from this experience.

A famous spot in Caldas is the Igrexa de San Tomé Becket, so I spent some time there (so many palm trees here! 🌴 🌴🌴) and then checked out where I'd catch my bus to Padrón. Behind it was a lovely, if empty, botanical garden along the River Umia.

Next up was to find the hot springs for which the town was named. A Spanish family was touring the area too, and checking out the steaming water pouring from 2 spigots into a small pool. In the summer, I bet a lot of peregrinos soak their feet here!

I circled around to the Ponte Romana, and met some folks from Chicago (and Norway and Georgia) who all hike together. I had to dash off as I did NOT want to miss my bus at 2:10. (Thanks, Google.)

A nearby café waiter confirmed the spot, and another pilgrim waiting confirmed the price: €1.55. As the waiter predicted, the bus was late, and it started to POUR. Still, we were all dry enough from sheltering under storefront overhang.

30 min later, we were pulling into the Padrón bus station. It hardly seems fair!! 6 hrs of walking the Camino = 1 a half hour bus ride on the highway. Walked a few minutes and found our apartment (a luxury of TWO (count 'em, 2!!) bathrooms, as well as rocking chairs on the veranda overlooking all the pilgrims making their way into town.

Dinner was the regional soup and grilled hake, as well as a taste of tender octopus. Later, we checked out the Church of the Apostle (who else but Santiago himself?). When they found the stone from Roman times that St. James had moored his boat to when he first came to Spain to share the Gospel, they built an altar over it and a church to house it.

While in front of the stone, I noticed my amiga from the day I was painting in the café. We had seen her this morning at breakfast, too, where she greeted me, "Amiga!" So I did the same tonight. 😊

Home to shower, do laundry, and figure out tomorrow. I may bus in and meet the gang at the Cathedral, giving my blisters a couple more days to heal before the walk to Finisterre. (They are still weeping today.) Not the Camino I had planned, but the one that is.Read more