Vigo to Redondela

Yesterday was our rest day in Vigo, so we got to sleep in a little, didn’t have to zip and unzip everything, and lingered over breakfast. Walking outside, we wondered why it looked like a ghost town. May 1st is celebrated big time here — a Labor Day holiday with flags and balloons, parade and speeches. Some locals celebrating by spilling out of the bars in a different type of “labor.” In keeping with the local spirit, we treated ourselves to a massage, and at dinner we shared a huge seafood platter and bottle of delicious local white wine, Albariño.

Today we were back on the Camino — 9 miles, 4.5 hours. More slowly climbing of the city streets to get from Vigo Baja to Vigo Alta … and once out of the city we reached a lovely wide dirt path thru the woods, where we could walk side by side instead of single file — sooo much easier for our conversations! (You think we might run out of things to talk about?) The forecast had been for rain, and we were dressed accordingly, but ended up blessed with sunshine most of the way. (Just like bringing your umbrella assures the rain will hold off. ) Arriving in the village of Redondela, we met up with more pilgrims than we had ever seen in one place. This is where the Coastal and Central Portuguese Caminos come together. We are now less than 100 km from Santiago. How did that happen so quickly?Les mer