Day 10: Rubiaes to Tui

Adeus Portugal, Hola Spain!

I crossed the Minho River today, which is the border between northern Portugal and Spain. I walked about 7 km, and even though I walked slowly, I realized I can’t keep walking right now. The shin splints in my right leg are completely healed after all my mitigation efforts and rest, but my left leg is injured. I don’t know if it’s a stress fracture or not, and I probably won’t be getting an X-ray or MRI in Spain to find out, but all the people I’ve talked to, including two pharmacists, have advised me not to walk until it heals, which could take weeks. I’m going to try to see a doctor here in Tui to see if there’s anything else I can do and seek advice about continuing my walk. In the meantime, I’m going to enjoy being in a new country and seeing some of the sights I can hobble to. 😀
Even though today”s walk was difficult, it was really beautiful. It was almost completely in nature, along the river and through some villages. I only walked about 4.5 km then took a taxi to Valenca, which is on the border with Spain. I really wanted to walk across the border, which was a pretty special moment for me. Even if I can’t go further, I feel happy that I walked from Porto to Spain and that I got to see so much of this beautiful country.
I am staying in an albergue (Ideas Peregrinas, €49 for private room w/ ensuite) right beside the Tui Cathedral, and I had the good fortune to hear a concert there tonight. The acoustics in these old cathedrals are unbelievable, and it was pretty magical to hear this visiting English choir singing there. It was one of those serendipitous moments that makes traveling so fun. I ended the evening with my young German friends who are also staying here, so in spite of my injury, it was a pretty great day.Read more