Days 11 & 12: Tui and O Porriño

I stayed two nights in Tui so that I could try to get some help for my lower leg/shin pain. The proprietor of my albergue was able to get me an appointment with a physiotherapist yesterday and again this morning, and he worked some kind of magic on the tight muscles in my leg. He doesn’t think there is a stress fracture, just extremely tight muscles. He put some kind of clay on it, which I keep on all day and wash off at night. It’s anti-inflammatory and really provides relief. I took a bus about 14 km to O Porriño today and if I’m feeling up to it tomorrow I’m going to try walking again. But not to worry, I will stop if the pain is bad. I’m still hoping to walk the last 100 km into Santiago. My understanding is that in order to receive the Compostela (official certificate of pilgrimage), a pilgrim has to walk the last 100 km into Santiago. However, I’ve had a couple of local people tell me that if you walk 100 km total you can receive the Compostela. I’ve definitely walked more than 100 km so far! If I’m able to walk the rest of the way, I will have walked about 250 km.

I took advantage of the extra time in Tui to tour the cathedral and see part of the historic old town. I also visited with a pilgrim I met from Australia named Bruce. He is walking very slowly and hopes to make it to Santiago despite some health issues and serious blisters. He was definitely an inspiration!
While Tui is a historic city with many beautiful old buildings from the Middle Ages, O Porriño isn’t nearly as charming. But they are really into the Halloween spirit, with decorated pumpkins all over town near the guesthouse I’m staying in. It looks like kids decorated the pumpkins, and some of them are extremely creative. So cute! I’m staying in a guesthouse tonight called Hostal Louro (€20 for private room w/ bathroom), which could definitely use some updates, but it’s clean and warm so it will do for the night.

All in all, I’m feeling pretty good and very hopeful I can walk the 17 km to Redondela tomorrow. I’ve arranged with a transfer company to have my stuff transported ahead, so I won’t have much weight at all. 🤞🙏🚶‍♀️😀Read more