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- Sep 9, 2023, 10:59pm
- ☁️ 19 °C
- Altitude: 8 m
- SpainGaliciaVigoPuerto de Vigo42°14’24” N 8°43’17” W
Getting to Vigo
September 9, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C
The trip down to Manchester was easy as we had an early start. But it was a bit of a shock when the planner announced that the connecting flight from Madrid to Vigo gave us all of 55 minutes to make the connection! Lots of debate around the requirements to clear customs, go through security again. At least it was with the same carrier.
Taking off 15 minutes behind schedule didn't help ease the tension. One of the cabin crew gave us the departure gate, which was good. Less encouraging was her reference to the train we'd need to take between the landing and the departure terminals. Surely we'd missed something in translation?
We made up a little time but still landed 10 minutes late. 40 minutes for the connection. Our first mistake was saying we'd flown into Madrid from Europe. Directed to the electronic passport controls we were told by a machine that we were no longer in the EU. About turn and over to non EU passport control. The queue was mahoosive. Thankfully there was a lane for "people daft enough to book connecting flights with less than an hour gap". Down this we went and cleared entry customs.
Having overcome this hurdle we were directed down some escalators towards..... a train. I've since found that Madrid is the 4th largest airport in Europe. So big they have an underground line. The three minute countdown to the next train arrival added to the tension.
Off the train and a quick sprint up some more stairs. We were within 20 minutes of the departure time. Now we had to clear security. Against expectations this went well and we were on the run again with 10 minutes to go. Two of us assumed we'd missed the flight, the planner was determined to make it and set off running. In the wrong direction. Sauntering up to the gate we found we weren't the last arrivals. The check in crew looked relaxed about it all and with 5 minutes to go before take off we boarded the plane.
Way too much excitement for the start of a Camino.
The hop from Madrid was a short 50 minutes and we landed at Vigo around 5 in the afternoon. A lovely regional airport with some mountains for a backdrop.
We've had an evening and a day to wander round Vigo and what a nice place it is. Like most port cities, it's probable seen better times but is making an effort to renew itself. There's a mixture of old, dilapidated and modern. It's working coastal rather than resort coastal. The old part of town is attractive with various plazas offering drink and food. It's also very hilly. I'd say it would rival Betanzos. The moving walkways in the central area took some of the sting out of visiting the remains of a coastal defence. Here we had the first of the "sea crosses". Christ depicted facing inland along with St. James. Our Blessed Lady facing out towards the sea.
First thing on Saturday morning I made a trip up to Decatholon to buy bastones. They had precisely two! The early bird and all that. On the way back I dipped into the Igrexa de Santiago de Vigo and picked up my first stamp. There's a statue of the man himself above the altar and the stain glassed windows depict St. James in all his manifestations. As pilgrim, as Matamoros, in his Translation by boat to Padron and as part of the Church Triumphant. I went back for Mass in the evening and grabbed a picture.
The other highlights of Vigo for myself was the street art.
All in all, a great place to start a pilgrimageRead more
Gosh, what a stressful start to the your camino!!! Good photos! [Janet Rockliffe]