Day 4: Caldas de Reis to Padrón(ish)

A slight cheat with us grabbing a well deserved ‘rest’ day which sees us grab a bus to Vilagarcía and another on to Vilanova to catch a boat right back past where we started and nearly all the way to Padrón.

Today was a good reminder that google doesn’t know where you are or how to get places 100% of the time with it getting bus times absolutely right but the actual bus stops completely wrong…. Some slight panic as we found out we were in the wrong place in Vilagarcia and that the bus stop was back where we’d just come from! Still … it all worked out (even if the bus drivers can ‘skip’ stops if they are late - how does that work in practice??)!

Then on to an amazing boat ride up the river from the estuary, past mussel farms, cockle patches and a lot of religious crosses; until we get within 2km of Padrón. It might feel like cheating, but pilgrims used the boats a lot and it’s in the official guide as a suitable route so it COUNTS!

Padrón is very small, very quaint and has no peppers until the summer - a big blow!

Tomorrow is probably the hardest physical day for me, at 25km ( at least) to Santiago, all uphill and in some warm temperatures (27C). However I am very excited to reach the end of this adventure, and to be there with Michaela as she finishes nearly three solid weeks of walking, over 280km in total. I am very much in awe.

I continue to be overwhelmed with the sense of camaraderie between fellow walkers; there are small kindnesses and obvious smiles everywhere you look, none more so than here in Padrón where the finish is in sight. It’s a beautiful thing, and maybe that’s what these pilgrimages are really all about, after all. Challenging yourself but also being aware of, and engaged with, the people around you whether you know them or otherwise.

Besos y Buen Camiño a mis amigos!Read more