Spain
Pontevedra

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    • Day 14

      Leaving Pontevedra

      June 8 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 17 °C

      Earliest I started cycling. I wanted to get to Santiago de Compostela and have time to check the city and return the bike.
      The road ahead was surprising.
      The fear of rain never materialized but the night before made the road wet and slippery... Careful with wooden bridges! 😅Read more

    • Day 11

      Arcade -> Pontevedra

      August 22, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 26 °C

      Auf der heutigen Etappe war einiges los. Da in Redondela der Caminho Central und der da Costa zusammenlaufen, waren mehr Pilger unterwegs als sonst. Der Weg war aber wirklich sehr schön. Er führte nahezu die ganze Zeit durch Wälder und kleine Dörfer. Hier gibt es tatsächlich Eukalyptus Wälder. Richtig schön. An den Wegesrändern wächst außerdem oft Minze als „Unkraut“, sodass die Wanderung durch ein gutes Aroma ergänzt wird. Zusätzlich gab es heute auch wieder Unterhaltung für uns: einen Dudelsack Spieler auf dem Weg. Naja, wem‘s gefällt. 😅

      Pontevedra ist eine wirklich sehr schöne Stadt, deren Altstadt einen Besuch wert ist! Da wir heute schon zur Mittagszeit ankamen, blieb uns auch genug Zeit die Stadt zu erkunden. 😊 Heute ist der letzte Tag einer Reihe von Feiertagen in Spanien. Ab 22:30 Uhr spielt ein spanischer Singer-Songwriter. Wir freuen uns. (:

      Es sind noch drei Tage und knapp über 60km bis Santiago. Bald ist’s geschafft.
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    • Day 15

      If it’s Tuesday, it must be Galicia

      September 27, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

      Today seemed a much nicer walk than the previous two days, though we walked our farthest distance yet. The rain has held off for the time being and we had blue skies most of today. The temperature is very comfortable, 75° or so for the afternoon high but chilly in the morning and evening.

      This morning we got an earlier start than usual since we knew we had a lot of ground to cover. We are at the far edge of the time zone so sunrise is much later than we’re used to. Though we set off just before 8:00 am it was still dark. As we left Redondela the fog slowly lifted from the hills and by our first café con leche stop the sun had begun to light up the valley. From the cafe we had a fabulous view of the bridge across the Estreito de Rande and the Vigo river which flows into the Atlantic just beyond.

      The terrain was a nice mix of back roads, dirt paths, a few short, steep climbs and some boulders just to keep the cyclists in check. Instead of bagpipers, the woods today were populated by little pop up rest stops with people selling cold drinks and lukewarm trinkets. We sat and ate our picnic lunch at one such place, exchanging Buen Caminos with the stream of pilgrims flowing by. We collected several stamps in our credentials today as every little stand we passed was offering. One must collect at least two stamps (“sellos”) per day to qualify for the Compostela at the end. Today we got about 6.

      We met a very sweet little dog this morning and another this afternoon. Many of the houses and farms we pass have dogs in the yard and you can usually hear at least one dog barking anywhere you are. The ones who live right on the Camino seem pretty bored by the endless parade of pilgrims clicking along with their hiking poles. The two we met today were eager to have their ears scritched though were probably disappointed we had no cheese to offer.

      Somewhere near the midpoint of today’s stage we met up with Ashook and Hesha again. We chatted for a bit before they took off at their much faster pace. They are here in Pontevedra tonight, too, but it’s a large city so I doubt we’ll run into them.

      We arrived in Pontevedra about 3:00. Checked into our room at Casa Sara, took our showers and have just finished our laundry. Our laundry game has slipped a bit in the past few days. At this point the rinse water is just as gray as the wash water. We’ve gotten pretty cavalier about wearing dirty clothes. I can see why some people burn theirs when the reach the end.

      The key to successful laundry on the Camino is in the wringing. When the wringing is poor you suffer for it the next day. If you’ve ever tried to put on a damp sports bra you know what I’m talking about. And I have developed a deep appreciation for a well-fitted sink stopper. They are to be cherished.

      DINNER UPDATE: Didn’t have the energy to deal with a tapas menu so we ended up in a doner kebab place run by a lovely Indian man named Abdullah. As we finished our dinner a fellow pilgrim came in and asked to join us at our table. Pilgrim Steven (“STAY-ven”), a postman from Northern Ireland, talked our ears off for close to two hours. He was a delight. We’re headed to the same place tomorrow but I doubt we’ll see him on the way as he walks extremely fast. Postman legs.
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    • Day 12

      Pontevedra

      October 5, 2022 in Spain ⋅ ⛅ 73 °F

      The first big city since Porto. Today was hard! A Lot of uphill walking and not enough water. Lunchtime cerveza made me sleepy, might not partake tomorrow. I’m hoping to eat soon but have too many choices! So different from the last few places where there is only one option in town for food 🥘Read more

    • Day 30

      Arcade-Pontevedra #10

      June 10, 2023 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

      Just 13 km today and less than 70 km to Santiago de Compostela. Rain made the track muddy and slippery in parts and I didn’t even cyclists climbing some of the really rocky parts of the track. Had a really good walk with Livu from the Algarve. We walked for three hours and only exchanged names after he headed on for another 10km after we had coffee. Covid and lockdown took a toll on his marriage and he is searching for a new path. But reckons the Camino gives him a chance not to think. Our conversation lightened up when I took his picture next to a tree and suggested he could use it for his tinder profile !!! We parted in good terms. Pontevedra is on the Rio Lérez and is a bustling city, but quieter than Porto. Big churches, lots of squares, not too touristy and a beaut market.Read more

    • Day 3

      Day 2: Redondela to Pontevedra

      May 5 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 16 °C

      Rain. Rain. Rain. Rain. Rain. Rain. Rain. Rain. Rain.

      Second day walking and we cracked out more than 20km today, passing the beautiful medieval town of ‘Arcade’ (no 80’s driving machines or pinball tables; sorry!) and on to Pontevedra.

      It’s a strange observation that the caminho way seems to bring you utterly horrible ways into towns with the industrial and medium density housing on the edge of the town being underwhelming. However, the centre of town is historic, beautiful and for my post arrival wander around town also … sunny! (We shan’t mention it too loudly, but it would be nice if it stayed!!).

      Michaela has booked us into a hostel tonight, and it’s a dorm with 22 people in it tonight for us! It’s kinda lovely sharing camaraderie with follow walkers, and we’ve met some really cool people.. but the queue for the machines is kinda annoying!

      So far I’m very impressed though, it’s clean, relatively quiet and very modern!

      A longer day tomorrow onwards to Caldas de Reis, which is a spa town, and we have various activities booked to keep spirits high!

      Ciao!
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    • Day 12

      Almost Great Weather!!!

      May 19 in Spain ⋅ ☁️ 18 °C

      After a good night's sleep for some of us (I think two bears' bed was too hard🙄😂), we feasted on yoghurt and granola, and a little cake from our host, Gustav, before setting off on the 20km to Pontevedra. The weather was really kind for much of the way, and we were happy walking in just our tops (and other clothing!) - no fleeces or waterproofs for ages!
      We stopped at a café in Redondela for coffee and sellos (stamps for our Pilgrim Passports) and Luke was made up to be given FREE cake and croissant 🤗😋.
      We were soon walking through small hamlets and forests of eucalyptus, which were delightful. But this section of the camino was absolutely jam packed with pilgrims. Okay, it's Pentecost, and it's Sunday, but this was ridiculous. It was just like the last 100km of the Frances - filled with very noisy Spaniards (sorry🙄😉) who were out for a walk and not respecting the peace of the camino! One woman in particular just didn't stop taking/shouting, and it made a good section of the walk disappointing.
      We stopped after about 9km in Arcade for a drink and, thankfully, the 'tour' seemed to vanish 👏👏👏. We could hear a brass band playing in the distance and wondered why... and as it got closer we realised that, as it was Pentecost, the statue of the Virgin Mary was being displayed and walked through the town. It was too far away to see properly, but the town seemed to be celebrating noisily. (We'd also heard lots of gun fire and reckon it marked the start and/or end of the procession!)
      We left the café after a chat with some pilgrims from Dunstable and stopped at a panaderia to buy our lunch - sandwiches and extremely large chocolate croissants para llevar - and continued just 1.5km to Pontesampio where we crowded the Medieval bridge. This then led us up through some beautiful villages and past buildings built from stone, whose walls were probably metres thick. The roads through the first hamlet were narrow and the houses were really interesting. In fact, the 'Way' was great. There was quite a lot of uphill walking (Luke and Ray, who are young and very fit, walked on ahead with no problems whilst Julie and I kept each other company at a more sedate pace😂). We passed quite a few pop-up stalls selling everything from food and drink to painted shells and stones, umbrellas, lanyards and every kind of pilgrim paraphernalia you can imagine!
      Lunchtime was a very welcome break. The boys had found a couple of granite rocks to sit on, so we enjoyed our sandwiches there, not knowing that the area behind us had been used by countless pilgrims as a toilet stop 🙄😱😂. Sid also enjoyed a few bites of my chorizo butty!
      Then it was onwards and ever upwards until we reached a cross that marked the highest point of the day's walk - the cross, however, wasn't anywhere to be found! But, thankfully, from that point on it was downhill all the way towards Pontevedra, our stop for the night. We stopped at a beautiful little chapel to sit quietly and appreciate all we'd seen, done and heard, then chose to take the green route into town. It wasn't so much green as brown and muddy! But it was away from the road and, as long as you were careful where you placed your feet, you could appreciate the trees and the river. This eventually led us to Pontevedra where the boys were waiting for us. We found a bar for the obligatory celebration beer and the barmaid also gave us THE BEST plate of chips with loads of salt, tomato sauce, mayonnaise and mustard. They were gorgeous 😋😋😋.
      Our accommodation is a fab little flat. We've washed our dirty clothes (see Ray's genius drying socks hack), been to a Pilgrim's Mass (didn't understand a word but it was very nice!) and eaten at an Italian restaurant. Ice cream or Pastel de Nata followed and now here we all are, tucked up in our beds and ready for the Spiritual Variant tomorrow. It's going to be very interesting... (big hills😱). I'll let you know!
      Oh, and Luke said it wasn't him (see previous post on dish washers😂)
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    • Day 8

      Redondela - Pontevedra

      September 20, 2022 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 23 °C

      Redondela hatte ich mir gestern nicht mehr wirklich angeschaut. Aber zum Glück führt der Weg irgendwie immer durch die Altstadt, sodass ich dann heute früh das Örtchen gesehen habe. Der Weg heute war wieder richtig schön, wenn es nicht mit 32 Grad wieder unglaublich heiß gewesen wäre. Der Unterschied zwischen Portugal und Spanien ist allerdings echt groß. Seit Tui (Spanien) sind sicher das vierfache an Pilgern dazugekommen - wenn das mal reicht. Man merkt, dass viele den Weg ab Tui laufen, aber auch dass der Küstenweg sowie der traditionelle Weg zusammenführten. Zudem muss man in Spanien keine Angst mehr haben, dass man verdurstet oder verhungert, denn es gibt viel mehr Cafés, aber auch private Stände (sogar im Wald), an denen alles was man braucht und nicht braucht kaufen kann. Und: Es gibt in Spanien Bänke, in Portugal gefühlt nicht eine, außer an der Küste. Wie dem auch sei, hat mir der Weg heute wieder richtig gut gefallen. Es war ein guter Mix aus allem!
      Ziemlich ungünstig war allerdings, dass ich irgendwann bemerkte, dass ich meine Socken, die ich zum aufhängen an meinen Rucksack klemmte, verloren habe. 30€! Natürlich lief ich ein ganzes Stück wieder zurück und suchte sie. Die mir entgegenkommenden Pilger waren leicht verwirrt, aber ich habe sie schlussendlich wiedergefunden. Das Waschen hätte ich mir sparen können, denn sie sind schön im Dreck gelandet. Aber ich hab sie wieder und das zählt!
      Pontevedra, mein Etappenziel, gilt als schönste Stadt Galiciens. Und dadurch, dass ich schon relativ früh angekommen bin, schaute ich mir die Stadt auch an. Sie ist wirklich schön! Sehr mittelalterlich geprägt und viele kleine verwinkelte Gässchen. Komisch ist aber, dass Leute hier anscheinend mit ihren Eseln spazieren gehen. Nagut!
      Dadurch, dass ich Mittags nichts gegessen hatte, war ich um 19 Uhr natürlich auch entsprechend hungrig. Und ich wollte unbedingt Pulpo essen! Ich setzte mich in eine Sidreria, wo man mir entgegnete, dass die Küche erst um 20:30 Uhr aufmachen würde, so wie überall. HILFE! Ich wusste ja, dass die Spanier einen anderen Rhythmus haben, aber dass man gar nichts zu essen bekommt, ist mir neu. Ich bestellte trotzdem Sidre mit der Antwort, dass es nur 0,7l Flaschen geben würde und ich besser was anderes bestellen solle. Nö. Einfach nur nö. Ich will genau diese Flasche Sidre. Wenn ich schon nichts zu essen bekomme, muss ich meinen Magen eben mit was anderem füllen. Und natürlich habe ich die ganze Flache getrunken! Und das habe ich dann auch gemerkt…
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    • Day 5

      Walk to Pontevedra

      April 23, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌧 17 °C

      Made it to Pontevedra! About 13.5 miles and 7 hours. It rained almost the whole way and we are wet and muddy. It was a beautiful walk with nice towns and coffee shops to get snacks and hot drinks. It's fun walking through the forests with all the animals and rivers and cool plants. Though we are walking alone some, we encounter a lot of other pilgrims and locals who greet us with"buen Camino!".Read more

    • Day 19

      Redondela to Pontevedra

      September 29, 2023 in Spain ⋅ 🌙 22 °C

      Took a couple of unnecessary dtours today so ended up being around 25km, rather than the advertised 19k. As yesterday, a bit of a groundhog day Early start, well, early-ish start, a bit after 8, but still darkish because sunrise isn't until around 8:30. Foggy morning again and a nice but hilly walk through towns and a lot through forests - once again a lot of Eucalyptus.
      I have picked up a bit of a foot injury, according to Dr Google it's an extensor tendon (on top of the foot and up towards the ankle) strain. Had it now for a bit over 2 days. Hurts a bit early on then it's not too bad. Lynn is still going strong 👍.
      Pontevedra has a nice centre with a big square and narrow streets going off in every direction. We had a look around and said g'day to the Scottish fellas and a few others, probably for the last time. Went to the pilgrims Mass at 7:30 then had some dinner. There was actually too much choice so it took a while to find somewhere.
      Start the Espiritual Variante tomorrow
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    You might also know this place by the following names:

    Pontevedra, Pontevedro, PTE, ポンテベドラ, 36001, Понтеведра

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