Santiago de Compostela (Day 4-5) Camino Portugues from Rubiaes - Tuy - Redondela (50km)

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Santiago de Compostela (Day 4-5) Camino Portugues from Rubiaes - Tuy - Redondela (50km)



Day 4
Rubiaes - Tuy (20km)
We walked down to the town by 0600 where the lady from the restaurant promised to be opened for us to sell us some breakfast of coffees and toast.
The kitten was left all alone and since it followed us when she was alone I did not like the thought of her getting run over if she tried to follow us on the busy road. So I wrapped her up in a coat and carried her to the outside of the restaurant, letting her loose before the others noticed that I had brought her.



We headed off following the yellow arrows by 0700, the morning was cold, air crisp and there was fog. I was breathing much better by now.
As the hours stretched we did not rest and my calf began to hurt quite badly and I had to slow down so much that eventually I lost sight of the group in front of me and this made me feel uncomfortable since I had no mobile, map, even the name of the Albergues, no Portuguese language or a second pair of eyes to keep an eye out for the yellow arrows.
Jq, Au and Jj were behind me however and just when I reached a deli (Pedreira) and caught sight of the front group, they had had their rest, drink and had their credentials signed and were leaving.




I had to have a rest and by now the ones behind me caught up and I explained my concerns and difficulty with my leg and the fact that I was used to resting every now and then during such long walks.
The rest of the trail I walked with Au and Jq, slower than the front group as we headed towards Valensia. Most of the trail was along wide Romanic trails, some still had original cobble stones.
We reached Tuido and the others were drinking cold beers and had rested and were ready to get going but when Am realised my calf problem she gave me a strong oil massage and Au got me a nice cold drink. This all helped me tremendously and was able to walk much better.



On the way we ate figs and fresh fruit and Au gave me a small cookie which had nuts. We walked along a lot bitchumen road which made my calf hurt again and my feet. We arrived at Valensia and visited the old Walled Fort part of the town. (photo) Jq found out that the Albergue would stay opened for only 30 min (1300 Spanish time) before reopening again at 1700. Jq and the others headed of as fast as they could to try to get there and keep the doors opened for us so we could settle, shower and get rid of our weighty backpacks.
Rf and I took a little longer, almost one hour. We still had to cross the steel bridge (Puente International) which separated Portugal from Spain and was built in 1886. This bridge was use as a frontier. From the bridge we could see the Tui Cathedral on other side of the river Mino. It looked a very long way away.




We made it to the Albergue, following the many guiding signs through the many old streets. I chose my bed which had mattress, blanked and pillows, removed my boots and limped out to lunch with Pp, Au and Jq. I had hot fried chips, chicken and salad, light beer and after a coffee late. Soon after we did some shopping and then went back to the Albergue which was next to the large Cathedral.

Our room (photo) had about 20 double beds extra mattresses as well as a few other similar rooms, a kitchen and two bathroom with open shared showers and an outdoor laundry trough.




The views from our windows were lovely, with antique rooftops and some of the river Mino as well as the old walled castle across the river.
After lunch I had a cold shower which was great and had a siesta, Au & I then walked some of the old town streets and imagined life living in these ancient buildings. One could imagine and experience the feeling of life in the past if the people dressed in the correspond era. I visited the old cathedral and got a stamp on my identity card.

Later that afternoon Am was giving massage to some of the group and I got one too then offered one to Am knowing that I was not as good as her, but hoping and ensuring she got a decent workout also. Some wrote on diaries and others walked, ate and drunk the town delighting in tastes such as the famous local Octopus dishes.














Day 5
Tuy - Redondela (30km)
During the night I was very comfortable and was next to an unhinged window which sent in cool delicious breezes during the night. Despite the comfort I slept little and got up 0530. Some of our group got the times mixed and were a little late to get started.
We required our torches to find our way for quite a while, and actually missed one of the turning arrows just after crossing a railway line. We were alerted to our mistake by a passing motorist and tried to alert a few young men who were ahead of us but were unable to catch them in time. We retraced our trail by about 100meters only and saved us much valuable time.
We stopped in a little town called Orbello, in a bar to have breakfast. We had been walking for about two hours and the sun was just starting to show by now. The weather looked like to be a clear but hot day. To our luck, clouds came soon after breakfast and stayed for most of the day. This made our walking much more tolerable for the very long, boring, dirty, smelly, industrially and bitchumen trail.
Half way into our trail my left calf and right foot began to hurt, as we arrived into Porrino to get a stamp on our credential cards. The little rest alleviated my leg and feet muscles and soon continued towards Redondela.
At Pepide I bought a lovely fresh baked multigrain loaf and began eating it, when suddenly there was a strong rain shower, so I stopped at a bus station and put on my rain gear and continued eating my bread while walking.



Towards the end of Pepide town, I saw Pp waiting and becoming to me to come, pointing to a cafe. Au, Jq, Pp, Rs and Nu were having a lovely calamari and rice dish named 'Choco Rice' (black rice colour that uses calamari tint). There was none left to buy, so I had stew of beef and potatoes as I already had had my bread.
I spoke with Nu, the girl travelling on her own from Barcelona. She stated that this was her third trip walking the 'Camino', two on her own and once with her mother.



I also met two young girls (Jenny 17, student, and Peki 'Ponte Sampaio' in her twenties was a teacher of difficult children). They stopped often as the younger one had foot problems and later they both had problems with blisters etc. We all got to know each other more and more as we all chatted when we used to meet in the Albergues at night and sometimes during the trail.
The rest of our group came to the cafe as we were leaving and most decided to continue as it was raining slightly except An and his wife Pa who decided to stay and have lunch.


Au complained of blisters on her feet and also painful achillis tendon, Jq of painful knees (meniscus problems). Now I was not the only one with some sort of pain, in fact everyone had some pain somewhere or other. I was not lonely anymore.
Fifteen minutes away from our destination the rain started strongly again and most of us got a little wet, and Au a little more as she was just too tired to put on her rain jacket after about 29km walking.
On arrival to the Albergue at Redondela, it was opened but no one available to accommodate us as it is run by volunteers and they only work some hours. We had to wait a few hours but at least we had shelter, seats and toilets. There were about 20+ people waiting and we began to make a backpack line in order of arrival. One man insisted we let his 3 son's backpacks who had not arrived yet to be placed next to his in front of us. J-jo told him he could not do that and some disagreement words were exchanged. When Jq arrived he explained the rules of first come first served as there were only limited beds etc.




While we waited, some rested I massaged Au’s legs, feet and then she asked me to do her neck.
Our group ended up getting mattress space, that is 3 people per 2 mattresses (Photo) all lined along the floor against a wall. The room was divided by a line of bookshelves, with a window at one end and the door at the other.

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Photos

P1030390 - Local farming lady in gum boots
Local farming lady in gum boots, had a goat and 3 sheep.

P1030395 - Valencia Old Fort Wal
Valensia Guard observation site

P1030397- Valensia Walled Old Town fotress
visited the interior town in old Walled Fort part of the town, all the old buildings where in use.

P1030404 - Puente Internationa - Old Duana or Border
We still had to cross the steel bridge (Puente International) which separated Portugal from Spain and was built in 1886. This bridge was use as a frontier. From the bridge we could see the Tui Cathedral on other side of the river Mino.

P1030405 - Tui Cathedral on other side of the river Mino
From Valensia Portugal we could see Tui Cathedral on other side of the river Mino in Spain.

P1030406 - 1st Scallop Shell Waymarker
1st Scallop Shell Waymarker we saw as we entered into Spain. Throughout Portugal we followed the yellow arrow.

P1030457 -Trail to Redondela
Early morning sun rays along trail to Redondela

P1030467 - Redondela Albergue, sleeping quarters.
Had to share 2 matress between 3 people. Resting weary legs after a long hard walk in the rain.