Day 12 - Barro to Valga

 

At the albergue in Barro yesterday, we had a communal dinner. The hospitalero insisted on the tradition of having communal dinner with all pilgrims. Out of the 31 pilgrims, 16 nationalities were represented. That is quite remarkable. We had a choice of lentil soup with meat and Galician vegetable soups with wine, bread and eggs, all enough for unlimited refills. Breakfast is also available for all, all donativo. 

Forgot to mention yesterday that as we were passing through Praza do Peregrina in Pontevedra, we also tried nata again from a pastry shop. The unanimous verdict among this selected group is that the natas in Spain is better than the natas in Portugal, mostly because the texture of the filling is a lot more like egg tarts and much more similar to the ones we had in Hong Kong and Macau.

Today is a good efficient day. It started on on flat terrain and without rain, we made good progress. The hill near the end did not present too much challenge other than a couple of small steep climbs. We did get wet again by the intermittent showers. We made the municipal albergue a little after opening time. 

After settling in the albergue, the next natural thing is to figure out dinner. As is the case for all municipal albergues in Galicia, there is a huge kitchen and eating area but there is very few cooking and eating utensils. There may be a working stove top. There is no gratis cooking supplies that other albergues usually have. And based on our experience on about 5 such albergues, there isn't any shops close by for food supplies. In today's case, the closest supermercado is 38 walking minutes away. In other words, cooking is out. 

Today is Sunday, one of the restaurants close by closes at 6 pm but the kitchen closes at 4 pm. Fortunately there is a bar also close by that serves bocadillos (sandwiches) that opens at 6 pm. We will take that instead of dinner at 4 pm. Once again, meal times are intriguing in Spain.

Day 11 - Pontesampaio to Barro

 

We had an early start without rain today, always good. Just before the trip, Winnie reported that weather-wise, the first week would be good and the second week lousy. How right she was. Now I wish she would be wrong about the last few days.

The first stretch was through the woods. We haven't done that a lot. Quietness other than our own walking and birds singing. Quite nice. And quite a change from the last few days.

We walked through Pontevedra which is bustling. Walking through the Praza do Peregrina, we got our medical supply, also got pastry for lunch on the way. No repeat for yesterday's hour-long sit-down lunch. 

Past Ponte do Burgo, we were directed to a provisional way with yellow arrows that looked freshly painted. After some hesitation not knowing exactly what 'provisional' means here, we followed it anyway. I found out afterwards that the provisional way was not new at all, it is all described in Brierley's guidebook. The provisional way replaces the official way when Ponte do Burgo was under construction but it was never reverted back. I happen to like the provisional way. It is a slight detour with tree-lined street rather than the busy official way lined with shops on both sides.

The Camino Portuguese routes are now merged gathering pilgrims from the Portuguese Central Way. There are a lot of unfamiliar faces, and lots of bikes.

So envious of the young people just strolled by and gone while we struggled up the hills. Now I wish I had started doing Caminos when I was younger.

Day 10 - Vigo to Pontesampaio

 

We took the low road today coming out of Vigo. It is not the recommended route but is nevertheless shown in Brierley's guidebook. The way markers on route are not complete so we had to use a combination of 1. kind of follow the general direction, 2. try to follow what is in the guidebook and 3. mix in with Google maps instructions. I think we did quite well catching the way markers once in a while and never completely lost. We were looking for the location in Brierley's book where you take a turn and then go through a railway underpass to rejoin the main route. The turn was not quite where it is on the map but the arrow is decent size. It was also helpful to have a local confirming we are on the right way. 

We took the low road trying to avoid going up to Vigo Alto and then up over the hill, thus hopefully avoiding the biggest ascend. It turns out that the slope going back up from the low road to the main route is no slouch. I make comparison with Baldwin Street in Dunedin, New Zealand. The difference is that you can see the entire Baldwin Street from below and here, it hits you again and again and you can't prepare for it. I still don't know whether we made a good choice going low because we still had a significant climb up the hill and we don't know what the alternative is like.

We have chatted with mom in Hong Kong a few times now using Whatsapp video call. It is so easy nowadays. Just use the phone and call. I believe most people now have some sort of data plan on their phone and not limited to WiFi at albergues. A local SIM card would work anywhere in the EU. We see a lot of Europeans along the way and it is even easier for them since they must already have data plans with roaming in the EU.

In our first camino on Camino Frances 8 years ago, not many pilgrims booked their beds ahead of time. I think the pandemic has forced a lot of the operators to work with reservations. Now that the infrastructure is in place, booking a bed seems to be normal. We still prefer to stay in municipal albergues where booking is not available. We try to book the others whenever we can since we have a larger group of four people. So far we had no problem getting beds either way.

Day 9 - Sabaris to Vigo

 

Today, instead of hunting for the yellow arrows, we follow the green arrows guiding us through Senda Litoral. With the lingering foot problems among us, we opted for the easier Senda Litoral along the coast instead of the Coastal route which is actually more inland.

Today is a calm day with overcast sky and occasional sprinkle. Along the coast, we could hear the wave breaking on the sandy beach. That was actually quite soothing and we can enjoy the walk again. After a few days of cold and wet, that was much appreciated.

The problem with the coast, however, is the service level. I know walking the Camino is not about the service but it would be nice to have washrooms once in a while. In his guidebook, Brierley says that there are many restaurants and bars along the way. He was not lying except that none of them were open. We found a panaderia along the way with very good pastry. Unfortunately, it is just a pastry shop, not a restaurant and it doesn't have a washroom. We eventually found an automated WC and managed one entry using coins. We could not muster the exact change the it apparently required to get in again. We knew we didn't break it because others got in just fine.

Vigo is a big town. It even has a cruise terminal. We tried to have dinner there but they close early, just about the time that the town came alive with everything opening up.