Day 22 – Redondela to Pontevedra – 29-May-2018

We left the usual time today, although it was only Michael and I walking today, as Jose still has problems with his feet and is taking a bus from Redondela to Pontevedra.

It had rained overnight, so all the streets were very wet. The atmosphere was still very heavy with light drizzle falling. The way out of Redondela was easy even though it was dark for the first 40 minutes or so.
The road out of Redondela became quite hilly after we left the centre of town, and remained so for quite a few KMs. Not super long hills, but tough little guys, just the same.

We had some breakfast at a place called Arcade and then continued on towards our destination of Pontevedra. The path from here was a real smorgasbord of different conditions, ranging from quiet country bush tracks, to stony rough trails, to even about 1km of national highway, which was not at all pleasant.

We reached Pontevedra at around 11 am without any major issues. Along the way, there were even a couple of roadside stalls, which sold fruit, drinks and Camino kickbacks. The stall attenders are so helpful and kind, and ever ready to offer valuable advice on the road ahead.

Jose had also just arrived by bus, so we caught up at a bar for some coffee and then a quick lunch, whilst waiting for the albergue to open at 12:00.
Once we’d checked in and dropped our stuff off, we headed into the centre of Pontevedra, which is the old town.

The old town is so typical of so many other European old towns. A big part of this picture in so many cases is an ancient church, which usually sits on top of a hill, exquisitely adorned in so many different ways, and Pontevedra is no exception to this. The skinny streets run off the main Plaza in a multitude of directions and in turn, some of these open up onto smaller plazas, usually with other ancient churches, government buildings almost as old and ornate as the churches themselves, and a plethora of shops, cafes, bars and hotels along these streets.

This city also opens up onto the Atlantic coast, so it has further additional interest as there is a water front, old bridges etc. All in all a very pretty city with a character all of its own.

Since we had come to Portugal, and now Spain, the image of Fatima is constantly everpresent in all facets of Iberic life. It is so especially for us on the pilgrims trails, as for every yellow arrow pointing the way to Santiago De Compostela, there is a partner one pointing to the Fatima pilgrimage destination. Today, in the old town of Pontevedra, we came across a sign that took us to the sanctuary of the virgin Mary. We had not been searching it out or looking for any special interaction, all three of us decided to go and explore and if possible, find out more about the mystique of Fatima. We came across this nun who was there at this sanctuary to pass on and and advise visitors about the Fatima story. I won’t go into all the story, history, background, personalities and events that we covered with her, as it would be too much for this type of medium, but I was taken aback at the sheer level of devotion, conviction and confidency that exuded from this individual. Whilst I cannot say that I believe everything that we are told, I would hasten to add that I was much impressed with her sincerity and genuiness.

We spent a large part of the afternoon hanging around the old town, checking out different points of interest, and eventually made our way back to the albergue for some of the daily housekeeping tasks, dinner and planning for the next day.
Tomorrow is off to Caldas De Reis, about 23kms; the weather doesn’t look too flash, but you take what you get on the Camino.
The pilgrim traffic has increased significantly since we crossed into Spain; this was somewhat expected but not to this extent. We are now at the stage where we need to plan up to 2 days ahead, to ensure we have accommodation.