Camino Portuguese – Day Eight – Nigrán to Vigo, 22 km. • Secret land

On the eighth day of my journey, I had to walk 22 km and reach the large Spanish city of Vigo. Many people begin their Camino de Santiago from Vigo.

In the morning, it was raining lightly, and I hoped it would stop soon. I headed towards the beach to join the coastal route.

Here on the map, the classic route is marked in blue, and the coastal route is marked in green.

“The photo shows a beautiful coastal scene under a cloudy sky. In the foreground, there’s lush green grass with a small stream winding through it. Beyond that, a wide sandy beach stretches out, dotted with many white birds, likely seagulls. Across the water, a town with numerous houses and buildings lies nestled at the foot of forested hills.

The path wound its way through the narrow streets of the town and sometimes led directly onto the beach, where I had to walk on sand. Other pilgrims, who had been walking alongside me for a while, chose to take the main road instead. They missed out on the beautiful views that I was lucky enough to see.

The views today were amazing. The photo shows a beautiful coastal landscape under a dramatic, cloudy sky. Thick mist and low-hanging clouds partially cover the hills in the distance, creating a mystical atmosphere. In the foreground, there’s a sandy beach bordered by green grass and wild vegetation. On the right side, a group of birds, likely seagulls, is gathered near the water. The sea is calm, and the town with its buildings is visible across the bay, nestled along the shoreline and into the hills.

The photo captures a scenic view of the coastline under a cloudy sky. In the foreground, there’s dry grass and a low fence made of ropes and posts, adding a rustic touch. Two wooden benches and a classic street lamp stand along a path overlooking the beach. Beyond the sandy beach, the calm water of the bay stretches out, reflecting the grey sky. In the distance, mist and low clouds partially cover the hills and the town spread along the shoreline, creating a peaceful and slightly mysterious atmosphere

The photo shows a tranquil beach scene under a cloudy sky. In the foreground, a wooden boardwalk leads across the sand toward the sea. A single person walks along the shoreline, adding a sense of scale and solitude. The calm water curves gently around the bay, where several small boats are anchored. In the distance, mist and low clouds partially veil the hills and coastline, creating a soft, atmospheric backdrop. Houses and buildings line the beach further along the shore, giving the scene a peaceful, coastal charm

A wet promenade after the rain

The ocean and seagulls

The photo captures a serene ocean view under a partly cloudy sky. In the foreground, a wide sandy beach stretches toward the water, with wet sand reflecting the soft blue and gray tones of the sky. A small puddle glistens on the beach, adding to the tranquil atmosphere. Gentle waves roll onto the shore, while in the distance, low-lying islands rise from the ocean, silhouetted against patches of blue sky breaking through the clouds. The scene feels peaceful and expansive, showcasing the natural beauty of the coastline

Along the way, in the town of Prado, there was a small post near the gate of someone’s house. On it, there was a pilgrim stamp, various souvenirs, and a donation box. This is where I got my first stamp of the day.

Then the sky started to brighten, and the sun appeared

The path led again to the beach by a small bay.

View of the bay.

Then the path led to the highway, and there I finally saw other pilgrims.

Стовпчик із стрілкою — The highway and a post with an arrow.

A pilgrim’s shell on the wall of someone’s house

Playa Canido (map) – Canido Beach.

The road through the town of Oia

By noon, I reached the waterfront of the city of Vigo. To get to my hotel, I had to walk more than five kilometers through the city.

There are public swimming pools arranged on the promenade

Along the entire waterfront, these symbols are painted on the tiles.

The bridge leads to the small Bouzas peninsula, where there is a huge car park and a port, as well as a marina

My attention was drawn to the mural on the wall of the playground

Igrexa de San Miguel de Bouzas (map). I entered it hoping to get a stamp in my passport, but there was no stamp. According to the plaque, the first stone of the church was laid in 1577, and services began in 1592.

After visiting the church, I saw that the Avenue of Fish (Paseo dos Peixes) was nearby, so I went to see it. It turned out that I had to walk 1.2 km one way from the church to reach the Avenue of Fish, which was quite a lot for a tired pilgrim at noon. But I found the fish sculptures, took photos, and then dragged myself another five kilometers to my hotel. The weather in Vigo was wonderful, and the sun was blazing mercilessly.

The path went through the port, past large warehouses. In the port, I photographed a beautiful yacht. The yacht is called Renaissance, built in 2023 in Vigo at the Freire Shipyard. The yacht is 112 meters long.

Google Navigator really ‘loves’ me — in every city, it tries to lead me up stairs like these. For a pilgrim with a backpack after five hours of walking, that’s just what I need

Finally, I made it to my hotel, took a shower, had some rest, went to the shop and to the currency exchange office.

In Spain, you have to show your passport and provide your phone number at the currency exchange office. The lady at the exchange entered the details from the señor’s passport into her system. A photo of the passport is also possible, but they’re very reluctant to accept it. While I was there, an American guy was trying to exchange money using only a photo of his passport, and he and the lady argued about it for quite a while. Luckily, he spoke Spanish. Later on, that guy and I had a small talk. He was travelling by bike and had gotten a flat tire.

The exchange office was called Quickgold Vigo and was located not far from my hotel. I exchanged a hundred dollars at the rate of 0.86. Why I went to Europe with dollars — that’s an interesting question, the answer to which we’ll just blame on the Ukrainian mentality.

I didn’t feel like strolling around Vigo in the evening because there were crowds of people coming back from work. I decided to postpone my walk until the morning. On Spanish TV, I discovered the Paramount Network channel, which was showing series like “Poirot,” “Midsomer Murders,” “Murdoch Mysteries,” and other detective shows. Moreover, I figured out how to switch the audio track from Spanish to English, and that channel became my best friend in Spain.

Today’s statistics, bearing in mind that 2.4 km were spent walking to see the Fish Alley.