Ponte Medieval de Pontesampaio

Camino Portuguese – Day Ten – Redondela – Pontevedra 21 km

On the tenth day of the Portuguese Camino de Santiago, I had to walk from Redondela to the town of Pontevedra, covering a distance of 21 km.

That day, the weather had a surprise in store — it rained in the morning, even though no rain was forecast. I left my guesthouse around eight o’clock in the morning. At that time, it was just starting to get light.

A  street in the town of Redondela.
A street in the town of Redondela.

At first, the path led through narrow streets, and then through the forest. Walking through the forest in the rain is actually better — you don’t get as wet, but on the other hand, it’s slippery. The road gradually went uphill.

Walking through the forest in the rain

Another pilgrim wall covered with messages.

Another pilgrim message wall.

There were many pilgrims on the path, so I often had to overtake people. I came across a large group of Chinese pilgrims with a guide.

Pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago.

Only 81 km remain until Santiago de Compostela.

There are 81 km left to Santiago de Compostela.
There are 81 km left to Santiago de Compostela.

The bay appears in the distance.

In the distance, the bay can be seen.

I’ve already walked 5.5 km from Redondela, and there are only 500 meters left to reach the town of Arcade. The closer I get to Santiago, the more various signs and markers for pilgrims I see.

A distance sign on the Camino de Santiago.

Here’s the town of Arcade. In the town, the Camino de Santiago winds through small streets, but you can simply walk straight along the main road. Many people chose to do just that.

Місто Arcade

The photo shows that there are plenty of pilgrims.

As you can see from the photo, there are a lot of pilgrims

Even though it’s cloudy, it’s still beautiful.

Cloudy, but beautiful.
Cloudy, but beautiful.

The beautiful ancient bridge Ponte Medieval de Pontesampaio (the Pontesampaio Medieval Bridge) over the Verdugo River.

Ponte Medieval de Pontesampaio
Ponte Medieval de Pontesampaio

After that, the path led through the forest again. In the forest, there were souvenir stalls where you could have some tea, buy fruit, and get a stamp. I got my first two stamps at such stalls.

Camino de Santiago in the forest.
The Camino de Santiago through the forest.

Sometimes the path looked like this. Walking here, I hoped that the ladies with the stroller had chosen to go along the highway instead.

A rocky path through a lush green forest on the Camino de Santiago.
A rocky path through a lush green forest on the Camino de Santiago.

And then, once again, the path turned into a beautiful wide road.

And then the trail became a nice wide road again.

Vineyards along the Camino de Santiago.

Vineyards lining the Camino de Santiago.

Approaching the city of Pontevedra, the last few kilometers of the route followed a scenic hiking trail through the forest along a small river, although it was also possible to walk along the highway. The highway is straight, while this forest path kept winding and zigzagging.

a scenic hiking trail

As I neared Pontevedra, the sun broke through, and the weather turned warm and hot.

The way to Pontevedra.
The way to Pontevedra.

Narrow underpass beneath the bridge.

A narrow passage under the bridge

Only 67 km remain until Santiago.

There are 67 km left to Santiago.

The train station greets pilgrims as they enter the city of Pontevedra.

Вокзал в Pontevedra
The train station in Pontevedra

In Pontevedra, I stayed at Hotel Don Pepe, which is located across the Lérez River in Poio. So I still had to walk a bit further to reach the hotel. I arrived there around one o’clock in the afternoon, and they let me check in early.

After a short rest at the hotel, I went out to explore the city center and have lunch. Since the kitchens in all the restaurants close before 4 PM, I ended up having lunch at Burger King.

All in all, despite the morning rain, it was a good day — I didn’t get too tired on the road, felt no pain, managed to see the city, and stayed overnight in a lovely hotel.

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