- Vigo to Redondela
- Distance: 16 km
- Accommodation: Albergue Avoa Regina
Day 8 on the Camino Portugués and the days are slipping by. The places I have passed and stayed in remain in my journal for another year. Vigo is Galicia’s second largest city and it sure feels like it. Santiago was our destination and all the pilgrims in the albergue seemed to talk about it the previous evening. I had a short day ahead of me to Redondela. That said, I was expecting some ascent for the first time in a while on leaving Vigo.
The morning was cold but it was ideal for walking. I hadn’t even thought of rain gear this morning. I started my walk at around 8.30am alone and headed for the port area. I got thinking about the differences in my morning start times in my previous Caminos. On my first few Caminos, I would generally leave the albergue before 6am but on the Portugués Camino, it is different. It is much more relaxed. I haven’t left an albergue before 7am, sometimes later, other than on my first day leaving Porto. On the Camino Francés, I like to see the sun rising and it can get hot later on in the day, so you can understand why I leave early on the Camino Francés. Now where were we?
I noticed that there were more pilgrims on the Camino leaving Vigo. More pilgrims would generally start their Caminos in either Tui or Vigo to gain their Compostela but I didn’t notice any large crowds. I got talking to a German pilgrim who was walking her first Camino – she had started in Porto and had walked the Coastal route. Unfortunately, she had a lot of foot issues, but still she marched on. We stop for some breakfast before we gather our things and find the way.
The sun began to shine and it starts to get warm very quickly. And then there is the climb ahead to get out of Vigo. Now, I don’t want to alarm anyone – it’s not that difficult. It’s a gradual ascent! Just remember to stop when you got tired as the views are something special. You can see the whole port area of Vigo and it is something else.
I was on the Camino Portugués proper now and walking on one of the more beautiful parts of this Camino – the Senda das Aguas. It was like an easy Sunday walk in the local forest – there were locals out for walks, bikes flying by. The route is filled with trees and flowing rivers – hence the name. I really enjoyed this day’s walk and I took it super easy. The drawings on the walls were great to look at too.
Chapela saw me begin my descent to Redondela and I had a snack at the first bar as you enter the town. It’s a busy town and some pilgrims prefer to move on to Arcade instead. I checked into my hostel further into the town, but not before I met my first Irish pilgrims of the day. The albergue is super modern and one I haven’t been to. After I got settled in, I got talking to a father & daughter from the UK. We would meet a few times before Santiago. Later in the evening, I met some good friends for the evening. They showed me Cesentes beach before taking me out for traditional Spanish dinner. Funnily enough, it made for an awkward arrival back to the albergue at 10.30pm when all pilgrims were sleeping. I hope I didn’t wake anyone up?
3 days to Santiago.
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Clearskies Camino 
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