Day 8 O Porriño to Redondela 15km

We left O Porriño in the rain, which continued for most of the morning. Was time to get the sexy ponchos out…

3 of us sent our packs ahead so our loads were lighter. It was a good decision as the path was quite wet and slippery and not being encumbered made it easier (wait, is that a camino lesson right there?)

As is typical of most mornings on the Camino there was a hill climb out of the town.

The roads were wet but now there are more pilgrims along the way. We saw a group of about 30 Spaniards probably in their 60s, walking together. They seemed to be having a great time!

Our first stop was at a small town called Mos where I had… you guessed it… a bocadillo con jamón. Oh there was also a little chapel dedicated to Santiago…

The fishmonger arrived to sell the daily catch to the local cafe.

We arrived in Redondela around lunch time so we found a local restaurant and this is what was served for lunch

So, let me tell you about that cuttlefish…in my defence the lady who was running that bar spoke at rápido speed. I thought she said she was bringing out a few tapas! What she actually said, apparently, was ‘do you want me to make you the most disgusting looking dish I can cook which also happens to a local delicacy?’ But that was lost in translation as I enthusiastically nodded ‘Si! Si!’ Gregor took one for the team and ate this dish. The rest of us couldn’t…🤮

As we wandered the streets of Redondela that afternoon we saw much activity…the town was getting ready for their annual Coco festival which is about dragon slaying and children being saved etc etc.. (you can read about it here https://bluscus.es/leyenda-de-la-coca-de-redondela/ ). Anyways, the streets were being transformed into carpets of flowers and we got roped into help! This is the before photo…

Day 9 Redondela to Pontevedra by train

And this is what the streets looked like the next morning!

It was amazing! And then we followed the virgin to the church…

Went to mass, then watched the procession to the square. This is what the streets looked like when it was all over…

Because we stayed for the fiesta, it was too late to walk to Pontevedra so we caught the train. In passing I mentioned this to some Germans we had met previously and bumped into at the festival. Some peop,e are purists when it comes to camino, and we definitely got judged for taking the train. Meh… a bit like people judged me for getting a horse up O Cebreiro when we did the Caminó Frances in 2017.

It turned out to be a great rest day and exactly what we all needed.