The Penultimate Day

Today many pilgrims were excited, and heading to Santiago de Compostela in one stage - just over 24 kms.  However, we decided we would break this day up and stop at O Milladoiro, about 8 kilometres before Santiago. 
Leaving Padrón 
Iglesia de Santa Maria de Iria Flavia

Leaving Padrón this morning was interesting. We had a stream of pilgrims behind, and no doubt in front, as anticipation got pilgrims up and on the road before sunrise (at 9.02am) in an attempt to get to Santiago for the midday pilgrim mass.  We, in contrast, had a leisurely day, as we ambled along beautiful forest paths, through ancient villages, and finding time to stop for refreshments along the way.  There was even time for a sing in the only open Church along the way.
Some of the hordes leaving Padron!
Open, but I couldn't get far enough away to take a photo from the front!

Today we were to pass through the village that Michael, the developer of the Wise Pilgrim app that we, and many others, were using.  I had sent him a message, and he met us at our lunch stop where Sharn and I bombarded him with things that might improve the app experience!  Our lunch break turned into a long one, but it was nice yarning with Michael, and, in the afternoon, in between showers, we even had sunshine!
Michael, Julie, Sharn & Janet
At Rúa de Francos
O Milladoiro was surprising.   It is, I suspect, a dormitory suburb for Santiago, with many apartment buildings, good shops, and quite a lot of traffic lights at the pedestrian crossings, along with heavier traffic.  There are few old buildings, though as we moved into the town we passed the old (but closed) Capella da Magdalena, a lovely little chapel, and stark contrast to the massive (also closed) Iglesia Santa Maria at Iria Flavia, after leaving Padrón. 
Capella de Magdelena 
The altar in Iglesia de Santa Maria de Iria Flavia was about the same size as the tiny Capella in O Milladoiro 
The florist sops are starting to stock up ready for business around All Saints Day.  The cemeteries at this time are a riot of colour with pots and vases of flowers decorating the graves.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Off Again!

Image
 Tomar, Fatima, Coimbra then north to Porto and Santiago de Compostela Before I start posting I thought I had best clarify what my plans are.  The Camino Portuguese begins in Lisbon, heading north to Santiago de Compostela.  Though quite a few people start there, many more start at Porto, which is roughly the half way point. I will spend a few days exploring Lisbon, before beginning to walk.  I plan to begin in Tomar, walk west into Fatima, another pilgrimage destination, and from there head north to Coimbra along the Carmelite Way, before picking up the Camino.  Both Tomar, and Coimbra, a university town, are old medieval towns, and I am looking forward to exploring them.  From Coimbra I continue north to Porto, and it is here that I will meet my friend Julie.  Together we will walk to Santiago de Compostela, taking the detour / variant known as the Espiritual Variant.  This is the plan at the moment, but it is dependant on many factors - health, fitness, and weather to name a few. I
Read more

It's HOT!

Image
The last few days have been very pretty, and fairly easy walking, except for the heat.  This means that things in the albergue start moving anywhere from just after 5am - even though the sun doesn't rise till around 7.30.   Just on sunrise About to hit the sun! Because I pulled the plug on my original plan of walking from Fátima I have ended up with about 5 spare days.  This has meant that I have had the luxury of walking small distances of 10 - 15 kms each day.  That is the upside.  The downside is that I am unlikely  to see the people I meet each day, as they are travelling considerably further than me at present.  The other part of this that is a bonus is that with less distance to travel, and leaving about sunrise, I get to walk in the cool of the morning, when the shadows are long, and before the real heat of the day begins after lunch.  What, for me, makes the heat more pronounced is the humidity.   From about 10.30 / 11.00, we all arrive at the rest s
Read more

The last two stages into Porto.

Image
The last two stages into Porto were either, two comfortably shorter days, or a long, more difficult stage.  The biggest difficulty being that accomodation is scarce for dividing it into stages.  An interesting sculpture on the outskirts of São João  In the industrial area, leaving São João  An impressive church on the outskirts of São João.  Saw George for the first time on this day. I have been thwarted taking a photo of the public labour (laundry) as a couple of good ones had people actually doing the washing in them, and I thought that wasn't very polite.   Someone has obviously been washing here at this one. This is what, I assume, is the Portuguese equivalent of the Galician horreo.  Starting to see a lot of them. Over the past few days I bumped into George on a number of occasions.   He is an 82 year old Brisbane man who sets a pretty good pace, and because I frequently stop to take photos he invariably p
Read more