I regret that yesterday’s post was so short but the walk out of Vigo to Arcade was too much for one day. I do try to never focus on the negative aspects of the Camino but it is not a secret to my gentle readers that this is difficult work. Extremely rewarding and spiritually renewing but a physical challenge all the same. Today’s route was a mere 12-14 kilometers but had some very tough climbs (and decents) but was about the right amount of challenge and reward. I logged over 22,000 steps on my Fitbit in our 5 hours of walking today but we got here just as the rain started and were able to shower, have a full lunch, and get our laundry done in time to blog. All good.

We had a fixed dinner last night at a local restaurant in Arcade. Main course was a turbot. (This being the seafood capital of Spain if not Europe). We had arrived too late for lunch so they could have served us anything for dinner and we would have been pleased. Not unusual for Ritchie boys. We woke early and had an 8:00 breakfast and we were on the road at 8:38. To get out of Arcade, we had to walk down hill to the center of town to cross the original Roman bridge where the river Vigo enters the Ria de Vigo it is a one lane bridge that is still in use today. Joe and I paused to watched the bus cross the bridge. We were glad we were not on the bridge at the time.

Departing any town on the Camino Portugués means climbing up stones. This went on for miles. Some were paved roads, some dirt, and some were washed out piles of rocks where you had to carefully select your stone to stone path and keep your balance.

At 10:00 we passed the way marker that showed that we had completed 25% of our Camino. We passed several gardens and vineyards that have been using the same stone poles and fence posts for centuries.

Another highlight of the day was our stop in the tiny chapel of St Marta. We also took a Camino Complementario or alternative route along a river that was a bit longer but very beautiful. It was much better than walking along the highway into Pontevedra.

After showering and lunch we found a lavalux and did a few days of laundry.