Entering Spain
I saw nobody from the time I finished my dinner until I walked out to the central room the next morning, and discovered elves had laid out a full breakfast buffet. It was all just for me. I didn't overdo it today and within 30 minutes of eating, Isabel was dropping me off where I could rejoin the Camino. I was well rested, well fed, and dry from head to toe.
The rain started 10 minutes later. It wasn't especially heavy, but every time it looked like it might abate, it would start falling in torrents for another several minutes. I took shelter under some oak tree branches and it wasn't too bad. The rain let up a little bit and I made my break for it. Shortly thereafter. I crossed another of the Roman bridges. The Legion would have been traveling in the opposite direction on their way to Astorga.
Today was only going to involve about four hours of walking. Except for a few climbs here and there, most of it was downhill. About halfway through today's journey the sun actually peeked out. A couple of light drizzles later, the sun finally stayed out. I packed up my rain gear for the remainder of the day.
Another mile down the trail I overtook Sarah, the author I met yesterday. We walked along and chatted for an hour before settling in for coffee. As we approached Valenca, she spotted an outdoor market and moved in that direction as I continued down the trail. Just short of the old walled city I took a break for lunch and let the sun dry me out a little more.
There was no rush to get across the river. Most of the miles for the day were already behind me. So I toured the walled city for a while and checked out some of the souvenir shops. Then it was time to head for the bridge.
It was an interesting bridge. The railway line was overhead. Cars travel beneath the rail line and barely have enough room for two to pass in opposite directions. The pedestrian lanes were on the outside of the bridge on either side. Prior to this bridge being opened in 1886, a ferry would carry passengers across the river.
The Camino stayed along the path of the river as the road climbed. Soon the church and walls of Tui came into view. I checked the location of my hotel, and it was up the hill and beyond the church. As I walked down the street in the old city there was no activity and no people, I wondered if I would be in another hotel far from any options for grocery shopping or dinner.
Even as I turned the corner and walked up to the hotel, there didn't seem to be any businesses in the area. Happily, once I checked in, the clerk informed me that everything was just a block away. She was right. There were a few restaurants and a great grocery store within a five-minute walk.
I stocked up on fruit and other items and then went back out to find dinner. Several of the bars had incredibly limited menus and others had no food at all. My Spanish is not great but it proved sufficient. I got directions from a gentleman on the street and found a restaurant.
When I entered I recognized Dave, the Englishman, right away. He was seated with four other people staying with him at the albergue (aka hostel). They invited me to sit at their table. That's a fairly common thing for Camino travelers to do. I don't remember the names of the other people and I don't know that I'll ever see them again. I do remember where they came from. Seated to my left was a gentleman from the Netherlands, then a woman who said that she is both English and French, a mother and daughter from Germany, and then of course Dave.
Most of us ordered from the pilgrim's menu. I'm not exactly sure what I got but it was tasty and filling. Dave's food took forever to be delivered. When it arrived, the presentation and amount of food was impressive. Dave, to his credit, made it all disappear.
On the way back to my hotel I looped around and passed the church. It was dramatically lit and I'm sure very visible from across the river back in Portugal.
This brick wall had ridges where people had placed small denomination coins wherever they could rest. I'm not sure how or why the tradition began. It was obvious enough people had traveled through and found a place to put a coin that few options remained for anybody else who might come later to place one.
The way my tour company has things set up. I have less than two and a half hours of walking to do tomorrow. My bag still has to be in the lobby for pickup by 8:00 a.m., so I don't get to sleep in, but I can certainly linger over breakfast. I’ll take my time to size up the weather and try to find the best time to get to O Porriño in as dry a condition as possible. The forecast is for rain again all day.
