Rather than walk from Casa Teresa ( our accommodation) along the busy N550 to Cesantes, we shall cut slightly inland to pick up the Camino coming northbound from Redondela, eventually on Rua Torre de Calle, going uphill across a bridge over railway tracks, then immediately left on to the cobbled Camino Real de Cesantes and downhill, passing ( or not ) Cafe/Pension Rustica Jumboli.
We shall be climbing uphill now and will traverse around the O Viso peak. Along the way you pass an installation of shells.From here it is downhill again to the N550. We should take care crossing here. At the entrance to Arcade, the camino turns left rather unnecessarily. It will cross back over the N550 in a few hundred metres, taking us past the albergues and shops of Arcade.
If Oysters are your thing then this the place; it’s famous for them.
This remarkable ten-arch bridge that connects the municipalities of Pontevedra and Soutomaior was where the last battle against Napoleon’s army in Galicia was fought. It happened during the Independence War, on the 7th and 8th of June 1809, and it was then when the VI Corps of the Grande Armée under the command of Marshal Michel Ney, Duke of Elchingen, were permanently defeated, thus ending the French occupation in Galicia. The bridge, of medieval origin, gives its name to the Pontevedra parish of Ponte Sampaio, located in the Verdugo River estuary, in the Ría de Vigo. The battle fought here was preceded by the uprising in Vigo and the expulsion of the invading French troops led by General Chalot.
There is the pleasantly situated Cafe A Romana at the end of the bridge. I remember sheltering there from the rain!
Leaving Alto da Canicouva we turn right onto a forest track going downhill,passing logging areas, fields and grapevines
https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=EMXTMMwx2_M&si=seGTBkWGfpRYC3rH MOONLIGHT MEADOW – “ Birdsong”.
Rúa da Virxe do Camiño,
“The city of Pontevedra on the last section of the Portuguese Way is home to an elegant old town. Sitting pretty in the heart of the ‘ría’ of the same name, Pontevedra has been shaped by a rich maritime and trading past. “ The old town is mainly car-free and open to pedestrians only, it is easy to wander around its old granite streets and admire the elegant buildings.
Many of the lively squares and streets in Pontevedra’s Old Town take their name after guilds or trades, a tradition dating back to the Middle Ages. This includes the lovely and quintessentially Galician ‘Praza da Leña’, the firewood square; the Praza da Verdura, the vegetables square; and the Praza da Ferrería, the blacksmith square. In the firewood square you will find a classic ‘cruceiro’, elegant houses with granite arches.
The
Old Town of Pontevedra (Zona Vella) is one of the most beautiful and best-preserved medieval centres in Spain, second in Galicia only to Santiago de Compostela. Declared a historic-artistic complex in 1951, it is world-renowned for its revolutionary car-free urban model, making the entire district a quiet, pedestrian-only haven of granite-paved streets and bustling squares.
A Peregrina Church, as its name suggests, has a lot to do with the Camino de Santiago. It is dedicated to the Pilgrim Virgin, who was the one who guided the walkers who came from Baiona to Santiago. She is the patron saint of Pontevedra and the Portuguese Way.
It was built in the 18th century, halfway between the Baroque and the Neoclassical. The first thing that catches your attention is its half-rounded façade, why is it? As it turns out that the plant is inspired by a scallop shell, this church could not be more pilgrimage! All the details are related to the pilgrimage. Even the baptismal font is a giant shell donated by Méndez Núñez, who brought it back from one of his exotic trips.
FROM TODAY’S PORTUGUESE CAMINO FORUM
“I find it fascinating how the Camino allows opportunities to connect with strangers even when I’m not even ON the Camino. In a training walk for my first Camino in my beautiful city of Victoria, Canada, I see a man with a back pack with the infamous Camino shell symbol attached to it. From a simple greeting and Camino-connection, we walk the last 45 minutes of my 10 mile walk together. This man, I learn, is 80 years old. On our walk, he shares stories of his adventures on the different Pilgrim treks, his family and beloved wife who passed ten years ago. At 80 he is training for his 40 day, 1000k, Trek starting in France (I think). I don’t know if it is the sun shining along our oceanside walk, or the easy flow of conversation but he brings to life what I’ve only read about the Camino and that I hope to experience in my September pilgrimage. He reiterates the joy he has experienced from meeting the many pilgrims over his numerous treks, and how he feels his life’s journey is still unfolding at 80. I can hear his authenticity when he reflects how wonderful pilgrims are on their Camino, and in a world that feels upside down for many at this time, I am in awe how magical the Camino is – and I haven’t walked it. Yet.”
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