SUNDAY 24 th May and it was hills in the heat from Redondela to Pontevedra.

25 May

We started walking at 08.40 from the outskirts of Redondela. We had not gone very far when we came to a road on which was parked a tour bus right by the Camino. Out spilled a crowd of Turigrinos,probably from a cruise ship moored in nearby Vigo. They were all crisply dressed as if going to a Christening, rather than on a “ Camino Taster”. This group added to the large groups of Pelegrinos whose numbers are swelled by those joining from the central route. Thankfully, the numbers thinned out, especially after the first hill.

A bit of a shock as they turned the corner and began an ascent of 145 metres followed by a tricky descent. Depending on where people started from, eg Lisbon or Porto, I noticed some walkers along the way with foot wear off, attending to blisters and one lady I had chatted to the other day, had an impromptu ice pack on her shoulder. Understandably distance and heat contributed to these growing occurrences.

Occasional glimpses of the VIGO bridge across the Ria

I felt a twinge on one of my toes – empathy?

After descending the hill and coffee on the edge of Arcade, we crossed over a beautiful bridge with an interesting history.

Although the origins of the bridge are Roman, there are no traces remaining from this period. The current structure belongs to the Middle Ages. It is a long construction with ten arcades, between which there are breakwaters. On a historical note, the battle of Ponte Sampaio against the French in 1809 took place on this bridge. The beauty of the landscape at this point is outstanding, and it offers beautiful views of the Peneda del Viso and the estuary of the Verdugo river.