Distance: 27.7km (536.6km), time spent: 10:15.
Weather: Sunny, some showers, then sunny.
To get over to Spain, the pilgrims has to go by boat. Or they could walk a long distance, following the river and cross over a bridge further up, and then walk down again on the other side. From Caminha there is a public ferry, but when I asked at what time it left in the morning, I found it to be a little too late for my liking. Instead, I asked the hospitalero at the albergue to book a private boat for me and June.
In Spain after leaving Portugal on a private boat across the Rio Miño.
In the morning, the local fisherman is waiting outside the albergue for me and June, and then drives us to a small jetty outside Caminha. There in the light of dawn we board a little wooden boat that will take us over to Spain, leaving Portugal. It is a beautiful morning, behind us lies Portugal and for me the approximately 500k that I have walked through it. We are actually crossing into Spain on a small boat, it has the tiny bit of feeling like we are entering it illegally. The fisherman puts us off on the Praia do Muiño, we are now officially in Spain. He also has his own sello, that he stamps in our pilgrim passports.
At the Praia do Muiño in Spain, with the Forte da Ínsua at the back.
From the beach, we have to go a little back alongside the Rio Miño to get back to our familiar yellow arrows, but as it is next to the beach it is a nice walk. The public ferry goes to A Pasaxe and it is from there that we pick up our Camino again, now with the familiar milestones next to the path.
Woodland path to A Guarda.
It is when we are walking upwards that it dawns upon us, that we have made one stupid error. Or rather I have. When I booked the boat yesterday, I did not take into account that Spain operates with another timezone than Portugal, even though we are on the same longitude. When we set foot in Spain, we lost one hour, or in other words we have to set the clock one hour forward. Now, we have less time than we thought we had to reach our planned destination.
One of the reconstructed Castro-Roman houses at Castro de Santa Trega, Portugal on the other side of the river.
Castro de Santa Trega.
If we were only going to Mougas, the time would not have been an issue. There are however other issues at stake, my curiosity for instance. Reaching A Guarda, we set about finding first a place where I can leave my backpack, then the starting point of the path up to Monte de Santa Tecla. A kind hotel is letting my leave my backpack there while we go on a micro adventure up to the ancient Galician fort and archaeological site at the top of the small mountain. The path leading up to it is close by the hotel.
At Monte de Santa Tecla.
Dark clouds in the horizon from the Monte de Santa Tecla.
The Camino from A Pasaxe to A Guarda went through a lovely forest, but the path should really go over this hill. Nevermind the associated climb, the rewards for the pilgrims would be great. Situated at the top is the Castro de Santa Trega (the hill is both referenced to as Monte de Santa Trega and Monte de Santa Tecla), this is an old iron age hill fort. Of the excavated buildings and houses only the circular stone foundations are left, forming a large field of concentric circles standing next to each other. It is a quite weird, but very cool, sight. There are some few whole buildings left at the site, round with thatched roofs, but they are reconstructions and not the original houses.
View back towards Portugal from Monte de Santa Tecla, Caminha to the right.
Viacrucis do Monte Santa Trega.
Further up, at the top of the hill, there are several sights worth seeing. From the old hill fort a line of crosses called the Viacrucis do Monte Santa Trega leads up to the top. There is a chapel (Calvario de Santa Tegra), a hermitage (Ermida de Santa Trega) and a museum (Museo Arqueolóxico Monte Santa Trega) here. Not forgetting great views from several viewpoints. One thing the nice view tells us, is that there is a rain approaching, coming from the North. Even when we are on the top, we can feel the first raindrops falling from the sky. We take a final look at Portugal, then walk down again, looking at the rain falling down on the opposite hills.
Street art in A Guarda.
Down in A Guarda it starts to rain. No rain during my whole walk through Portugal, and then I get rain almost as soon as I enter Spain. Quite funny. Then a pleasant surprise awaits me. Further down the street we are walking down, I can see Joan and Paige. I am so happy to see them, unsure if I would actually meet them again. Since it is raining and we are having a tiny reunion, it is the perfect time for lunch. We find a cosy restaurant, La Casa de la Abuela, for a good meal. When we leave, it has stopped raining.
Leaving A Guarda.
The coastal Camino from A Guarda, looking back at Monte de Santa Tecla and A Guarda.
From A Guarda it is back to the coast again, the Spanish coast this time. The difference from Portugal is that the hills here feels more significant, more rough. And the first part of the coastal Camino here goes more on a footpath than on esplanades or boardwalk (not that I did not enjoy the boardwalks). The wind is buffeting us a little, behind us we can see Monte de Santa Trega with the dark rainy clouds still hanging over it. Blue sky all over near future for us.
Walk between burned trees.
Autumn has arrived, ever so gently, with the grass turning a crispy brown. Natural rock fences are lined up next to the path. We pass by a shellfish nursery, called cetárea. On the hillsides there are signs of a forest fire. Twisted grey skeletons of trees, we also see them down here next to the path. We have both enjoyed every step since we left A Guarda.
Paige and Joan having a rest.
Atlantic ocean views.
Hard surface does not elude us totally, unfortunately. The Camino does leave the coast to test our feet on asphalt from time to time, but thankfully the shoulder of the road is quite wide, and the sea is never far away. We pass by Joan and Paige, sitting leisurely underneath some trees. They look like they are really having a good time. Today, they are going to Oia, which we arrive at after more lovely walking on the coast. Oia is dominated by the Santa María de Oia monastery, from the 12th century, but is actually a pleasant small village next to the sea. Quite busy with people too. We only stop for a refreshment at a local café, feel we owe that to the place, but we do not have time to visit the monastery. The clock has passed six in the afternoon when we leave.
A motorcycle and the monastery in Oia.
Boats in the sea outside Oia.
From Oia, the walk goes mainly on paths next to the sea again. Time is ticking and it will get quite late when we will arrive in Mougás, so we hasten a little. Forgetting that we still have time before the sun goes down, as we have set the clock one hour back. Before the last walk into Mougás, the Camino crosses the road and takes a short inland turn. When we arrive at the Aguncheiro Albergue under the final light from the sun, the clock will soon strike eight.
Mosteiro de Santa María de Oia.
Arriving in Mougás.
Another wonderful walk, the coastal Camino has delivered everything that it promised, but we are tired when we arrive. I think this may be the day that I have felt most tired after on the Camino Portugués. June and I share a big and nice apartment here, it was bigger than we thought it would be, so it is good space for both of us. Elisa from Italy, whom we met yesterday, is also here. We eat dinner and just return to our apartment to rest.
Red sky over Mougás in the evening.
<< CaminhaA Ramallosa >>
No comments:
Post a Comment