“It’s your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.” – Rumi 

Day 8 and 9

I feel a little sad to leave the central route with its beautiful villages, rural pathways, vineyards and cornfields… and am wondering if we made the right choice. We hop in an uber to start our day as we are switching back to the Litoral/coastal route that was always our plan. The car is very comfortable and the driver is lovely and very chatty the whole way. He tells us he much prefers the central route which again makes me doubt my choices.

Although we also know now that had we continued on the central route, our next stage would have been the most difficult stage of the whole route with a lot of climbing and in 30°+ temperatures… which Anne would really struggle with. Our struggles are very different. Anne struggles with the hills and heat. Those are not such an issue for me except that the heat exacerbates my hikers rash and swelling. I struggle with downhills and the length of our walks each day. The reduction in temperature will definitely make it easier all around. And it is what it is, and we have to believe that we have been guided to choose the route we have and that the Camino will provide the experience, lessons and blessings that we need. 

We arrive in Caminha where we will catch the boat over the river to Spain. The main ferry apparently got stuck on a sandbar two years ago and is still there. So now everyone uses what they call water taxis and once there is enough people they leave… and go back and forth all day. It is a small dinghy boat and we drag our big bags over the sand and climb in.

Someone even has a bike with them. We are all handed big dirty life jackets as we push off towards Spain… crossing the Mediterranean in a small leaky boat.  Not really😂… but Anne does comment that it feels like we are boat people sneaking our way across rough treacherous seas… towards a new life. Actually it is a 10 minute boat ride across the Mino river … but it is blustery and a little rough and we can’t stop laughing and end up with everyone else laughing too.

We make it to the other side… alive… and with our luggage wet but in one piece and we drag ourselves off the boat. 

My life on a pastel de nata diet has come to an end. Hola España- we are now in Spain.

I google our accomodation and it is 3km away uphill. No problem… we will call an Uber. But… no cars available! I now believe it does not operate in the area we are in. Oh well… we follow our Camino arrows up… up… up and eventually make our way to our accomodation for the night which is situated in a beautiful old convent… the Hotel Monumento Convento de San Benito in the small city of AGarda. We are pretty impressed with ourselves that we managed the walk with barely a heavy breath despite dragging our 15kg+ packs and our daypacks. 

Overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and presided by the Miño river and the Monte de Santa Tecla hill fort, the town of A Guarda is famous for its lobsters. They even have a lobster festival next month. Hopefully we may get to try some later. For now we head off looking for a sandwich or something and end up with a kebab and a wine from the restaurant next door.

It is later than expected as we have moved an hour forward crossing into Spain and the sunset is now not until 10.15 so sadly, as that is well past Anne’s pumpkin time, it is very unlikely we will see another one. 

We spend some time exploring the charming town with a rich history and strong fishing heritage, which is evident in its gorgeous little harbour and seafood restaurants that line it. I love it immediately with it colourful buildings…

… and little beach with clear turquoise water.

Had it been a couple of days earlier there is nothing I would have wanted more than to jump in but the temperature has dropped by more than 10° since we moved back to the coast and there is a strong and very chilly breeze. Not swimming weather for me no matter how tempting it looks.

We have an afternoon rest and we both sleep… not good for me as it almost ensures that I will not sleep well tonight… and eventually head out to the piano bar that is part of our convent accomodation. There is no piano music tonight but there is wine and we have a lovely conversation with Jill from Melbourne before heading off to one of the many restaurants along the harbour for some delicious and huge prawns for dinner. 

After little sleep for me, we set off on a cool and misty morning. The low cloud that was with us all day yesterday has descended even further so you can barely see the hills behind the town.

But we are blessed that the high winds of yesterday have died down and the conditions are perfect for walking.

Our route follows the coastline to Oia which is about 15km away. If I told you that today you could walk along a wild and rocky coastline, paddle in shallow waters in a few sandy beaches, eat a fabulous seafood lunch overlooking the Atlantic if that took your fancy, and wander around a long since abandoned medieval monastery, would you want to rush? Well we didn’t want to either! Which is why I cant understand why so many people choose to walk double our kilometres on this stage and continue all the way to Baiona… which is our destination tomorrow. 

This is our first full day walking in Spain, through the Celtic lands of legends and ancient peoples. It’s not a day to be rushed. And I just love the first stages of our walk today with its tiny little beaches. Most people I know love the long sandy beaches so common back home… but I have always found the tiny ones (like Froggys on the Gold coast) to be so much more picturesque.

Although I do just love the beach… any time… any size… despite that I am not much of a swimmer. I am drawn to it… the wind, the salt, the seagulls… and am overtaken by the sensations of peace and happiness. I feel at one with the world and at peace with myself and all that is happening in my life—chaos included… at least for now. It’s like a natural antidepressant. 

Marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols believes that we all have a “blue mind… that is a mildly meditative state characterized by calm, peacefulness, unity, and a sense of general happiness and satisfaction with life in the moment.” According to Wallace, this is triggered when we’re in or near water. “We are beginning to learn that our brains are hardwired to react positively to water and that being near it can calm and connect us, increase innovation and insight, and even heal what’s broken.” Makes total sense to me… but back to the trail. 

The trail itself is straightforward, and it feels like you’re miles from anywhere…  hugging the coast with stunning views for much of the way. There is a few sections of road walking, I called the yellow brick road… though it’s not brick it definitely is yellow. It’s safe and easy to navigate compared to some of the roads that we have journeyed on. 

It is a beautiful stage with a little more elevation than we expected as the path at one stage was closed due to apparently being blocked with water and mud… thus sending us up the hill to bypass this area. But this did give us plenty of opportunities to soak up the scenery.

Much of the time, the only sounds were the crunch of our footsteps on the gravelly path, the chirping of the birds and the calm ocean as a background to it all. 

There was a little café about halfway with stunning views of the sea, where many pilgrims stop… but we weren’t in need of sustenance at that stage although we did take advantage of the bathrooms.

I was advised to always use them when available as you never know when the next opportunity will come. I have only had to do a bush wee once but have had to be lookout for Anne on many occasions. 

Anne had our first fall today. It seemed like slow motion watching her as she hit the ground and I felt like an angel had caught her and put her softly down. She didn’t fall hard and was completely fine… but we do have to constantly watch the ground… so many different and changing surfaces… dirt, gravel with loose stones, rocks, tree roots… all sorts of things that can trip you up. 

Can’t imagine doing it in crocs but we did see a girl walking in them today. We also saw one with a toddler on her back… our hero for the day. 

Nearing the end of the days walk, we turn off from the yellow brick road and head steeply downhill on a quiet meandering path that led us to the Ermita de San Sebastián. This tiny old chapel, overlooking the sea, is dedicated to San Sebastián.

It was a lovely simple little chapel where you could leave prayer requests with the promise that they would be prayed for. You can also light a candle there if you want to and there is a stamp for our credential. 

Not sure if I have explained this but we picked up our Camino “passport” or credential at the Porto Cathedral. The pilgrim’s official  credential is a sort of passport which must be stamped on each stage of the route. Its origins date back to the Middle Ages and the document which was given to pilgrims for use as a safe-conduct. There is a space at the top for the seal of the place that issues the Credencial – for us the Porto Cathedral… at the bottom of the same page, the date and the Cathedral’s stamp will be placed after completing the pilgrimage… in Santiago de Compostela. It must be stamped at least two times a day during your journey as proof of the pilgrimage, allowing the pilgrim to request the Compostela certificate upon completion. These stamps can usually be found at your accomodations, some cafes and restaurants, churches and random places… like one day walking in the central route I noticed a sign that said, “stamp behind the tree” and there we found a little shelf with the stamp as well as pilgrim memorabilia. 

Just 600 meters further from the little chapel we entered the glorious little village of Oia, dominated by the Monastery of Santa María de Oia, a 12th-century Cistercian monastery perched beside the sea. The town is tiny but so gorgeous… the old town a maze of cobbled streets to explore filled with beautiful stone buildings all overlooking the dramatic rugged coastline below. 

The majority of pilgrims and tourists walk straight through this place, not even stopping to enjoy a coffee or drink. As far I am concerned, what a mistake they are making… the Camino is not a race… and so much beauty is missed by treating it like one. 

A particular restaurant had been recommended and we stopped by to book for dinner… but liked it so much we decided to have some cheese and wine there for lunch as well… with unspoiled views of the small bay, parts of the town and the monastery. 

Afterwards we continue on to the historic Santa maria de Oia Monastery located right on the coast and currently being restored… which means you can’t actually see it inside but it is still so beautiful overlooking the bay. 

Our accomodation at Casa Arrabal is stunning- a 2 bedroom stone country house with all the modern cons… but right on the street and we can hear every words of the passers by. Hopefully it’s an early-to-bed town.

We head back to our lunchtime restaurant for dinner, when in walks Jill who we met last night and joins us for dinner. We end up inviting another woman sitting alone to join us- Veda and we have a long and lovely meal together…

… staying long past pumpkin time and watching as the day bleeds into night fall.

There are lots of things about the Camino that are a little difficult to explain… the emotions involved is one of them. You can walk a day and feel like it was really lovely (or not) and you can walk a day with tears constantly in your eyes without any real explanation. Today was one of those days. I felt so totally blessed. And grateful. 

Steps today- 24,429

Kilometres today- 16.80

Floors climbed- 7

Temperature- 20°