Camino Portugués de Santiago de Compostela Phase 2: Vigo - Santiago
27 September - 1 October 2026
Day 11 (Sunday 27th September): Vigo to Redondela (22 kms)
We wanted an early start this morning. There was just one problem – the café where we needed to leave our baggage for pick-up did not open on time. A friendly Chinese couple who was also waiting promised to look after it for us, allowing us to leave right away. We would meet them again later on the Camino and could thank them again for their kindness.
The road out of Vigo was uphill all the way. We were winded by the time we finally left the city behind and started what would turn out to be a mostly forest walk. There were crowds of people on the Camino now, including groups of rather noisy Americans. Apparently many pilgrims started their walk in Vigo as it still allowed them to get their certificate in Santiago for a much shorter walk (the minimum distance to qualify was 100 kms).
The vibe on the walk had suddenly changed. The quiet almost private pathways of Portugal had given way to a busy, noisy procession of tourist groups. There were others on the road too of course, including a Filipino family with an elderly mother. That they would start their Camino in Vigo was totally understandable.
Th real fun would start in Redondela. We had booked quite an expensive rooom in an old manor house in the cenre of the town. The room was a complete disappointment and we asked to exchange it for a bigger room with more light. The manager refused and so I cancelled our reservation. A big mistake. We would soon discover that there was nothing else available anywhere in town.
We started calling around the hostels and eventually one of them said they had a bed. A taxi took us there. Even better, there was a private room available for us and we would therefore not have to sleep in a dormitory. As it turned out, the room was right next to a busy road but we still felt lucky to be there (the Camino will provide).
We ran into Hazel again (a friend of Georgina) and met Lynn, a middle-aged pastor from England who was told two years ago that she would never walk agaon. What an inspring person she was. We shared a communal dinner with other guests and although the food was nothing special, we really enjoyed the company: we had refound the Camino vibe.
Day 12 (Monday 28th September): Redondela - Pontevedra (20 kms)
We were on the road at 7.30am. It climbed higher out of Redondela but we soon took a turning into a forest and alternated between roads, villages and fields for the rest of the day. There were a lot of pilgrims about: we met an Asian mother with her 3 month old child strapped to her back. We also collected some very pretty stamps for our passports on the way.
We also came across the first person we found to be in a bad mood; a grumpy Australian lady who moaned and groaned the whole time during our coffee break because she did not like her hot chocolate. Fortunately such people were an exception; most peregrinos we came across seemed delighted to be there and were totally enjoying the experience.
Reaching Pontevedra around 1.30pm, we did some shopping at ALDI before our landlord, Carlos (and a very nice man indeed), picked us up and brought us to our flat, (the Estilo Americano). It was located outside town, about a 25 minute drive away. It was spacious and well equipped and we feasted that evening on our purchases before aking an evening digestive stroll. Along the way back, we came across another Camino, the Spiritual one; the path itself seemed ideal for introspection and meditation.
Day 13 (Tuesday 29th September): Pontevedra – Caldas de Reis (21 kms)
After a quick breakfast, Carlos drove us to the start of the Camino. It would be an easy day for walking and yet different from yesterday - cornfields, vineyards, small hamlets. We had a great latte with a croissant and fresh orange juice under the vines at Ponsada for our mid-morning break while lunch was a quick sandwich eaten while waiting our turn for some beautiful wax stamps.
Mylene released some of the stones she had been carrying since the start of the Camino, a symbolic act of forgiveness of those who had disappointed her with their conduct. Today was the first time we encountered rain and we were happy to be finally able to use our ponchos.
Arriving in Caldas quite early in the afternoon, we were positively surprised by the cleanliness and fresh bed linen of our hostel, A Queimada. Our bed was in the corner of the dormitory, which gave us some privacy, with Mylene as usual in the top bunk.
We were fortunate in finding a very good restaurant nearby before the heavens opened and their kitchen closed: melon and ham for the starter followed by grilled salmon and vegetables. We treated ourselves to a bottle of wine and drank it slowly as we watched the last of the day’s pilgrims struggle into town, drenched to the skin.
Day 14 (Wednesday 30th September): Caldas de Reis - Padron (23 kms)
We left the hostel in the dark after a quick coffee, the silence of the town broken only by a loud American pilgrim, oblivious to the fact that 90% of its population was still asleep. Mylene walked on ahead, alone, she was rather melancholic because tomorrow was the last day of the Camino: we would reach Santiago. And then?
It was a pleasant walk today, mostly through forest, farmland and vineyards. Portugal`s late Indian summer had given way to a cooler, misty autumn landscape. We no longer suffered from the heat and it made walking a lot easier.
We stayed the night in a comfortable flat, El Rincon de Luz, in the centre of Padron. We strolled along the leafy riverside promenade beside the River Sar, crossed the scenic 19th century stone bridge and visited the 15th century church in the center – the Iglesia de Santiago Apostol - that houses the pedron – the Roman stone pillar beneath the alter where the stone boat carrying the remains of St James the Great is said to have been moored.
Day 15 (Thursday 1st October): Padron – Santiago de Compostela (32 kms)
Finally, the big day had arrived. We would sleep in Santiago tonight. Mylene did not feel elated, she was so sad she felt like crying.
It was quite the procession that started off from Padron early that morning. It was still dark and we were grateful for our torch once again. The crowds thinned out en route and by the time we could make out the cathedral spires of Santiago in the distance, we had just two Chinese girls for company. In all, we would have conversed with 30 different nationalities since the start of the Camino.
It was then a long uphill walk to the cathedral square: it was full of pilgrims, sitting on the ground, relaxing, laughing, taking selfies. They had also made it. We too felt a sense of achievement and we congratulated each other with a hug and a kiss. We then made our way to the Pilgrim’s Office where we showed our passports full of stamps and we received our official certificates with our names in Latin.
Back outside, we slumped into a chair in a quiet corner and just enjoyed the moment, exhausted but content. We had walked over 350 kms in just over two weeks and had made many friends along the way. Was this the end of the road? No, we decided to continue on to Fisterra. Another 100 kms to walk and another certificate at the end of it. It promised to be a different kind of Camino, more solitary and private than what we had experienced over the past week since Vigo.
We found our hotel, close to the old town, showered, changed and walked back into town for dinner. It was cold and dark by the time we arrived back at the hotel again, We rearranged our belongings, planning to leave some baggage in the hotel that we would pick up on our return to Santiago from Fisterra. The adventure was not yet over.
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