A 35km walk and I decided not to hunt around for breakfast as I was sure I would find something en route. Big mistake. The road from Tui was replete with churches and nice scenery but not cafes.
And clearly there had been a terrible accident here with a pilgrim running at speed into a large piece of stone...
Eventually, after about 5 miles I came to a welcome cafe by a main road and stopped for the all-important coffee and tostada. I was joined by a jovial group of Bavarians who I then walked with for a while. One of them, a doctor who spoke impeccable English, said that the most common language in the world in 20 years time would not be Mandarin, or Spanish, or English. It would be bad English. I tried to imagine me having the fluency in another language to tell a joke like that and failed.
Having left the Bavarians behind, I then headed up to O Porrino. My guidebook described a pretty miserable hike through a vast industrial estate but the route seemed to head off to the East of O Porrino. I fell in with Nina, a German doctor from Hamburg, who seemed to think this route was the right one. I stopped at a little cafe, still confused and spotted a guy using the same guidebook as me. He was a Dutchman - Peter - and he seemed not at all confused and said that the route was very clear in his guidebook. It was then that the penny dropped; note to self, check one is using the latest version of the guidebook before setting out.
The way winds back into the centre of O Porrino which seemed pleasant enough. A funeral passed by as I walked through which gave me a little glimpse of death...
And then a very pleasant walk through a wooded area and down a steep hill that resulted in my toes smacking against my toecaps; an unfortunate consequence that I only discovered when I wondered why there was blood in my shoe later that day.
Redondela was a lively town. I had a nice apartment right in the centre and had a walk around to find a band playing in the street for no good reason. A couple of hours later I ran into Dagmar who was just arriving in town and asked where the hotels were. I explained that there weren't any others that I knew of but she seemed unfazed and managed to get the last apartment in the block where I was staying. And then I discovered that Nina was also staying there. The albergue seemed packed so the apartment block was a good option.
Dinner was jolly with Nina, Peter and Dagmar where I explained to a horrified audience (especially Nina) the subtleties of the English language. Why for example there is a massive difference in meaning between "Would you like another cup of tea?" and "Would you like another cup of tea before you go?". The German and Dutch found this form of nuanced communication extremely sinister.
And it's Spain so of course there was a fiesta going on in the town square. People of all ages out enjoying life. It's amazing what a decent climate does to a country.
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