It wasn’t very long on day 4 until Kathrin and I reached Valença, the final city in Portugal before crossing the border into Spain (you can read about my start on the Camino here). I was really happy that the way went through the old fortress of the city. There was an entire self-contained city in there! And the view at the top was amazing. We stopped to take a bunch of pictures and then walked over the bridge to Tui, España.
Tui felt much different than the brightly colored villages of Portugal. It’s quite grey in comparison, mostly due to the buildings being made of giant stone blocks. We walked up a hill through the old town to a cathedral castle at the top. After Tui, there were some nice moments when we walked through the forest, but it was mostly on the road.
One of the cafés we arrived at had a sign out front showing that the trail splits. We could either go 9.3 km or 7 km to get to Porriño. Looking at the map in the guidebook, it seemed like the 7 km would be mostly through industrial areas whereas the 9.3 km would be through quieter villages. Optimistic, we chose the 9.3 km. Now, I can’t say for certain, but I don’t know that the 9.3 was actually more beautiful than the 7. It was still a lot of roads, even a sidewalk painted green at one point. I felt like I was in the Wizard of Oz, but instead of following the yellow brick road to Oz we were following the emerald sidewalk to Porriño.
As we got closer to our destination, we had to make a choice again – this time turn left (where arrows had been drawn and blacked out) or to continue straight, following clearly visible arrows. Some pilgrims behind us encouraged us to turn left. We were so happy we did! The trail went through a park along a stream. Although the city is always in earshot, I’m certain it was much nicer than the main trail would have been.
The albergue was located on the banks of the stream at the end of the park. As we walked up, we hoped it wouldn’t be full after having traveled 30 km from Fontoura. Luckily, there was plenty of space left. I used my basic Spanish to translate what the man at reception was telling us. We were about to head up to the room to choose a bed when the man stopped me to ask if I would translate for the German couple behind us. They wanted to know the distances to the next albergues if they decided to continue on that day. Who would have guessed that the American would be the one to translate German and Spanish!? Over the next few days, I would become more than grateful for that summer I spent studying abroad in Sevilla just to learn a bit of Spanish.
After a shower and a stop at the supermarket, Kathrin and I ate a feast on the porch overlooking the stream – bread, cheese, tomatoes, avocados, strawberries, and CHOCOLATE. The meal was as simple as the albergue, but did the job. I was full and happy and sleepy. Even when the lights were turned on at 10pm to see if there were any more beds available, I hardly noticed and rolled over. Just like I did the following morning when everyone’s alarms were going off at 6…which was 5am Portugal time, meaning the sun would not be up for another hour and half. As Giovanni had been saying, “Listen to what the Camino is telling you.” It was telling me not to get up so early. I didn’t see what the hurry was to hike in the dark, so I slept on. Later I would come to find out what the hurry was all about.