Luis and I left the albergue early this Easter Sunday morning, and met up with Nearess and Carolen by mid-morning. We reached Redondela as their Easter Parade was beginning. Redondela is the point where the coastal and the central Portuguese Camino routes merge. It was refreshing to see new pilgrim faces from this point on.
Johanna and Irene
Johanna and Irene, Germans, did their first three days out of Porto on the coastal route before cutting inland to the central route.
Ellen
Ellen, 75, is from Mount Hood, near Portland, Oregon, USA. This was her second Camino. Her husband does not walk so well anymore so this time, she is walking with her girlfriends.
We ended our day with a great fish meal at a restaurant in Pontesampaio at the end of a medieval 10 arch bridge. The town is the site of the last battle against Napoleon’s Army in Galicia in 1809. Napoleon lost and the French occupation of Glaicia was over.
Yoav
Yoav is from Israel. He is 19 and on his first Camino. He started in Caminha, the Portugual/Spain border, but was now suffering from a sore knee. Carolen gave him her soft knee brace hoping it would help him finish his Camino. He was either going to try the knee brace and shorter days, or abandon the Camino and head to a friendly Spanish beach town to rest.
30 km this day.