Camino Portugués: Day 11 - Armenteira to Vilanova de Arousa

Even though we knew that the weather forecast for today was suboptimal, I was still optimistic that it wouldn’t be as bad as predicted. After all, they say Galician weather is notoriously unpredictable and could change quickly. We woke up around sunrise, and the sky looked ominous. There was not a patch of blue sky, but at least it was just a drizzle. I still had hope that it might let up a little after breakfast. Because this is the fanciest place we stayed at so far, we had high expectations for their breakfast buffet. Breakfast on Camino is never glamorous, so I have been looking forward to American items like scrambled eggs and bacon. However, I was immediately disappointed. Though the dining room was beautiful and immaculate, there were barely any hot items on offer… not even a Spanish tortilla.

With much reluctance, Brian and I were ready to venture out and trek in the rain for the first time. We were lucky to avoid the rain until the day before Santiago. With just a light drizzle outside, we only put on our backpack cover, and off we went. Walking in the rain was a weird sensation. Having lived in big cities most of my life, I am used to walking in the rain without serious rain gear. It didn’t seem that bad.

As we passed by Armenteira Monastery, it reminded me of the singing nuns from the last night. This is one place that I will never forget. It was honestly a little odd that there was not another soul around. Like most days, we were once again one of the last pilgrims to get on the trail. I could imagine our friend Pedro left a couple of hours ago. Yesterday’s stage was one of the nicest on this Camino. But according to some past pilgrims, today’s stage would be the most beautiful. The hosts from The Spirit of Camino podcast considered this morning’s trek the most beautiful of their entire Camino Portugués from Lisbon. Now, that is high praise.

What made this morning’s walk special was a section called The Route of Stone and Water (Ruta de la Piedra y del Agua). The trailhead was only ten years beyond the monastery. Also locally known as the PR-G 170 Route, this trail is supposedly a processional route the locals would take toward Armenteira Monastery on Easter Monday. Because of its dense foliage over this route, the descent down to the trailhead felt like entering the underworld. The tree canopy here was so dense that it immediately felt like the clock had been turned back a few hours to darkness. With an overcast sky, today was not an optimal day for photography. The only upside I could think of was that the canopy might shield us from the rain. The rain was not that bad after all.

The “greenness” could not be understated.

Almost immediately, I could understand why people recommend this walk so highly. At the bottom of the staircase is a beautiful set of cascades that was seemingly out of a postcard. At the top of this waterfall perched a ruined stone mill. There is no mistake just how this route got its name. The trail followed a ravine of the Armenteira River. The babbling sound of the river added a lot of the sensory experience. About two dozen abandoned mills line the river, all in various states of disrepair. In addition to stone miles, a keen observer could see various water channels diverting water toward the mills. This spot must be unusual, making this river a magnet for flour mills.

From the information I read, most of these mills were only abandoned in the middle of the 20th century. Because of the ongoing rain, we did not try to stop and read the occasional historical plaques along the trail. Even though this route is on the official Camino route, it is also a popular hiking trail for locals and Spanish tourists. We encountered as many locals as pilgrims. Of any section of trail we walked this pilgrimage so far, this stretch is one that we could genuinely recommend for non-pilgrims. It managed to combine the natural beauty of Galicia with a dose of nostalgia and mysticism.

The Route of Stone and Water is not just a highlight of Variante Espiritual but also Camino Portugués.

Unfortunately, the rain started to pick up about twenty minutes in. Despite the protection of the tree canopies, it was clear that we needed to put on our rain jackets for the first time. With it, I also had to stow away my DLSR camera. It was weird not to have my camera around my neck. Hopefully, it would allow me to be a “normal” pilgrim and not be obsessed with documenting my Camino. As much as I enjoy photography, the weight of all the equipment took up more than a third of the total weight of my backpack. I should swap my big DSLR camera for a compact travel camera for the Camino.

Walking in the rain was an interesting sensation for me. It was an almost psychological exercise of mentally tuning out the rain. The discussions around rain gear are one of the hottest topics on various Camino forums. From my observation, pilgrims tend to divide themselves into two camps: waterproofing at all costs or embracing moisture. On one end, some pilgrims would wear waterproof shoes and rain pants. They insist it was not that difficult to stay dry with the right gear, even under the torrential downpour. But another camp of pilgrims advocates wearing breathable shoes that allow moisture to seep through easily. While that may seem continuous, those pilgrims stress that waterproof shoes are impossible to dry out once any bit of moisture gets it.

One of the two dozen abandoned mills along the trail.

After much consideration, we decided to go with the latter camp by wearing trail runners for our Camino. From my understanding, the selection of Camino footwear should depend mostly on the season and routes. Outside of the winter/wet season or Camino Primitivo, it is more important to have maximum ventilation around your feet than to worry about staying dry. The fact that we did not get rain until day eleven proves that such a strategy is correct. Trail runners don’t offer much moisture protection. It took only thirty minutes for my feet to soak completely. I decided to put that out of my mind and enjoy the rest of today’s stage.

Because of the rain, we did not get to slow down and enjoy the most beautiful stretch of the Camino. It was funny how different our pilgrimage felt all of a sudden. Once the downpour started, the ubiquitous “¡Buen Camino!” became notably absent. Just about every pilgrim, us included, put our heads down and marched forward, hoping to end our misery early. After an hour, we emerged from the ravine and arrived at a busy highway interchange. If walking in the forest during the rain was miserable, it was ten times worse on the tarmac. Luckily, it did not take us long to return to the peace and tranquility of the countryside when the trail returned to the banks of the Armenteira River.

This second section of the trail has excellent infrastructure for hikers and pilgrims.

For the next two hours, it was a leisure stroll through farms and vineyards along a flat dirt trail. All I could think about was how amazing it would be without the rain. Half a dozen fully restored stone mills dotted along this section of the trail. According to a plaque, this area formed part of an outdoor ethnographic museum. In addition to mills, there are also a couple of public laundry pools. We first saw these public laundry pools in Tui, the first Galician city we visited. it is easy for us to associate them with Galicia. It was funny to think that there was no separate wastewater system for laundry washing back in the day. But I suppose there were no inorganic chemicals back then.

Even though his section of the trail has quite a few roadside cafes, just about every place was closed due to inclement weather (and fewer pilgrims). We were glad to pack a few bags of potato chips to tie us over to lunch. The rain was heavy by then, and we were desperate for shelter. The part of the trail runs parallel to River Umia, which is a much bigger waterway than Armenteira River. The trail was easy to stroll, but it was not nearly as scenic as the first part of the morning. We were both ready for lunch, not so much for food but a place to take off my wet socks and shoes. I wished I was wearing hiking sandals and swim shorts.

At last, we reached a main road, which meant we could finally have lunch. Casa Falcores Pontearnelas is an ordinary restaurant frequented by locals and pilgrims alike. Since we were both cold and starving, we were not picky. We both opted for their daily set menu, which includes a plate of stewed beans, roasted pork ribs, french fries, and caramel flan. Of course, a carafe of red wine and water is also included in the meal. The whole menu set was €9 a person, which was an absolute steal for the amount of food. The home-style cooking was just what we needed on a rainy day.

Sitting next to us are three French Canadian pilgrims; one of them looks like a doppelgänger for British hotelier Alex Polizzi. They were veteran pilgrims, and this was their fourth pilgrimage. Because of the experience, they were more sanguine about the rain than us newbies. They all agree that Camino Francese offers a better pilgrimage experience in terms of atmosphere and physical scenery. That was good to hear, given that I have been enjoying Camino Portugués thus far. I hope to take a sabbatical from work to walk to the Camino Francese in the future.

Reluctantly, we had to leave the shelter of the restaurant and march forward. The next stretch of the trail is a tarmac walk along a busy road. Fortunately, the rain let us a bit, so it was not as miserable as this morning. Today, the stage clocks in at just under 16 miles, which makes it one of the longest stages of Camino Portugués. With Santiago de Compostella within reach, we did not let the distance scare us. For the first time on the pilgrimage, I finally felt that the journey's end was fast approaching. As much as I wanted to get to our destination for the day to dry up, I started to feel sad that this was the penultimate day of this wonderful experience.

Carrera de Burras was erected in 2014 to commemorate the traditional donkey race in San Roque every September. Too bad that we missed it by only a week.

This afternoon’s trek was like Camino in miniature. The trail goes through varying landscapes, ranging from vineyards, industrial zones, eucalyptus forests, and suburbia. Of course, there was plenty of hórreo greeting passing pilgrims. About 90 minutes in, we encountered a billboard for the La Traslatio, the fabled boat ride that is the centerpiece of Variante Espiritual. The sign was from the same exclusion company we made the reservation with. I wonder how many pilgrims have come this far without a prior boat reservation. I think this sign would be more helpful before Pontevedra, wouldn’t you say?

Before long, we were almost at the shore. Passing us was a German pilgrim whom Brian met at our “hostel” in Pontevedra. I recognized him from the pilgrim mass last night at Armenteira Monastery. He is one of the pilgrims invited to read the blessing in their native language. He passed and walked with an older female pilgrim just a few minutes ahead of us. Eventually, we all met near the shore and walked together for the rest of the way. Matthias is from a small town in Germany, and Mieke is from the Netherlands.

Our new pilgrim friends: Matthias and Mieke.

The destination of today’s stage is Vilanova de Arousa, a quiet city of just over 10,000 people. From where the trail meets the shore, it was a pleasant 30-minute walk into town. The scenery along the way is beautiful, and it reminds me of the Pacific Northwest because of the dreary weather. Along the way, I got to talk with Mieke more. This was her fourth Camino, and she always walked Camino Portugués with friends. I obviously can’t resist asking about her opinion of the Variante Espiritual. She said the route is more challenging than the Central Route, but it was well worth it. While I do agree yesterday’s stage could be tiring, it was nothing like the steep comb up Alto da Portela Grande de Labruja on day five.

Ceremonial entrance into Vilanova de Arousa.

The entrance into Vilanova de Arousa was through a pedestrian bridge over the mouth of the river. The harborside city appeared almost abandoned in the late afternoon. It seemed like only pilgrims were out and about. Sadly, we had to say goodbye to our new pilgrim friends, but we had no doubt we would see them again. Speaking about running into people we know, we see the Danish and Estonian pilgrims again. This marked the fourth day in a row that we saw them at the end of the stage. Even though we saw each other so often, our conversation has not progressed past simple pleasantries.

Just immediately off the bridge is the office of The Pilgrim Boat. It is another company that offers the La Traslatio boat service. However, The Pilgrim Boat does not allow prior payment, so pilgrims must come into their office to validate the reservation with payment. Theoretically, pilgrims arriving late might even have the spot given away. According to Matthias, they charge significantly cheaper than the operator I booked with. Naturally, I am very curious about the difference between the two. There must be a legitimate reason for the price difference.

After saying goodbye to our fellow pilgrims, we made a beeline to our rental apartment, Arco da Vella Apartamentos. An on-site supervisor centrally manages the apartment complex. Our apartment is a two-bedroom suite with a living room loft. It is surely a welcomed home after a day in the rain. But the best thing about this place is the free washer and dryer (albeit unvented). Otherwise, there was no way that our laundry could dry on time in this weather. At €95 a night, this apartment is quite a splurge.

Vilanova de Arousa is a quiet, sleepy town from a tourist point of view. Even though the town has a massive tourism information office, most offerings are geared toward pilgrims or sport fishing. There aren’t many important historical landmarks for sightseeing in town. The recommended historical museum, Casa Museo de Valle Inclán, was closed during our visit. I might have felt different if the weather was a bit nicer.

Escultura do Momo is one of the oddest sculptures I have ever seen.

Perhaps the most interesting thing in town is a statue of a “pregnant man with a mirrored head.” It took me quite a long time to find some information. Named “Escultura do Momo,” the sculpture is dedicated to the local carnival celebration known as Fiesta el Momo. The potbellied man symbolizes the excess of the Carnival feast (locally known as Festa do Momo). The abstract head is a reminder that everyone who looks at themselves in the mirror knows they can become Momo, the symbol of the carnival.

Given the town's size and the daily influx of pilgrims, we were shocked by the lack of choices for proper dinners. Luckily, we could score a table at Bar Restaurante Faro Da Lúa at the last minute. After a long day, we treated ourselves to delicious paella and local white wine. Because our boat reservation for tomorrow was at seven in the morning., we were eager to call it a night early. Let’s hope the weather tomorrow will be better!

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Camino Portugués: Day 11 - Armenteira to Vilanova de Arousa

Camino Portugués: Day 12 - Vilanova de Arousa to Santiago de Compostela

Camino Portugués: Day 10 - Pontevedra to Armenteira