Portuguese Camino Day 7: Pontevedra to Padrón

Rain, rain… iWalk Genius, how do I say this?

We had 40 km to walk — a distance neither Andrea nor Hani had ever attempted. And with the forecast predicting non-stop rain, it felt even more daunting. My suggestion: start early at 7:00 am, divide the day into two 20 km halves, and break each half into 10 km chunks. Hani laughed: “Then we better split the 10 km into smaller sections too!” I replied, “That would make it last forever.”

We set off just after 7:00 am, in the pouring rain. The night before at the Aloxa Hostel had been noisy — I could hear voices from the kitchen until midnight, and my neighbours chatted well into the early morning. Still, I woke up at 5:30 am refreshed and ready. It was the penultimate day of the Camino.

I told Andrea and Hani to take the lead — I had done so the previous day, and before that, with Andrea alone. Though they had only met once before I joined them in Redondela, they now talked as if they'd known each other for years. Hani, from Budapest (I think), even joked: “If we lived in the same city, we’d be best friends and do sports together.”

Every now and then, as they chatted, I passed them — only to stop and tell them to go ahead. “We’re slowing you down,” Andrea would say. “Go on if you want.” But I always replied, “I need to be slowed down.” And I meant it. Like I said on Day 7, the Camino would have been even better had I walked only 10 to 16 km per day.

We reached Padrón around 6:30 pm — drenched, tired, and quietly content. The town itself felt industrial and grey — not nearly as charming as others we’d passed — but that didn’t matter. The real weight was this: tomorrow, we would reach Santiago. Just a few hours remained on this path.

👣 Have you walked the Camino — or dream of it?
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