Day twelve on the Camino Portugues took me from Armenteira to Vilanova de Arousa on the Spiritual Variant and after the long uphill trek from Combarro yesterday, I was glad that today was mostly downhill to the sea.
Day Twelve: Armenteira to Vilanova de Arousa
Date: Monday 2 May 2022
Start Point: Carballo de Prado 1900
End Point: Hotel Bradomin
Distance Walked: 15.82 miles
Time Taken: 8 hours 6 minutes (including rest stops)
Step Count: 47,683
Weather: Partly cloudy
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After a great night’s sleep I enjoyed the most amazing breakfast – croissants, bread, cheese, yogurts and, of course, good coffee to get the day off to the right start.
Leaving Armenteira
As Carballo de Prado 1900 is off the Camino path, Susan and I were dropped off near the monastery at the start of the way.
I planned to have a look around the monastery before I started walking so I said goodbye to Susan with plans to see her later as we were both booked into the same accommodation in Vilanova de Arousa.
Armenteira Monastery was built in the 12th century before being abandoned in 1837. It was over a hundred years before restoration began in 1963 and the Cistercian nuns moved in in 1989.
I wandered the cloisters and then, upon seeing one of the nuns going into the small gift shop, followed her in to ask for a sello for my credencial. Although the shop wasn’t officially open yet she very graciously stamped my credencial for me.
By now I was ready to start walking and, just as I was leaving the monastery, a coach pulled up with pilgrims who were presumably planning to look around the monastery before setting off on their walk. That was my cue to get going so that I could avoid getting caught up in a large group.
Ruta de Pedra e da Agua
The first few miles from Armenteira, along the Ruta da Pedra e da Agua (Route of Stone and Water) were probably the most beautiful part of the whole Camino.
As you start to follow the path, there’s the option to walk on either side of the river – I chose to walk with the river on my left-hand side and I wasn’t disappointed. The river cuts its way through mossy channels with small waterfalls cascading over the rocks.
I felt like I was making slow progress as there was something to look at and photograph every few paces – this was already shaping up to be a long day!
There were a few other pilgrims on the path but most of them sped off once the path opened up but I was happy to walk at a slower pace to savour the atmosphere and enjoy the views. My peace and quiet didn’t last long as an elderly man who was walking towards Armenteira stopped to chat and then turned around and started walking with me. We walked for some way together conversing in my ‘still not quite fluent despite living in Andalucia’ Spanish. He told me that he walks this route every day from his home in Vilanova – what a lucky man!
After a few miles there was a sign for Aldea Labrega which I was keen to explore so we said our goodbyes and I spent some time wandering round this small sculpture park which is a recreation of a Galician village as it would have been at the beginning of the 20th century. As well as a church and a granary store, there were stone carvings of various people and farm animals.
The Ruta da Pedra e da Agua eventually comes to an end and, after crossing a small bridge, I continued to walk past fields and vineyards alongside the Rio Umia.
I was well into wine country by now with grapes growing everywhere along the route.
Keep your eyes peeled for the house which is covered with scallop shells.
I’d hardly seen anyone the whole day but, as I continued uphill towards a eucalyptus forest I saw two women in front of me. It was obviously getting a bit much for one of them as I heard her jokingly exclaim to her friend “I don’t want to be a pilgrim anymore”. Little did I know that as I got closer to Vilanova de Arousa I’d be having very similar thoughts myself!
Later as I reached the Igrexa de San Miguel de Deiro I saw Susan ahead so we walked the rest of the way together chatting about our day’s walk.
We were getting close to Vilanova de Arousa by now and had reached the estuary where the way continued alongside the beach.
This was one of my longest days walking at 15.82 miles and at times, as we plodded along it seemed as though we were never going to reach our destination. By now all I wanted was an ice-cold bottle of Coca Cola so the relief I felt when I walked across the bridge and saw a bar on the corner was immense! A soft drink has honestly never tasted as good as that one did!
Reaching Vilanova de Arousa
Suitably refreshed we headed to our accommodation for the night, Hotel Bradomin which was a short distance off the Camino.
You can read about all my accommodation choices on the Central Route of the Camino Portugues here.
After a shower, some handwashing and a little rest Susan and I met up again and headed back towards the harbour to get something to eat.
As it had been a long day of walking there wasn’t any time to explore the town but I did spot some cool street art on the way to dinner.
We decided to return to Pe de Cuba where we’d stopped for a drink when we arrived in town. It was busy with a mix of pilgrims and locals, but we got a table indoors where we enjoyed a huge salad and a few drinks before heading back to the hotel for a very early start the next morning.
Today’s Credencial Sellos
Four sellos today including one from O Moucho Peregrino where I’d tried, unsuccessfully, to have a bite to eat during the day. Although the sign outside had said that they were serving bocadillos in reality that wasn’t the case and, as I didn’t want the huge meals that they were offering, had to settle for just a coffee to keep me going.
Highlights of Day Twelve
Without doubt it was the first part of the walk through the Ruta da Pedra e da Agua – it was very reminiscent of some of the beautiful glens from my homeland on the Isle of Man.
It’s fair to say though that the Coca Cola I had sitting by the bridge as I arrived in Vilanova de Arousa came a close second!
Lowlights of Day Twelve
No real lowlights today – just sore feet from a long day’s walking!
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Bom Caminho/Buen Camino
Day Eleven: Pontevedra to Armenteira
Day Thirteen: Vilanova to Cruces
Follow my Camino Portugués adventure:
Day 1 – Porto to Vila Chã
Day 2 – Vila Chã to São Pedro de Rates
Day 3 – São Pedro de Rates to Barcelos
Day 4 – Barcelos to Balugães
Day 5 – Balugães to Ponte de Lima
Day 6 – Ponte de Lima to Rubiães
Day 7 – Rubiães to Tui
Day 8 – Tui to O Porriño
Day 9 – O Porriño to Redondela
Day 10 – Redondela to Pontevedra
Day 11 – Pontevedra to Armenteira
Day 12 – Armenteira to Vilanova de Arousa
Day 13 – Vilanova de Arousa to Cruces
Day 14 – Cruces to Santiago de Compostela
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