Tui to O Porriño. Day Eight on the Camino Portugués Central Route

Day eight on the Camino Portugués was here already which meant that I was now closer to Santiago than I was to Porto! Today’s walk, from Tui to O Porriño, was one of my shortest days – a distance of only 10.30 miles (16.58 kms).

Day Eight: Tui to O Porriño
Date: Thursday 28 April 2022
Start Point: Hotel a Torre do Xudeu, Tui
End Point: Hostal Louro, O Porriño
Distance Walked: 10.30 miles (16.58 kms)
Time Taken: 3 hours 38 minutes (including rest stops)
Weather: Foggy becoming sunny

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When I looked out of my bedroom window first thing I could see a mist hanging over the Rio Minho so I wasn’t hopeful for good weather but by the time I’d been for breakfast it was already starting to look a bit brighter.

Breakfast in Hotel A Torre do Xudeu was excellent with a big selection of juice, coffee, bread, ham and cheese, plus a great choice of pastries and cakes – perhaps not the healthiest way to start the day but if, like me, you’ve got a sweet tooth then certainly a good way!

But first, biscuits

Talking of having a sweet tooth, if you’ve already read about my adventures on day seven you’ll know I mentioned the nuns at the Convento das Clarisas and their home-made biscuits.

I wasn’t going to leave Tui without buying some but the Convent didn’t open until 9.30am which meant I’d be having a late start. I was only going a fairly short distance today though, and I already had my accommodation booked, so I wasn’t worried about being late to leave Tui.

Just before 9.30am I headed up to the Convent (it was literally just around the corner from my hotel) and rang the bell at the serving hatch. After a few minutes the hatch opened and a nun appeared behind the counter. The nuns make, and sell, a few varieties of cakes and biscuits but I was after the traditional almond biscuits in the shape of fish.

I asked for the biscuits, she told me the price, I put my money on my side of the turntable, she put the biscuits on her side of the turntable, and spun it round. I picked up my biscuits, said goodbye, and she closed the hatch. Job done! It certainly makes a change from shopping in Lidl!

Leaving Tui

Biscuits purchased, I could now leave Tui for the next stage of my journey.

It may have been almost 10am by the time I started walking but the roads were still very quiet – I guess all the other pilgrims had set off early.

As with many places I’d stayed so far, I only had to leave the hotel to be right on the Camino so it was simply a case of turning left and walking downhill.  

In order to be eligible for the Compostela, pilgrims have to walk a minimum distance of 100 kms. Tui is just under 120 kms from Santiago, which means that many pilgrims choose to start the Camino here. This post explains more about walking the last 100 kms of the Camino Portugués whether you do so from Tui or from Vigo on the Coastal route.

Heading through the suburbs of Tui I passed this chap sitting outside the Convento de San Domingos pointing pilgrims in the right direction.

Reaching the old stone bridge, Ponte da Veiga do Louro, with a stone pilgrim standing guard, I stopped to take some photos before heading along a dirt path straight ahead (whatever you do, don’t cross the bridge!).

The path later hits the main road and there was some walking along the roadside before turning again onto another dirt road.

Although walking on main roads is never very pleasant, there is a decent wide shoulder for pilgrims so it felt perfectly safe from the traffic.

This path took me through a lovely forested area where I passed the Cruceiro San Telmo and crossed the mediaeval Ponte das Febres (Bridge of Fevers). This was where, in 1246, San Telmo (the patron saint of Tui) became ill with fever on his way to Santiago and, rather than continue on his pilgrimage, returned instead to Tui. A boardwalk has been constructed over the bridge, presumably to preserve it from the countless pilgrims who walk this way every day.

The road briefly passes through Ribadelouro (keep an eye out for the five stone crosses) before heading off road once again and over another ancient bridge, Ponte de Orbenlle over the Rio Louro.

It was roughly around here, while still on a dirt track through a wooded area, that a car drove past me – this was pretty unusual as it was definitely not a well maintained road and the car wasn’t a 4×4.

The car stopped and a man got out, pulling on some latex gloves as he did so. Now I wasn’t overly worried as I’d seen a few pilgrims in the distance so knew I could shout for help if I needed to but it was a bit disconcerting to say the least.

When he opened the boot of his car and pulled out a large plastic bucket I did wonder what he had in mind but, as it turned out, he was simply going into the woods for a spot of foraging so, safe in the knowledge that I wasn’t about to be abducted, I kept walking and it wasn’t long before the path met the road and one of the most iconic images of the Camino Portugués – the wall of murals at Orbenlle.

If you’re worried about finding yourself in an uncomfortable situation at any point while you’re walking, particularly if you’re a solo traveller, I’ve written a post about staying safe on the Camino with over 35 practical tips that’s worth a read.

One of the murals depicts the Porta da Gloria from the Cathedral in Santiago while another is the old pilgrim (El Viejo Peregrino). You can see the mural in full in the photo at the top of this post.

As I reached the road I spotted Kevin and Liz who had put me on the right path in the fortress at Valença. They were walking with two of their friends from the UK, Dave and Pam, and after taking photos of the mural, we walked together for a while.

Dave and I discovered that we both shared careers in HR so we chatted about the world of work as we walked, and the changes we’d seen in our profession over the years.

Which way to go?

A short distance after the mural the road splits in two so I had a choice as to how I was going to reach O Porriño. The right path is shorter but, according to my guidebook, goes through a more industrial area while the left path (shown as Complementario on the way marker) is a more scenic route along the river and only slightly longer.

To me it was a no brainer – the scenic Complementario route it was.

The Complementario route was a lovely walk over a small bridge (Ponte de Baranco), alongside the Louro, and through sunlit woodland areas.

I passed through some small villages before re-joining the main path in the industrial suburbs of O Porriño. As I got closer to O Porriño the countryside that I’d been enjoying started to disappear. At this point you need to have your wits about you when you’re looking for the yellow way markers. The Camino route sometimes changes slightly, as has happened here to the chagrin of business owners on the original route.

Unwilling to lose pilgrim business, bar and restaurant owners will paint over the official yellow arrows and repaint them to send pilgrims back along the old route. You can generally tell when this has happened as you’ll be able to see black paint on the ground.

This was the case just before O Porriño where there’s a detour into the town via a walk alongside the river. Luckily I was able to spot the subterfuge and took the scenic path rather than arrive in O Porriño through the industrial area.

Reaching O Porriño

The riverside path reaches O Porriño on Avenida de Buenos Aires and I had a room booked at Hostal Louro which, conveniently, is right on the Camino.

My room was only small but was clean and comfortable with a private bathroom so I was more than happy with it.

You can read about all my accommodation choices on the Central route of the Camino Portugués here.

Exploring O Porriño

After a shower I set off to explore the delights of O Porriño.

The centre of town is pedestrianised and, although there are some older buildings, it didn’t seem to have much in the way of ‘must sees’. In fact, when I was doing my Camino planning it was difficult to find anything at all about O Porriño.

Casa Consistorial (the town hall) is one building in the town centre that stands out. It was designed by celebrated Spanish architect Antonio Palacios who was born in O Porriño and there’s a statue of him outside the building.

On the hunt for food I stopped at GaliBar Centro which is next to Parroquia de Santa Maria de Concepcion. Unfortunately they were in the middle of a kitchen refurbishment so weren’t serving food. Damn! I’d heard good things about their bocadillos but made do with a coke and some olives at an outdoor table before deciding I’d just head to Lidl and stock up on some groceries instead.

I didn’t even bother going out later in the evening to see if the town became any livelier after dark, preferring to rest my feet and have an early night.

Today’s Credencial Sellos

Just the two sellos today (bearing in mind that two is the minimum per day required after Tui in order to obtain the Compostela).

If you want to walk the Camino but don’t know where to begin I’ve written this Camino Portugués planning guide which tells you everything you need to know and outlines all the steps you need to take to get you on your way.

Highlights of Day Eight

It was a lovely day of mostly off road walking, particularly once the early morning fog cleared and the sun came out.

Lowlights of Day Eight

O Porriño wasn’t the most inspiring place to spend a night and, with the benefit of hindsight, I wish I’d walked further and spent the night in Mos, about 3.5 miles (5.6 kms) beyond O Porriño.

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Bom Caminho/Buen Camino

Follow my Camino Portugués Central route 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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