From this point, the Camino became much more crowded. The Central route joins up with the Coastal and the accommodation is mostly in the same place and everyone has breakfast at the same time, so everyone leaves at the same time. It was quite shocking to suddenly be on the trail with so many people, but such is the popularity of the Camino these days! Today’s walk was 22km.
I dropped back in places and waited for the waves of people to pass. Most people at this stage are only walking the last 100km and/or are carrying day packs, so walked much faster than me. I found some stretches I was able to walk alone in the quiet, which I much prefer.
There were some lovely parts through vineyards.
The walk was mostly on back roads and trails on the edge of agricultural land.
There are different variations of the Camino way markers along the route, as well as more religious iconography closer to Santiago de Compostela.
The forest sections were lovely.
Given that my feet were hurting a lot by this stage, I appreciated the Stop Complaining sign!
Continue the Camino journey: Caldas de Rei to Padron, Spain
Accommodation: I stayed at the Hotel Pousada Real which was lovely and had a great breakfast.
Facilities: There were quite a few cafes, but they were very busy because of the waves of passing pilgrims. Caldas de Rei has shops, restaurants and even hot springs if you fancy it.