10. Pontevedra to Combarro. 12 kms

 

Three kilometres out of Pontevedra is a fork in the path. A steady stream of pilgrims continue straight on, all but a hapless German couple whom I’ll mention again in a minute. I take the turn to the left, on the Variante Espiritual. Immediately I’m embraced by silence, no babel of tongues or clacking of poles or tramping of feet.

The variant is divided into three stages: Pontevedra to Armenteira, Armenteira to Villanova de Arouca, Villanova de Arouca back to Pontecesures on the Camino Portugués. Because the first stage ends with a steep climb, I decide to break my day at Combarro, and climb tomorrow.

The first kilometre is quite utilitarian. A little confusion of roads led me across a couple of bridges, past a giant horreo and up the side of a valley. Spread out behind was the agglomeration of Pontevedra, and across the valley I saw the motorway and a cluster of little hillside villages.

The trail was marked with the characteristic yellow arrow like the Camino of old, with the occasional shell and a special marker for the Variante Espiritual. You have to be careful though, for sometimes the arrows vanish, or they did for me, and a passing motorist had to put me right. A few kilometres on, I met a German couple who had taken the wrong way and were heading back to the Camino Portugués.

Eventually I arrived at the town of Poio, and here, a visit to the monastery alone was worth the detour. Around three sides of one of the cloisters is a mosaic of the Camino Frances that is absolutely stunning. It begins with Paris, then skips to Roncevalles and all of the great towns along the way, except Leon, strangely. It’s a magnificent work of art!

Then down to the sea, a grassy stroll along the foreshore, and a sandy stroll along the

beach. And on to the little town of Combarro with its charming pueblo marinero. This is a village of “seafaring houses” once used by the fishermen who went down to the sea from where they lived.  Between the houses, paths run down to the sea where the water laps on the lower steps. Now of course, cafes and bars abound. I enjoyed my beer just a few feet from the sea. Tomorrow, I must climb 1,800 feet.