TWO BIG UPHILLS!

October 2, 2025

Camino Portuguese, Day 11

Total miles walked today 14.81 miles

Redondela to Pontevedra

Wow! Today started off in an interesting way. We stopped in an ice cream establishment that also offered breakfast. As usual I did my little cleaning up because as a pilgrim I feel grateful for all the people who serve us.

After breakfast I asked to fill my water bottle and to add a little more ice. The lady vehemently said, “no ice” and proceeded to fill my bottle without letting the water get cold. NO ICE?! It’s an ice cream store. Of course there is ice. Oh well maybe she got up on the wrong side of the bed.

I also saw something today on the Camino that one doesn’t usually see. There’s a group of people stopping for a smoke break. Today is a lot of uphill climbing. I can’t imagine they have the lung capacity to climb and smoke.

Let’s talk about another side of the Camino. There’s Ugly Pilgrim, and I don’t mean looks wise.

We played leap frog with a group of pilgrims and it seemed to be early in their camino. Usually in the beginning people are happy and calling out a jolly Buen Camino! Those who’ve been on the camino a while have settled into a kind of peaceful walk. Now I’m not one to suppress frivolity but these pilgrims were LOUD! Could we please keep the rauccous, screeching laughter down to a medium guffaw please.

And speaking of the Ugly Pilgrim…this evening we stopped for a drink. There was a table of about a dozen pilgrims. They were a little loud, clearly having a good time. No complaints there. However as they got up one of the men took a partially filled glass and threw the contents on to a clean table. After they left one could see a lot of empty beer mugs and several empty wine bottles. Plus there was a significant amount of broken glass under the table. They were clearly drunk. The waiter explained to us that they were not pilgrims seeking a spiritual experience, just people who like to walk and get drunk.

So I’d like to say…DON’T BE AN UGLY PILGRIM!

In all it was a good day walking and we had what was probably the best meal along the camino. If you’re ever in Redondela go to Casa Fidel. We had the fried calamari, scallops, padron peppers, and an excellent bottle of Albariño white wine.