Day 6 on the Caminho: Rest Day in Valenca
Our hotel is just arund the corner from the Praca Republica. The day started off substantially. This is considered a “simple” breakfast in Valenca.
Valenca is right on the border between Spain and Portugal. The Spanish city of Tui is a point where many pilgrims begin their trek – it is just over 100 km from Tui to Santiago, which is the minimum distance required to earn a certificate as a peregrino. Tui is full of interesting and lovely historic monuments, but M and I preferred to have a restful morning while D and B found their way across the International Bridge and came back with some additional photos and memories.
Instead of checking off one more cathedral in Tui, I spend the morning investigating the fortifications, museums, chapels, and shops of Valenca. There is a lot of tourist schlock to be found, but also some lovely pottery, embroidery, and other crafts, as well as the usual gilded altars, bloody crucifixes, and statues of saints.
From the old walls of the city, you can still peek out to a landscape that doesn’t seem to have changed much since the Valencans were warding off invading Gauls or the troops of Napoleon.
