Allyson Johnson

Pieces of my Mind

Archive for the tag “Camino de Santiago”

20 Oct 2026

Day 8 on the Camino – Pontevedra to Cambarro

Our first day on the Spiritual Variant of the Caminho, supposed to be the most scenic alternative. easy day’s walk to the coast with only a moderate climb. Lots of stone crucifixion along the path. Apparently the early Christians raised one at every site with significance for the pagans to drive away the demons. 

The path led along the coast with a friendly sun and soft breezes. We stopped for lunch at an outside cafe overlooking a lawn fringed with palm tree

Combarro is a Must-See place.  Charming fishing village, buildings almost exclusively of stone, no cars in the Old City, most houses include a view. Almost every house has what looks like a New Orleans-style burial crypt on stilts, but these turn out to be medieval-style granaries, on stilts to keep the varmints from getting at the grains.

Plaza da Fonte, where we stayed, was a charming two-bedroom apartment with comfy sitting space and a high tech shower.  I figured out the controls for the hand held sprinkler and the side sprays;  but I yelped in surprise when water started to come from the ceiling!

I wished we could have stayed longer at Cambarro. A young woman staying at another of the apartments was drying her hair after a dip in the bay at the local beach – I would have loved to do that.

We did treat ourselves to an excellent restaurant meal at Tinte Negro. Wonderful scallops in honor of our trek!

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29 Sep 2026

Day 7 on the Caminho – Evening in Pontevedra

We ambled out of our mid-town hotel looking for an evening meal, and found that Pontevedra was in the midst of hosting some sort of foot race event – it was particularly focused on women runners, and supported cancer survivors. Some of the early finishers were already receiving tumultuous welcomes as they crossed the finish line.

Hoping to avoid crowds of spectators, we found an outdoor restaurant in an out-of-the-way plaza, but by the time we were served our excellent meal, we discovered that our plaza was actually right on the race route. The leaders had already passed, but a number of women were still in the running. We could see a family watching from a neighboring fourth floor window; we also watched two little girls escorted by their father run up to their panting mother as she passed; the hugs exchanged were worth a winner’s ribbon, for sure!

Per M, my permanent-resident travel companion, there is something to celebrate every day in Portugal. As a breast cancer survivor myself, I was thrilled.

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18 Aug 2026

Day 4 on the Camino – Ponte de Lima to Rubaies



I slept wonderfully last night in Ponte de Lima – one melatonin + one ibuprofen for the aching quads and dorsal muscles did the trick. 

Leaving Ponte de Lima was hard. We took our time in the morning, and I had a chance to wander a bit along the river and discover some additional history. It seems that a Roman Army was in pursuit of some fractious Iberians who fled across the river. “After them!” thundered the General, but the soldiers refused. They believed that the obstacle was the river Lethe, and that if the waters touched them, they would lose all their memories.

The General swam his horse to the other side and from there called to each soldier by name, proving his memory was intact. The episode is commemorated by some steel monuments somewhat reminiscent of the card-soldiers in “Alice Through the Looking Glass.” The platoon is on one side of the river, the General harangues them from the other side.

It seemed Ponte de Lima was sorry to see us go also. There were lots of signs to attract the attention of pilgrims as we crossed the Ponte de Lima for the last time.

Coming next: Day 4 on the Camino (continued)

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11 Aug 2026

Day 3 on the Caminho Portuguese: Vittoria de Paies to Ponte de Lima

tarted off the day ust packing up for the next leg . I must confess, by he end of the first day of hiking I was grateful for a cozy bed, a dark room, and ibuprofen . Our lodging for the night did not include breakfast so we moseyed on down the road to a local pub, where some of the other customers drove up on tractors.

This was a much shorter day, eased also by the wonderful five-toed hiking sox that had been given to me by DM, and were highly recommended by some pilgrims on Day 2 who sympathized with our developing blisters. The 5-toed sox keep the toes from rubbing against each other, and the toenails you forgot to clip from slicing the neighboring toe, so all you have to deal with is the friction between your foot and your boots. We were heartened also by the many encouraging signs and markers we encountered on the way, including this stalwart pilgrim.

Ponte Lima was one of several towns along the way where we agreed we should have allowed more time. Our first view of the medieval bridge, still used for pedestrians to walk across the bridge, was only a hint of the interesting streets, shops, and historical markers waiting for us to explore.

In addition to the attractions of the town, M and B have two friends who have established residence in Ponte de Lima, and of course we shared dinner with them. M had hoped they would invite us to their home, a stone cottage which they had been renovating for awhile, but apparently the home is located an impractical distance from the town center and construction was ongoing so instead we met in a local bar on the other side of the medieval bridge from our hotel. On the way home, we were entranced by the lights outlining many of the features of the town, its church, and its bridge.

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