Twelfth Stage Camino Portugues from Caldas de Reis to Padron

This morning I once again had no breakfast at my accommodation. I went outside with my backpack and had breakfast in another hotel that offered a fantastic breakfast for non-hotel guests. Everything tasted great and I would have liked to sit there much longer. Well, around shortly after 9:00 AM, I gradually headed outside and started walking. Today was the first morning that it was really cold!

Since I had called Daniela at the start, I could send her a picture of how crowded the Camino was. She was shocked; I guess it’s peak travel season, and since the agencies started transporting luggage, the pilgrimage paths have become really crowded. At the beginning, I had a larger group in front of me, and since the paths were very narrow again, I couldn't overtake easily. At some point, however, it got better.

I wanted to take a break in a café after 1.5 hours, but it was packed there too. Wow, I was slightly annoyed. Well, I took a deep breath and continued on. In the next town, I found a bar a bit off the path, and I walked there. I noticed that if bars are not directly on the Camino but a bit off, they aren’t quite as crowded. Yep, it looked much better here; I found a nice spot, and Pepe the bar dog came running over to me. Pepe is a small pinscher and got countless pets from me. He looked very satisfied. Pepe didn't leave my side anymore. A German woman also sat down next to me. She, of course, wouldn't let me pet her (just kidding). I thought she just wanted to sip her coffee and have a little small talk. At first, it was nice, but she wouldn’t stop talking. She chatted on and on, phew. Since I wanted to walk alone today, I found that rather annoying. I then said, well, I’m going to slowly get going now, and I said goodbye nicely to her and even nicer to Pepe.

Now I had some peace on the path, which I really appreciated because it was a fantastic stretch through a forested area with a stream. The sound of the water was soothing. I stretched my arms and breathed deeply. Ah, it was lovely. It was nice and warm again.

Behind the forested area, there were again rural sections. In a pasture, there were some cattle with three young calves. They were so cute; it looked like the calves had super fluffy fur. I would have loved to cuddle one :-). I had seen out of the corner of my eye that some pilgrims were approaching again, so I unfortunately continued walking.

Around lunchtime, I passed through a small village. Here I wanted to have lunch. There were two restaurants. The first one was, as always, extremely full, and I was luckier at the second place. A pilgrim got up from his table and said I could take a seat. I quickly dropped my backpack there and ordered a pasta dish. After my delicious lunch, I set off again, and the path led me through various tiny towns. I could observe many locals harvesting grapes in their gardens.

Shortly before Padron, a pilgrim from Costa Rica approached me and asked where I was from. When I told him I was from Germany, he said he had studied in Germany. He lives in Costa Rica and said he was very sad that he couldn't speak German with anyone there. That’s why he thought it was great to chat with me. He gave me great tips for a vacation in Costa Rica and Panama :-).

Then finally came the bridge, which you must cross to reach Padron. It wasn’t far from my accommodation anymore. I found it relatively quickly.

After a shower, I immediately went back out and took a look at almost every street in Padron. Padron, like the other towns so far, is very, very cute. Earlier, I sat on my terrace thinking about tomorrow’s stage. It’s the last hike, and I will arrive in Santiago de Compostela :-). I am excited!!!

Best regards, Anke 😀