Caldas de Reis to Padrón, 20.9 kms, 9/3/18

Started late from Caldas de Reis so we had the walk mostly to ourselves. We had cloud cover or forest shade most of the day, with mostly sandy gravel paths and some asphalt. Walked next to a babbling brook for a while, saw mostly older distance markers, and figured out that we were much slower going downhill on gravel than dirt or asphalt. Our app said we walked 20.9 kms to Padrón but that included walking around churches that we passed to see if they were open (nope), and taking little side paths to check out cafes etc. We blessedly avoided any of the rain that was in the area and made it to a restaurant just before it closed for lunch at 4pm 😇

After getting here, we’ve spent an amazing two days in Padron, there is so much history here.

Just thought this was a cool shot 😊

The city of Padrón…notice the church, the mill and the river, all in the same area!

Padrón is known as the Cradle of Xacobeo

Church at Iria Flavia where the ship landed when Saint James body was brought here from Palestine. The ship was moored to a stone, also known as a pedron.

Inside the Church of Santiago in Padrón, where the pedron is now placed under the altar.

Padrón is named after the pedron, or mooring stone. The stone was moved from Iria Flavia and placed here.

Up on a hill above the Church of Santiago is the Santaguiño do Monte, where Saint James is believed to have preached the Gospel.

We got the coolest stamp in our Credencials here, showing the body of Saint James being brought here in a boat.

And the pimientos de Padrón are a specialty of the region. These generally mild peppers (with an occasional spicy one!) are generally fried in oil and served as tapas.