From Caldas del Reis to Padrón - Viajes Camino de Santiago.

Information

In this stage we walk from Caldas de Reis to finally enter the province of A Coruña and we do it by the hand of the council of Padrón, home of the illustrious Galician writer Rosalía de Castro during the last years of her life. We will have the opportunity to visit the House-Museum of Rosalía de Castro and to taste the famous peppers of Padrón, of which it is said that… “some are hot and some are not”.

We leave Caldas de Reis by the rúa de San Roque, looking for the company of the N-550 road, and after walking a few meters to the side of the road, we will find a detour on the right hand side that will take us through a rural path towards the concello of Padron. We will notice how the slope of the path is slightly ascending, until we reach the parish of Carracedo. Carracedo is a perfect place to take a break and rest.

Shortly after resuming the route, we will have the opportunity to visit the church of Santa Mariña, whose origins are uncertain. Again, we will meet the national road on our way to Valga. To get to Valga, we will have to cross the river Louro and then an overpass over the motorway. Once in San Miguel de Valga, we have the opportunity to visit its neoclassical church.

Next we already enter in the concello of Pontecesures, natural neighbor of Padrón, of which it is only separated by the river Ulla.

The first parish we will encounter is Condide. Afterwards, we arrive at the Infesta neighbourhood, where the restaurant A Mesa da Pedra is located, run by the Association of Friends of the Way. It might be a good option to stop here for lunch. This is an initiative that arises with the intention that all pilgrims can try different typical dishes of Galician cuisine at very low prices. In fact, there is no fixed price on the dishes, everyone contributes what he/she considers appropriate for the food received. Usually, people pay around 7€.

Continuing our route, we will arrive at the centre of Pontecesures, a historic place that was once called “Port of Compostela“, since this is where most of the goods that supplied the city used to enter. After passing the church of San Julián, we will notice that there is a detour to the right. This detour leads to the hostel of Herbón and takes a small detour on the way to visit the convent and the church of the place. To continue to Padrón, we will only have to go straight on following the N-550.

Once we have crossed the bridge over the river Ulla, we will finally enter Padrón. Afterwards, we will cross a bridge again, this time over the river Sar, and we will find ourselves in the city centre. Apart from tasting the famous peppers, we can visit places like the food market or the church of Santiago. In the church of Santiago resides “el Pedrón” in which, according to the legend”, the disciples of the apostle Santiago moored the boat that transported the mortal remains of the apostle once they arrived to the coasts of Padrón after sailing the river Ulla. This legend gave rise to what we know as the Spiritual Variant of the Portuguese Way.

To consider

This is the penultimate stage of the Portuguese Way before reaching Santiago de Compostela. It is advisable to leave early from Caldas de Reis and thus take the whole day to rest in Padrón, and go to bed early to start the last stage early and enjoy the day in Santiago.