Valença – Mos May 7, 2024

On my past walks in Spain, I seldom booked accommodation in advance and there was always a bed for me. In Portugal, I mostly booked, and on a few occasions the albergues were full and turned people away.

Things were a bit different after Porto as the number of facilities increased along with pilgrim numbers.

From Tui, there is another very big increase, as it’s just over the minimum 100km from Santiago required for pilgrims to collect their Compostela on arrival. Almost a half of the pilgrims on the Portuguese route start at Tui

I headed off at 6.30am this morning as it was already 7.30 in Spain, I had 26km to cover, and I didn’t want to miss out on a bed at the community albergue where you can’t reserve a place.

The sun was rising as another early starter and I left the fortress of Valença.

The bridge across the Minho River was very close. It’s formed part of the border Portugal and Castile and Leon, and now Spain, since 1297.

The path climbs up through the town of Tui, with its impressive cathedral portal .

I had expected to see many pilgrims setting off, but there were few to be seen. There were a lot more later .

In a wood just outside town, a man was offering to stamp your credential and have a chat and there was a bagpipe busker. These were sure signs of large numbers of pilgrims

Another sign was a bar specifically aimed at pilgrims doing a roaring trade with breakfasts and snacks. It was a welcome sight, as I’d walked for an hour with just my emergency KitKat to eat, as everything was closed in Valença. I met a Dutch guy I’d had dinner with when we were at the same albergue but it was a few weeks ago, and neither of us could remember where it was.

The walk was mainly through countryside with a short stretch on a busy highway.

There were signs of the recent heavy rain, but a lot less mud than I’d expected.

I started to see the Galicia Region way markers that show the distance to Santiago, down to the nearest metre. The surveyors must have been busy!

With pilgrim numbers rapidly rising on this part of the Portuguese route, there have been some attempts at increasing safety.

The amount of highway walking has been reduced with a quiet alternative route, but a lot of people charged off on the old traffic heavy route.

I saw a few examples of hòrreos, or traditional grain stores that have been renovated and used as garden features. Some look so neat that may be new non- functional ones.

After 5 1/2 hours walking, the pleasant little town of Mos hove into view. I had arrived before the albergue opened, I was first in, and chose a nice quiet corner .

Time for lunch, a shower and the washing. I’ll only show you 2 of these 3!

Some serious looking walkers came past at a very fast rate.

Tomorrow is my last long day at 30km and it will then be just three short days until I arrive in Santiago on Saturday.

My relive video from today …

https://www.relive.com/view/v8qk5JKA93O