A Guarda to Porto Mougas, Spain

Day 7  September 29, 2026

I had the best sleep ever!  I wanted to throw that mattress on my back and carry it with me for the rest of the trip!

I was awake before the 7 a.m. alarm and the big dilemma for today was the forecast - rain more or less all day.  What to do?  We started walking but I couldn’t figure out why it was still dark.  Time change!  Duh!  I had my headlamp so was okay.

Today’s route-

Here’s Saint James again.  He seems to be following us-

The Galician coast is wild and beautiful-

A rocky path-

My favourite tree of all time!  I don’t know what it’s called-

The Capela de San Sebastían was rebuilt in 1770 and is the first place I have seen this Camino where one can light a candle.  An American woman was there the same time as me.  She only had a 20€ note so that’s what she put in the box as a donation for the candle!

A little further down the road is the Royal Monastery of Santa Maria de Oia which was built in the 12th century.  It’s the only Cistercian monastery built on the ocean - the rest are all inland.  The word Royal was added by King Phillip IV in 1624 when the monks helped defeat a Turkish fleet attack.  It’s a blend of Romanesque, Gothic and Baroque styles including a Latin cross shaped church with an 18th century Baroque façade.  Unfortunately it’s being renovated so I could only stand at the entrance to take pictures-

A corn crib-

I didn’t even see any corn growing in the area.

Today is the first that this camino has felt as good as the French.  I don’t know if it’s because we are finally back in Spain or what.  For me, this is the camino-

There are various monuments along the way where people leave things sometimes in remembrance of someone, sometimes handwritten prayers, sometimes momentos from home, etc. The only problem is that locals have to haul all of that shit away. This one had some interesting painted stones-

Camino signs-

Spainglish-

Our first reservation was only 16 km from A Guarda because we were scared of the rain.  I got to the hostel about 12:15 and Mirjanne wasn’t far behind.  We couldn’t check in until 2 pm so I sat in the back yard and drank beer.  It was a nice enough day although the winds were/are gusting to 80km and luckily the wind was behind our backs while we were walking.  We decided to cancel that reservation and walk for another 3 km.  The more we walk today the less we walk later on.  Physically I felt about 85% today and once I adjusted my iPad bag - I stuck it in the belt of my Fanny pack so it was in the middle of my body instead of hanging over a hip, I had less discomfort.  It’s also day 7 so I am probably/maybe getting in the groove.  

We are now staying at Albergue Turistico Aguncheiro in Porto Mundas-

We went to the hotel’s restaurant for supper.  We both had calamari-

It was very tender and delicious and I’m glad we chose to share the fries!

Tomorrow the plan is to go to Nigrán which is about 21 km away.

At the moment it is pouring and still very windy.  It’s supposed to end in the night so hopefully the sun shines tomorrow as it is forecast.

P.S. Ramdoms-

Looking forward to tomorrow!  😂

Day 6 Ancora, Portugal to A Guarda, Spain

September 28, 2026

I was awake by 5 - anxious to get on the road - not! although I always feel pretty good in the morning but after a few hours the pain begins!  Today my right leg felt numb and I worried that it might just give out.  I massaged it and put pressure points around the thigh and buttock but nothing really changed.  I adjusted the placement of my IPad bag- nothing, then removed the change purse I was carrying in my right front shorts pocket.  10 minutes later the pain was gone!  Hmmmm….. I thought about all the men who carry their wallet in their back pocket for years.  

I’ve been setting an intention everyday but for the past 5 days it has been the same - help me make it to the albergue today!  I’ve been lucky for 5 days so it was time to change it up.  Today it was “ I am so grateful for….I have a lot of things to be grateful for so the list went on all day!

We had an early start- on the road by 7:36.  It was a shorter walking day as we only had 15 km to walk-

We walked through urban areas, by beaches-

and through forests-

We saw churches, of course we saw churches-

flora-

Camino signs-

an interesting sign💕💕-

We stopped at a bakery that used a machine to handle payment-

We were making our way to the border, towards the mountain in the background which is in Spain-

Finally at the shore looking to Spain-

We walked along a boardwalk to reach Caminha-

There are a lot of old buildings there-

We paid 6€ each to cross the Minho River which took about 5 minutes-

After another 4 km we found our albergue - O Peirao-

We are in a room of 8 beds so it should be pretty quiet.

It’s a proper albergue because you have to remove your shoes at the door-

We went walking along the beach-

then found a restaurant serving a pilgrim meal.  For €17 we got an appetizer, main course - I had hake, wine, coffee and dessert-

Tomorrow it’s supposed to rain so we hope to get to the next village, then hide from the rain for a couple of hours, then carry on.  We will see!  I’m just hoping for a pain free day!