How will my legs hold up today after a full day of rest? I am keen to find out. After another good night’s rest in Baiona it’s off to Vigo, the first and only big city on the route apart from starting and ending points Porto and Santiago de Compostela.

Weather forecast is good for today. When I leave the hostel and step out onto the street I notice that it’s actually quite chilly. Good that I’ve put both of my jackets on to start with. I have to find the route again which is a couple of blocks away but I’ve been walking enough already in Baiona to more or less know my way around and within five minutes I see my first Santiago sign again. The route leads through the historical centre of Baiona which is not very big so I cross it relatively quickly. I can already feel that my legs have liked yesterday’s relaxed walking without a heavy backpack. The pain in my left leg and right foot is not there anymore and I also feel strong and prepared for a decent day of walking in the rest of my body. It’s nice to be feeling this because more than a week of walking had already worn me out a little bit.

Today’s walk is going to be relatively urban, connecting the villages along the coastline all the way up to Vigo. But according to my guidebook I will also be doing some off-road walking today which I always like. After having crossed the historical centre of Baiona I find myself walking through a more residential area of the town with large apartment buildings looking out over the bay. Meanwhile the streets are going up and down as all of this area seems to have been built upon the rocks that form this coastline. I don’t mind since my legs are feeling strong anyway. Luckily the way does not follow the main road through town but in stead follows smaller backroads a bit further away from the water.

After some 5 kilometers when I am walking through an area with somewhat bigger houses I suddenly hear a children’s voice: “No es por ahí, coño!”, meaning as much as: It’s not that way, damn it. Af first my mind ignores it because I just interpret it as some kid playing in his house. But when I look at the map on my phone it indeed looks like I am deviating a bit from where I need to be going. So I turn around an walk back some 50 meters to see if I have missed a yellow arrow. Out of a window pops the head of a small girl, this time indicating the correct direction to me in more proper wording. Her little brother is behind her. I thank her for her help and walk into the right direction this time.

It’s only one kilometer later that I arrive at a Roman bridge connecting the village of Baiona to the next village, A Ramallosa. The sight of the bridge with the sun rising up behind it is a nice one. A bit further up the road I have my first coffee stop of the day at the Café Bar Holiday, an appropriate name for the day so far. The owner tells me that this stage is not really the nicest one and that the preceding and following stages aree much nicer. Not sure why he was being negative about it but since I am well rested I will enjoy the day anyway.

Once out of Ramallosa it becomes a bit more rural. It’s still mainly asphalt roads connecting small villages that I am walking on. But there is the occasional stretch of dirt road in between to keep it entertaining. When I am getting close to what seems to be a highway the real world route deviates a little bit from the one indicated in the guidebook. I am walking through a small park along a small stream. A youth football match is going in on a soccer field besides the park. I am being greeted by an enthusiastic dog who is being walked by his owners and is very happy to be out as well. I ask to see if the owners share the same enthusiasm but no real answer comes. We all cross a big road and our ways separate again.

After that i am heading to the Parque Forestal de Coruxo. As the name already may suggest this means somewhat more natural walking for a couple of hours. I am being led through the forest around Mount Coruxo still being able to every once in a while get a glimpse off the ocean which is not too far away. In the distance I can already see the tall apartment buildings of Vigo city when I realize that I haven’t been in a big city anymore ever since I have left Porto. I did not really miss it and wonder if I am really looking forward to feel the busy life of a big city again. But I am still amongst the trees for now so who cares. I just continue putting one foot in front of the other.

It’s more or less lunch time already and I find myself at a junction in the route. I can go straight to Vigo or take a small detour and enjoy a bit more of the forest. I decide for the detour and although the place i am at is bathing in sun it does not have the nicest feeling to it so I already start and do part of the detour to see if I can find a nicer spot to have lunch. I find one about 20 minutes later after almost losing my phone while doing a bathroom stop, almost getting stock in something which looked like a small swamp full of mud and stingy branches. The lunch spot has some good sunlight which was what I was looking for. I can now finally enjoy my lunch which is the leftovers of the dinner I prepared for myself last night at the hostel. It’s nice to be eating something else than a sandwich while underway.

Half an hour later I start to walk again and I discover that my lunch spot was right at the border of the forest. Now it’s back to village roads. In the distance I see what looks like a chapel on top of a hill. It looks quite high and I hope that the way won’t lead me there as I already a bit tired of climbing. But contrary to my liking the road still leads upwards, at times quite steeply, leading me through the small town of Freixo where I collect a stamp and a small coffee at the local albergue.

After that it’s mostly downhill towards Vigo which. I keep shooting pictures every kilometer or so. Something which I have been doing all day with the idea in mind to show what a day’s worth of Camino a actually looks like. I can see the big apartment buildings clearly now as well as the modern football stadium of the local football club. Vigo really has the feel of a big city. At some point the yellow arrows point me into a direction which is not where I want to go to if I want to get to the hostel. I stop following the arrows and determine the route to walk. I have to cross some big avenues and have to go back to city logic to do so, using pedestrian crossings and respecting traffic lights. It feels a bit suppressing.

In between the big apartment buildings which I saw from afar before I make my way to the waterfront. The city feels a bit abandoned, probably because it’s weekend. Vigo is also built on top of hills so the hill walking continues all the way up to the harbour. The sun is already going down. I can’t believe I have been walking all day. The last stretch of the day is along the busy road along the Vigo harbour untill I arrive at the edge of the historical centre where the municipal hostel is situated. Traffic races by and it feels quite intense.

The intensity continues at night when I walk around the historical centre to find something to eat. The hostel concierge told me to go to the Alameda where I should be able to find some food stalls. What I find is a sea of people, sound and lights. The city has organised a light festival complete with fun fair which includes a giant feris wheel which is spinning a bit too fast to my liking. It’s all a bit much to take in. I end up eating a burrito with a beer and return to the hostel in time before it closes it’s doors at 10 in the evening.