Goins Way of St James Pilgrimage 12 days

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Created: 13.05.2016

Sunday, May 28 - Day 1 - Oklahoma City/Porto, Portugal - We depart Oklahoma City for overnight flights to Portugal. We are served Dinner and Breakfast aloft. Monday, May 29 - Day 2 - Porto - We arrive in Porto, which sits on the banks of the ???River of Gold???, the Rio Douro. We celebrate Mass is a local chapel, and then we enjoy a guided tour of this splendid city. After checking into our hotel, we have an included lunch in a local restaurant with the rest of the day to explore the local area on our own, or rest up in preparation for our pilgrimage Walk. We finish our day with a fine meal...and perhaps a glass of port wine! (L, D) Accommodations: Porto Tuesday, May 30 - Day 3 - Porto/Ponte de Lima - Today we hop on the bus and head to the quiet countryside of Portugal. We have lunch and then lace up our boots to take our first steps on the Camino! Our short walk, mostly downhill, will be a good way to stretch our legs for the days ahead. We finish in the lovely river valley town of Ponte de Lima where celebrate Mass before dinner. (B, L, D) Accommodations: Ponte de Lima / Walking: 6KMs or 4 miles Wednesday, May 31 - Day 4 - Valença /Orbenlle - From the fortress town of Valença, we cross over the River Miño and enter into Spain. As both Portugal and Spain are European Union members, the only passport you´ll need is your Pilgrim´s Passport, but remember that the word for stamp will change from carimbo to sello. Once across the border, we admire the 12th century Santa Maria Cathedral where we celebrate Mass in Tui. (B, L, D) Accommodations: Tui / Walking 12KMs or 7 miles Thursday, June 1 - Day 5 - Orbenlle/Mos - In the morning, we pass through O Porriño, a town known for its unique city hall architecture and its prized granite cutting mills. We continue on to Mos, where the Louro River and the quiet Galician countryside keep us company before returning for another lovely evening in Tui. (B, L, D) Accommodations: Tui / Walking: 15 KMs or 9 miles Friday, June 2 - Day 6 - Mos/Arcade - Today we get the blood pumping with a good climb up to the Monte de Santiago de Antas, where we find another Roman mile marker to remind us that we are getting closer. The Camino then takes us to Redondela. Here we get our first glimpse of the Estuary of Vigo, where mussels and scallops are farmed on floating barges! (B, L, D) Accommodations: Pontevedra / Walking: 17 KMs or 10 miles Saturday, June 3 - Day 7 - Arcade/ Pontevedra - Our walk takes us by the beautiful stone arches of the old Ponte Sampaio, the scene of an important town battle against Napoleonic troops in 1809. Back in Pontevedra for the evening, we must stop in and get a stamp at La Peregrina, the 18th century chapel whose floor is in the shape of a scallop shell! (B, L, D) Accommodations: Pontevedra / Walking: 13KM or 8 miles Sunday, June 4 ??? PENTECOST - Day 8 - Pontevedra/ El Parque Natural de Ria Barosa - Leaving the city of Pontevedra, we quickly return to nature, crossing through quiet, wooded paths where we come to the granite Cross of Amonisa with the carved figure of Santiago facing our destination. We finish our day in Caldas de Reis, whose natural thermal springs have made this a place to soak your weary feet for thousands of years. (B, L, D) Accommodations: Caldas de Rei / Walking: 18KMs or 11 miles Monday, June 5 - Day 9 - El Parque Natural de Ria Barosa/San Miguel - Wander along the Camino through one of Galicia???s best treasures today: the pleasant vineyards that produce the Rias Baixas region???s most popular white wine, Albariño. A favorite story, but with little truth, is that the Albariño grape was brought to the region by German pilgrims on their way to Santiago. While it???s true origin remains a mystery, its flavor continues to captivate many. (B, L, D) Accommodations: Padrón / Walking: 18KMS or 11 miles Tuesday, June 6 - Day 10 - San Miguel/Rua de Francos Padrón (or pedrón ??? Galician for big stone) - pays homage to the famous rock where the boat that contained Saint James was moored to upon its arrival from Jerusalem after he had been martyred. Padrón is also famous in culinary circles for its little green peppers, some which are hot and others that are not. (B, L, D) Accommodations: Padrón / Walking: 18KMS or 11 miles Wednesday, June 7 - Day 11 - Rua de Francos/Santiago de Compostela - 8 days, 118 kilometers, and we have arrived in Santiago de Compostela. Congratulations! You are going to love this magical city filled with fantastic monuments and a lively buzz from the international pilgrims and university students that fill its medieval streets. After requesting our Compostela certificates at the Pilgrims' Office, we head to our hotel and get ready for our evening celebratory dinner! (B, L, D) Accommodations: Santiago de Compostela / Walking: 12 KMs or 7 miles Thursday, June 8 - Day 12 - Santiago de Compostela - After a buffet breakfast, we get a closer look at the amazing Cathedral that has seen so many transformations since the original chapel built in the 9th century. We attend the Cathedral Pilgrims' Mass at noon. The remainder of the day is at leisure. Farewell dinner. (B, L, D)   Accommodations: Santiago de Compostela Friday, June 9 - Day 13 - Santiago de Compostela/La Coruna/OKC - We sadly say our last "buen camino" as we depart for La Coruna airport for our flight home with memories of our pilgrimage along the The Way of St. James.