Padron: It was like another rest day

September 20, 2013

Santiago is a big and busy city so we had been a bit concerned as to how we would get out of it without having to walk large distances but it all worked like a dream. We had another go at the delicious buffet breakfast, saddled up and left our beautiful haven. We had decided that we would take the ring road to where we needed to get to, getting off and walking if we needed to. It was all downhill so we judged the lights and set off at speed, amazingly it worked and in what seemed a very short time we were at the road we thought we needed. Unfortunately it had lots of numbers on it but not N550 which was what we needed and what is more it had turned into a 2 lane highway. We stuffed around a bit and asked a workman who says yes he thought it was the N550 so we braved it. Actually it wasn’t too bad at all as we were still going downhill , there was a good hard shoulder and in the really tight places a cycle path separated by a barrier and soon the road became ‘normal’ again. The urban sprawl out of Santiago is terrible there is just one built up area after another and we rarely got out of it on our way to here so it wasn’t a very exciting ride apart from the fact that it was largely downhill so we went fast.

We arrived in Padron around 10am and stopped for coffee. It is a really nice little Spanish town with everyone going about their daily business. Staying here meant it really gave us another rest day, used up a bit of excess time and then gave us some good stages along the way. I found a hotel with a very nice owner . He said that the bikes would have to share the room with us. I said ‘no way’ so he kindly found us another room to put them in and carried them up the stairs for us. We could check in straight away because there was one room already made up. We have walked around the town and explored the covered market. Some men were playing a very strange game by the river which involved throwing metal discs to try and hit a metal cross some distance away. We stopped to watch and they invited Ken to join in, which he did much to their delight. Lunch as well as our addictive sandwiches was Pemento de Padron. These are tiny green peppers cultivated exclusively in a nearby area. They are a delicious combination of sweet and piquant flesh with one in about every 30 being chilli-hot.

Much to our surprise there are lots of pilgrims here. We thought very few walked this route but we are wrong. Padron is a very important part of the St James story. It is here that he started his ministry to Spain preaching from Monte Santiaguino, an imposing hill above the river. It is also here that his body was allegedly brought by his apostles after his martyrdom. Under the alter of the church is the Padron (rock) the boat was supposed to have tied up to it and on the banks of the river a replica of it.

This is the second course of the 3 course meal Ken had last night. Complete with wine and bread it cost 9E and was delicious. We will get fat!

A old Fordson major driving a wood splitter

An Agria articulated narrow tractor with a single cylinder air cooled engine

Lots of Bacelau (salted cod) in the market yuck. We must be getting close to Portugal

A 16th century woodcarving showing the body os St James being carried here

This is the spot which St james used to preach

And this is the fountain where he is said to get water to bapitise the locals (with a scallop shell of course)

Today's ride: 25 km (16 miles)
Total: 2,780 km (1,726 miles)

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