Day 10 - Tui to Porrino - 13.25 miles

It was a beautiful and cool morning when we set out. We had started early because it was forecasted to reach 80 degrees in the late afternoon. We wanted (and managed) to be done walking early and enjoy a siesta during the heat of the afternoon.

Along the way we found an interesting stone sculpture with a traditional pilgrim  silhouette carved out of it. 

Later we came upon a local biking group. They had stopped on a medieval bridge to have a pilgrim take their picture. Pam was reminded of her weekly biking group that would have posed for the same type of photo. 

Pilgrims have been walking from Tui to Santiago for about a thousand years. The roadside shrines are so old they are weathered and rather creepy.

We passed what we thought were grapevines. But when we looked closer the leaves and tree-shape didn't seem right. It turns out they were kiwi trees! Kiwi  fruit is a popular for breakfast and grown throughout this region. 

Now that we are in Spain, the Camino markers have changed. They now count down the distance to Santiago. We had to laugh when we saw they calculated the kilometers to three decimal places. Our mileage is always longer than what is in our guidebooks. We wondered who comes up with all these numbers!

We also came across what we could only describe as holy henhouses. These chicken coops were always elevated high off the ground. And they were topped with a cross and some kind of figurine. Is there a saint for protecting barnyard fowl?

Over the past 10 days we walked through more and more beautiful spring countryside. There are flowers everywhere. 

Our last few miles for the day were along a stream. We were glad of the occasional shade. We were more glad when we reached our hotel and could call it a day.

After our siesta when went in search of tapas. We found a place on a large pedestrian square. It turned out to be the perfect place to people watch. Lots of families were out enjoying the evening. The parents were at cafe table enjoying a beer. The kids were playing all over the square. We loved the atmosphere and energy.