Camino de Santiago Portuguese - Day 13

Updated: Nov 23, 2025

Daily Overview:
We’re sitting here in a restaurant in downtown O Porriño at the moment getting something to eat. We left the fortress of Valença this morning, accompanied by a scattered number of other pilgrims, and crossed the bridge over the Minho river into Tui, entering Spain and leaving Portugal behind. The Camino heads uphill in Tui and passes in front of the Cathedral. We would’ve stopped and visited the church, but there was a service in progress and we were doing a longer walk today, so we didn’t stay. The walk today was beautiful through the back streets of Tui and into the most beautiful woodland glen I have ever seen. If fairies exist, they surely live there. The peace and beauty of that place were intoxicating. Even after leaving that place to walk along the road, the residue remained with us. We enjoyed a break at a wonderful little cafe and eventually got into O Porinno around 3:30. Finding the little apartment we’re staying in was a bit of a challenge, but it’s great to be in the middle of the old town here with all the stores and restaurants close by.
What we planned to do: Today, we planned to start our regular days of walking again, going from Valenca to O Porinno, about twelve miles. Jon will be walking with us starting today, his first day on the Camino.

Topic: Standing firm in the moment
Sometimes it can feel like everything is going out the window. Your cell phone has lost all service and you can’t navigate, your feet are killing you, you’re tired, and as the icing on the cake, your cell phone has a glitch and completely erases the blog post you just spent over an hour on. In that moment, in that place, there is only one thing to do. Keep going no matter what.
Word for the Day: Resilience
Scripture: Galatians 6:9
"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.”
Spiritual Practice: What is something God has clearly called you to do that has been a profound struggle? How can you re-engage with him in in a fresh way to see it accomplished?

Images from the Way Today:
Beautiful Spot of the Day:
The view overlooking the Minho River as we crossed the bridge from Portugal into Spain
Spiritual Meditative Moment:
Walking through the forest glen may be the closest I will ever come to living in a fairy tale.
What Church We Visited:
The Cathedral of Santa Maria de Tui
People we experienced: Picture this; we are walking through a forest glen with arched stone bridges, the likes of which you find in fairy tales. As we walk deeper into the woods, we hear the faint sound of bagpipes playing in the distance. The longer we walk, the closer they become until we stumble upon a man alone at the edge of the Camino playing his heart out on the bagpipes. It was surreal.
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Unexpected Surprises: We turned a bend
on the path, and there, sitting in a grou,p were at least 100 high school students with backpacks, eating lunch. I’m thinking, no, it can’t be. But yes, they were walking, and when we finally stopped to let them go by and get ahead of us, it took about twenty minutes. I’m thinking taking a small group of kids to the mall can be challenging, and they are doing this!?
Animal/Nature or local life: Seeing this woman walking her sheep down the road reminded us of Little Bo Peep.

This gives the hymn “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” a whole new perspective.

Reflections from Today: You are not defined by the paths that take you through adversity and suffering; you are sustained by the paths that have taken you through peace and grace and love and encouragement.
"Well, that was hard." The moment I walked across the bridge into Spain, I lost all cell service. No internet, no navigation. Jonathan had to navigate for us today. It took me until tonight to finally get it straightened out.
"What helped me today": The wonderful little cafe at the edge of the woods with beautiful bathrooms, great snacks, and overflowing with fellow pilgrims. My daughter Natalie is helping us troubleshoot my cell phone problem from five thousand miles away.
"Something I learned": You lose an hour when you cross the border from Portugal into Spain, even though they are in the same time zone! So if you’re running late, just go next door and pick up an hour.
"Insight for the day": I love Portugal; it just might always be my favorite foreign country.
"Mystical occurrences": For the second time now Sandy’s phone mysteriously dialed four of our friends on WhatsApp at 8:30 in the morning back in the states, and everyone answered. We had a great little chat with everyone out in the middle of nowhere between Tui and O Porrino.

A View of our Compostela:
Gratitudes (1–3 things I'm thankful for):
A beautiful, cool day to walk
Thankful for this lovely salad Sandy had for dinner
There is goat's cheese in the middle.
This great place to stay tonight, a little apartment right off the square