Camino de Santiago (2022)
Inhalt/Content
Stage 6: Rubiães – Tui
Today’s stage was all about the border crossing from Portugal to Spain. So we first went to Valença, the last town on the Portuguese side. The city was built like a fortress. Medieval alleys meandered along large stone walls. This medieval flair also attracted plenty of tourists. In addition to the many bars and cafés, there were also numerous photo spots at prominent points of the fortress. It was a bit strange that there were a lot of junk shops in the city, as you know from the border area between Poland or the Czech Republic and Germany.
We walked a bit through the city, of course also took a photo or two, and finally ate something in a bakery a little away from the hustle and bustle. Then we left the fortress behind us through a large gate and headed towards the long border bridge between Portugal and Spain. The blue EU sign with the inscription “España” greeted us. I was happy because we were finally back in a country where I could communicate in the local language again. In Portugal, the English skills of many residents were unfortunately quite sparse, and even if Portuguese and Spanish seem similar on paper, I didn’t warm to the strange pronunciation until the end. From afar we could already see Tui, today’s stage destination. It may be based on a small competition between Portugal and Spain, but Tui also consisted of an imposing fortress, which could be seen from afar.
As soon as we reached Tui, some differences between Portugal and Spain became noticeable. I looked for a private hostel online that attached great importance to sustainability. However, we arrived on time for the siesta and so the city was deserted and the hostel was also closed. The hostel had a cozy little café with a front door saying you would be back at 4 pm. We looked at our watches, which told us it was about half past two. Luckily there was also a phone number for the hostel taped to the door, so I called and the woman on the other end dictated the code for the front door and the key box and said she would be right back for anything else. A little surprised, I looked at the clock again and wondered what the lady meant by “right back” since there were still almost 1 1/2 hours until the café opened. Then the scales fell from our eyes: Spain is in a different time zone than Portugal! So it was just after half past three! Technically, we walked an hour across the border bridge. We settled in and shortly afterward the café actually opened again and we were able to pay for our room.
We took the opportunity to buy some souvenirs and have a drink in the café. There was another cultural difference compared to Portugal: tapas! The small Spanish snacks are available with pretty much everything you order in cafés, bars, or bakeries. So with my coffee and Kevin’s kombucha, we got free olives, chips, a piece of Danish pastry, and a piece of an empanada. You really don’t have to starve in Spain. To this day I don’t know if I should find tapas good or bad. On the one hand, it is of course great to get free snacks, especially since tapas are usually very tasty. On the other hand, many people simply leave the tapas where they are, which probably leads to food waste again. No matter how full we were, it was always important to us to eat the tapas as well.
In the accommodation, we also met the couple from last time. We met Li afterward in the city center. He was staying at the government hostel but seemed quite content with that, saying he was the only guest there. In the evening we went to a creperie and ate hearty crepes. Kevin’s crepe was filled with ham and cheese and mine was filled with fresh seafood. You really can’t complain about the food in Spain! After a little shopping in the nearby supermarket, we went back to the accommodation and to bed. That’s when we became acquainted with another cultural characteristic: Spanish nightlife. Since it was Saturday night, we were woken up several times by the party people roaming the streets.
