Today felt like true Fall weather with low temperatures, a cool breeze, & sunny weather mixed with clouds along with leaves strewn on the ground.

Today’s walk took us almost exactly 10 miles. Before leaving, we started the day doing some more touring around Padron.

We hung out until the stores opened & I bought some Padron pepper seeds. 🤞I’ll be successful growing them in my garden next summer.

Next , we took a short walk up many steps to where it is a believed St. James preached when he came to Spain in 40 AD.

Outside Padron, we visited the Church of Santa Maria la Mayor de Iria Flavia. It dates from the 5th Century & is believed to be the world’s oldest church dedicated to The Virgin Mary.

According to tradition, Iria Flavia was where the boat that carried Saint James’ body from Haifa in Palestine landed in Spain. So, this spot is key in the “Translatio de Santiago” legend which tells how St. James’ body was moved by sea arriving at Iria Flavia where this church is located & was then transported overland to Compostela.

From there we walked through many small villages & various farms in the countryside. Here are a few images from along the way.

The Sanctuary of Nosa Señora de Escravitude (The Sanctuary of Our Lady of Slavery) is in A Coruna. Its interesting name comes from a miracle that happened here. A sick man was walking to Santiago seeking a cure for his illness. On the way, he stopped at this church to drink from its fountain & within 72 hours without any medical treatment, his illness was cured. The man then exclaimed, “Thank you, Virgin, for freeing me from the slavery of illness!” Afterwards many pilgrims came to this church seeking a miracle by drinking from the same fountain & their donations allowed the structure seen today to be built. We weren’t able to go inside because it was closed when we were there.

These things also caught our eyes on the trail.

On the Rua de Francos in tiny Teo where we are staying is the oldest stone cross on the Camino dating from the 14th Century which ranks it among the oldest crosses in Spain. It was erected to help mark the pilgrimage route from Portugal to Santiago.

With only 13.8 KM to go, we will arrive in Santiago tomorrow.

We enjoyed dinner with a couple from LA who we have seen periodically on the trail since Vigo.