Crossing the bridge this morning we discovered Caldas de Reis, another pretty town with a small “Old Town” section. The town’s church, oddly enough, is dedicated to Saint Thomas Beckett, an English martyr rarely cited in Spain. Although we saw only the exterior and park surrounding it, that was quite lovely.
Before we reach Padron, our goal for today, we pass through Pontecesures, which earns an unusual description in our pilgrim guidebooks. “Pontecesures is the town that you wished was prettier but it isn’t. It enjoys a nice riverside location but is spoiled by the belching factory across the river.” That just about covers it.
After trudging through the hot city and crossing the bridge, we left the “belching factory” behind. The last few kilometers to Padron were sunny and hot. We were glad to reach our hotel, the Chef Rivera, which also houses a recommended restaurant. We took a few hours to walk the town, visit a convent, and another church dedicated to Santiago.
Padron can be considered the most important little town on the Camino. It was here that the remains of Santiago arrived after being sent out to sea on a stone boat. It was Padron where St James (Santiago) first arrived to preach while still alive.
In the church (Inglesia Santiago) Evan saw a statue that looked like so many others of Santiago, with the pilgrim’s hat and staff, the scallop shells on his cape, and so on, but this one was labeled “Sao Roque.” Clearly someone must have made a mistake. So I asked the woman at the desk about the mislabeling of Santiago. But she had very little English as she tried to convince me that no, this really was Saint Roch – who I had never heard of. I couldn’t understand her explanation, so she walked over to the statue and even climbed up to point at the dog with bread in his mouth standing beside Saint Roch. She had tried to explain that, yes, St. Roch was a pilgrim, but his symbols include the dog with the bread, which is not characteristic of Santiago. So don’t be fooled, if you see Santiago with a dog: it’s Saint Roch, not Santiago.
Walking the town, we also explored a lovely botanical garden, Jardin Botanico Artistico, featuring about 300 species of trees, even including a Giant Sequoia. It is considered the oldest Botanical Garden in Spain.
Then we headed back for dinner at Chef Rivera. We chose to share a Scallop and Clam Paella, which was absolutely delicious, along with a bottle of local wine! A perfect evening, followed by a warm bed. Two more days until we arrive in Santiago.
