O Porriño - Redondela

Leaving the Pazo dos Marqueses behind, you start climbing the Rúa dos Cabaleiros up to the cross of “Cruceiro dos Cabaleiros”, which is thus called because of the horse fair that is held here. It is also called “Cruceiro da Vitoria” to signal the victory over Napoleon’s troops. 

The Camino continues after these first 5 kilometres climbing towards the heights of Inxerto e Infesta, the highest point being at the chapel of Santiaguiño de Anta, where you can see several Camino-related motifs such as the Apostle or the Cross. Here you can also find the Cruceiro de Santiaguiño do Monte, and close by the Miliario de Guizán, and part of the 19th Roman road on the Antonine Itinerary. This milestone not only worked as a boundary marker, but it was also believed to have fertility powers for women who wanted to have children, and that is why it was not moved to the Museum of Pontevedra, as there was opposition from the locals. 

The route enters the municipality of Redondela and goes back onto the N-550, the road linking Tui and A Coruña. From this coastal town, you can see the Ria de Vigo, with the bridge of Rande across it and the Cíes Islands in the background. In the middle of the ria, you can see the Isle of San Simón. It is now uninhabited but it is steeped in history and is listed as a heritage site in Spain. Originally settled by the Knights Templar, it was used as a lazaretto in the 19th and early 20th centuries, as a prison during the Spanish Civil War, and later on as a school for orphans. 

In Redondela, you can visit the convent of Vilavella and the church of Santiago, and civil engineering structures such as the two viaducts, one of the railway line between Vigo and Madrid and the other on the line going to Pontevedra.