After a delightful day off, we began Day 8 with a breathtaking hike over hills, offering stunning ocean views.

Getting out of Vigo

We spent about a couple hours getting out of Vigo, a vibrant coastal city in Galicia known for its bustling port, fresh seafood, and scenic views of the Atlantic Ocean.

Walking Around the Bridge

We saw this beautiful bridge as we were leaving Vigo. We thought we’d pass it but we ended up spending most of day walking around the bridge.

Onwards and Upwards

After we got out of Vigo, we had some serious elevation through some wonderfully, peaceful wilderness sections of the trail.

Mystery Structures

While walking through the villages, we’d occasionally see these small structures up on pillars next to houses. They were not common but looked very interesting. We had some theories on what they were. But wow, were we wrong.

Take a look at these next few photos and try to guess what they are.

Our guess was some type of ancient sepulcher. They always had crosses on the tops and small slits on the sides of them.

These sepulcher-like structures are actually called hórreos (pronounced “OR-ray-ohs”). They are old-school pantries or granaries. Their main job for centuries has been to store corn and other crops, keeping them dry and safe from critters. That’s why they’re lifted up on pillars – to stop mice from having a feast – and have those slits in the walls for airflow in the damp Galician weather. Some have been around since at least the 15th century, maybe even earlier, and they’re a really iconic part of the landscape here, showing off a innovative way folks have farmed and lived in this region for ages.

There are only about 30,000 of these structures left in Galicia and they are protected by Spain’s Historical Heritage Ministry.

Arriving in Arcade

We made it down the mountainous terrain into Arcade for the evening.

We saw this cutout image of a female pilgrim, and I (Russ) thought it looked like Angela hiking!

Strava Stats