Heading north from Portugal, I stopped for a couple of nights in Pontevedra, Spain. I was there to experience the urbanism from a city that has won multiple awards for its measures of restricting cars from the city centre, being child-friendly, having zero traffic fatalities annually, and experiencing population growth when few other places its size are. Apparently, I was the only one. The rest of my hostel were pilgrims, walking the Camino Portugese, from Porto to Santiago de Compostela, my next stop. Pontevedra was just another stop for most people, although a couple used it as a rest day. This Camino takes about 2-3 weeks.

Anyway, Pontevedra did not disappoint. Every corner was another, glorious, car-free plaza with bars and coffee shops spilling out, but not restricting pedestrian movement, as there is no lack of space without cars. And there were a lot of children. I of course avoided them, but the fact they were there is definitely the sign of a healthy city. There was also kilometres of walking and biking paths just outside of the city centre, along a river. But perhaps the best part, was the quiet. No revving of the engines, no screeching of the tires, and blissfully, no honking. It was glorious.

Really, the only sound was the morning departure of all of the hikers, packing their bags and getting on their shoes. I waited until they all left to get some laundry done and have a quiet breakfast. When most people took a couple of days to walk to Santiago, I took an hour bus ride and checked into my next hostel, which was full of trekkers again. This time though, people were meeting at the end of various caminos, as far away as from France. It gave the hostel a nice energy and a wide range of ages. In fact, most of the trekkers seemed to be in their 50’s or 60’s or older. At least I know what I’ll be doing when I get older.

Santiago is a lovely city, one that has always been the terminus or starting point for hikers, so even though it is full of tourists, it has that feeling like it’s always been that way. Although, I have a feeling that selfies in front of the cathedral is a bit of a new development. But it’s a great city, full of great views and more winding, walkable streets. It was easy to meet people as well, although they were often surprised I was there without any hiking plans!