A Gándara (Guillarei)

A Gándara is a hamlet in the parish of Guillarei, in the municipality of Tui (Pontevedra), set along the N-550 road corridor that links the border town with O Porriño. It does not lie on the route of the Central Portuguese Way itself, but roughly one kilometre to the east of it, level with the stretch that runs between the chapel of the Virxe do Camiño and the Ponte das Febres. Its name, common in Galician place names, refers to the flat, damp and poorly fertile lands typical of the Louro river valley, the same landscape that further north forms the wetland of As Gándaras de Budiño, a protected area within the Natura 2000 network. Guillarei is also a historic railway junction, where the line arriving from Vigo divides towards Ourense and towards the Portuguese border. For the pilgrim, A Gándara is not a traditional end of stage but an alternative overnight stop a short distance from Tui: those who make the detour find hotel accommodation with full services in quiet, open surroundings, and can pick up the yellow arrows again the next day at the Ponte das Febres to continue towards Ribadelouro, Orbenlle and O Porriño. It is, in short, a practical base for dividing the first Galician stretch of the Way into two gentle days.