Variante espiritual

The Spiritual Variant, or Variante Espiritual, is an alternative section of the Portuguese Way that leaves Pontevedra, loops west through the Salnés peninsula and rejoins the main line at Padrón. Walking distance is roughly 75 km over three stages, the last of which can be completed by boat rather than on foot.

The name refers to the tradition that the stone boat carrying the body of Saint James was rowed up the Ría de Arousa and the river Ulla to Padrón, where it was moored to the rock that gives the town its name. The waterway is marked along its length by carved stone crosses, described as the only maritime Way of the Cross in the world, and the modern Traslatio boat trip retraces the passage from Vilanova de Arousa. Pilgrims who complete it may receive a separate certificate, the Pedronía.

The overland stages pass Poio, whose Benedictine monastery holds a granite horreo among the largest in Galicia, then climb to Armenteira and its twelfth-century Cistercian monastery, still occupied by a religious community. From there the Ruta da Pedra e da Auga descends a wooded river gorge past restored watermills to Barrantes, entering the Albariño vineyards of the Rías Baixas around Cambados and Vilanova.

The variant was formally waymarked in 2016 and has drawn steadily increasing numbers since. It adds distance compared with the direct route through Caldas de Reis, and the boat sailing depends on tides, season and minimum passenger numbers.