Going Out The Door

As we start this post, we’re in Baiona, Spain, and it’s our first rest day on the journey. We’re looking out over the harbor on a Saturday, with the nearby beach well populated with folks swimming and wading into the calm waters, and a marina chock full of boats in the background. We’ll see where we are when we finish this post.

Eight days in and about 140 kilometers to go, we‘re halfway feeling through our Camino – Porto, Vila da Conde, Apúlia, Castelo do Nieva, Viana do Costelo, Âncora, A Guarda, Oia, and Baiona. Writing them down like this is helpful, because it can be hard to remember where we are and where we’ve been from day to day.

The rest day was very welcome, and we slept in not having to worry about getting our bags to the front desk in time for pickup.

It also gives us a few minutes to reflect back on the last few days. We’ve met a few people…maybe not as many as we expected, but we had dinner and more than a few drinks with some folks along the way. Even if we haven’t spoken with a lot, we see a number of familiar faces. Some of that may change with our rest day, as we fall behind but jump ahead of some.

The landscapes have been both beautiful and sometimes harsh, but honestly, we are so focused on moving our feet (and not tripping) a lot of the scenery passes without having soaked it up.

We’ve adopted a “No Gawkin’ if Walkin’” attitude so we do have to be intentional in taking time to stop and really appreciate that thousands of people, over more than 1,000 years have walked this same path. It can feel overwhelming when thinking of it that way.

Now, it’s Sunday and we’re in Vigo – a major port city in Spain, and with about 290,000 people by far the biggest city since Porto. As we wait for dinner time to roll around at about 8pm, we thought this would be a good time for some recollections on the walks and the cities we’ve visited.

Vila do Conde: Turns out our lodgings at the B&B Hotel were not near any restaurants. After a long walk, that is NOT what you want to find out. Turns out, we were still in civilized parts! We took a cab to a gastro pub, where the food and drink soothed our weary legs.

Apulia: This was a getting into the rhythm day walking-wise. At the pace we go, we’re constantly taking in a lot of scenery. It creates a very different kind of vibe than driving or even biking would have. Aside from the lack of shade along the coast during the afternoon heat, this was a good leg. It ended better with a fantastic meal at Convivio do Mar.

Costello do Nieva: Quinta do Montevedre, our lodgings for the night, was not really a hotel. It was more like a villa they turned into a B&B. Hands down the best place we’ve stayed since we got here.

Viana do Costelo: A good leg all in all, but the Eiffel bridge into town, built in 1878, was a beast of a bridge with a beast of a wind that seemed to want to blow you back to the side you started. This is a wind that should have a name. Like Harold, maybe – a name that reminds you of that obnoxious cousin or coworker or creepy uncle that just won’t let things be.

Ancora: It was rainy-ish as we approached Ancora. They had what we call a Bowling Green rain going, misting just hard enough that you notice it but not hard enough to really do anything about it. We didn’t bother with our rain gear, but after we got to our Auberge, a hostel-like accommodation along the Camino, the rain started coming down harder.

Fortunately, one of the recommended restaurants was right outside the Auberge. We were right on the waterfront, and enjoyed an excellent meal before turning in early.

A Guarda: This was the transition from Portugal to Spain, and we took a small boat from Caminha across the river to A Guarda.

The hotel was fine, nothing of major note, but the location was really good – close to a large plaza area and the coast, where we headed for dinner. We had the great joy of seeing Ireen again at the restaurant, and we caught up with her journey and shared some of our Camino.

Oia: After our walk, as we entered Oia, we stopped at the first cafe we came upon. While there we saw a number of peregrinos we recognized from the Camino, and also made some new friends in Bob, Maddie, Corey and Carla. We ended up chatting with them at the cafe for some time and, as we were staying at the same hotel, had dinner together that night.

Baiona:

So, here we are, as far as Baiona, where we started this post. We’re now finishing it in Redondela and will have another post up soon covering events since Baiona. Please, no judgements – we’re trying to keep up – really.

Baiona is pretty much a resort town for Spaniards and anyone else lucky enough to get there. The restaurant scene was really vibrant (ok, we know we talk about food too much but…I had a hamburguesa with a half ox and half beef mix, carmelized onions, and goat cheese that was to die for) and the vibe of the city was really upbeat, We had enough time on our day off to wander the city and went to the nearby glass beach (a real oddity of nature) as well as walking the walls of the old fortress that overlooks and defines the harbor views.

And now, back to the walking…