Oia to Baiona 15kms
Total distance 149kms
Climb 260m
Total climb 1770m

We had a very colourful sunset last night. This morning it seemed as though it was a bit foggy again. As we got walking we could see a blood red sun. I said it was just the fog, but Barbara reckoned she could smell smoke. She was right again of course.  There is a wildfire in Spain’s northern Catalonia region and the sunset last night and the sun this morning were red from the smoke.

It was a slightly cooler day today and a bit overcast so made for ideal walking conditions. We could have stayed on the yellow path and walked on the flat and followed the coast all the way to Baiona. There was another option. A bit longer, turning inland and climbing up over several hills through forest. The first hill was called Snowporky Hill, I don’t know why. Being suckers for punishment we took this option. It was the genuine Portuguese Camino de Costa after all. Up in the hills we reached a marker that said 149.950 kilometres to Santiago, so we have just passed the halfway point.

We stopped for coffee this morning at O-Muino Restaurant and Bungalow Park. This was very much like an English seaside camp with lots of little gable roofed bungalows. Almost every pilgrim stopped here because it is the last cafe until you reach Baiona. It was on the coast and had a restored windmill which were once common along the coast. We could chat with all the pilgrims we now know. A bit further on we could see the Cape Silleiro Lighthouse, though we turned off up into the hills before reaching it.

We have come across another couple of “lavadero” today. These are public clothes wash houses. Most are very old but we saw a new one coming into Baiona. Before houses had running water. communal wash houses were built in the villages. These usually had a roof, and a stream or spring running through them. There is a photo of one being used in a photo I took in A Guardia two days ago.

We reached Baiona by lunch time and bought an empanada carna (meat), pastal de nada, banana and apple each, and ate them by the harbour. We have a rest day in Baiona tomorrow so will go and explore it then. Our hotel, Pension El Mosquito, is tiny but the room and bathroom is quite large. It is in the old part of town among all the narrow alleys.