Camino Day 6

​June 24

We woke up this morning in A Guarda for our first full day in Spain. We were slated for one of our shortest walking days yet, around nine miles. Even though it was a shorter day, I found it to be one of the most tiresome, as a majority of the mileage came directly on the shoulder of a Galician highway, with cars passing quickly nearby throughout the majority of the hike. Despite the less than ideal scenery encountered it’s still hard to find much to complain about when your day consists of walking, eating delicious seafood, and drinking nice wines. 

I arrived into Oia first, and took a seat by the monastery to wait for the rest of the family to arrive. Dagny, Magnolia, and my father arrived shortly after before Adelaide and my mother, who had been caught in the rain, made it to town. 

We grabbed a quick lunch at a bar chock full of locals, where the food was decent enough, before checking into our hotel for some quiet time before dinner. 

Oia is not a terribly impressive town, and you can see the whole thing in about five minutes, so when the Michelin app showed a recommended restaurant outside of town, I figured it seemed the most apt place to go. The restaurant, Porto dos Barcos, is the only restaurant recommended by Michelin between the Portugal/Spain border and Vigo, the first major city we will encounter since Porto, and has held the distinction for the last four years, so I figured it must be something special. 

What followed was some of the best seafood that I have ever had the pleasure of indulging in, with incredible grouper carpaccio, tuna tartare, grilled grouper and tuna, and a delicious, massive lobster, that cost about three times that of our entire lunch bill. After finishing off the meal with some delicious house made cakes and chamomile tea, we waited for one of two cabs operating in the area to whisk us back to our modest hotel, before tucking in to rest for yet another day of walking tomorrow. If you find yourself in a town with two cabs and a restaurant finds itself into the Michelin guide, it’d serve you right to go find out why. 

Alastair