Camino Days 8 & 9

July 26

On July 26th we woke up in Baiona, and with the exception of Maggie who overslept, we were walking by 8 ready for our longest day. We hadn’t made it terribly far from the hotel when the skies opened up and we were met with heavy rain. 

After getting everyone changed into either a poncho or rain jacket we continued down the trail in the rain for about an hour before stripping off our rain gear, redirecting back to the Camino directly on the coast, and sitting down to grab breakfast and some coffees. For context, this day was roughly nineteen miles all told, and after covering about six before breakfast, we could still see our hotel. After breakfast I was ready for a speed change and pushed ahead of the group to go scout out some lunch options, and extend the amount of time I had to lounge around and drink beers in Oia. 

Once the rest of the group had caught up we tucked into some traditional Spanish grub such as tortilla, and I ordered for myself some of the best octopus that I’d ever had. And while by this point we had put more than ten miles behind us and had made it to the edge of Vigo, where we were staying the night, we still had more than five miles to go. 

Vigo was the first major metropolitan area we had walked into since we had left Porto, and walking past developed beaches with features akin to water world and then ship building yards was an unwelcome change compared to the coastal forests we’d grown accustomed to. 

The nineteen miles proved to be exactly that, and by the end of the days walk the family was ready to lie around for a couple hours without so much as rolling over in their beds. Eventually some of us ventured not far from the hotel to have some beers and nosh, and after such a long day, and likely being dehydrated, three pints punched well above their weight. 

As the resident foodie for the crew, being in a larger city afforded us more fine dining options for me to choose from. For those on the Camino who do choose to eat seafood, mushrooms, etc., I selected the one Michelin star restaurant Maruja Limon for dinner. Unfortunately, Spanish culture dictates that the restaurant did not open until 8:45, and so that is the reservation time we ended up with. The restaurant offered two tasting menus, and in a decision I would come to regret when we finally left at midnight, I convinced everybody to spring for the more expansive one. 

While I did leave the restaurant incredibly tired, I would not have changed a thing if I could. Being treated to traditional Galician cuisine dressed up in just the right way, with the origin of much of the seafood within eyesight, made the nineteen miles feel a lot more worth it. Some of the standout dishes from the evening included oysters with citrus butter, local scallops in a white wine sauce, and all three of the unique desserts, which incorporated all sorts of interesting components such as celery and corn. When we finally made it out of dinner, we jumped in an uber and jetted home to try and get as much sleep as we could before our seven o’clock alarms.

June 27

The following morning after getting all packed we made our way to the hotels continental breakfast to fuel up for a more relaxing day of sixteen miles. We got on the road at about nine, and the feeling of procrastinating the days walk was universally shared. 

Today’s sixteen miles were made especially memorable due to the duo of 800 foot climbs we were all lucky enough to walk, but with plenty of breaks mixed it, the day was made far less punishing than it could of been. 

Once we had walked out of the Vigo metropolitan area and up our first climb of the day, we were lucky enough to be surrounded by greenery, a waterfall, and a litter of kittens who had taken up residence under a dumpster. We trudged along with varying degrees of speed and enjoyment until finally we were reunited as a family once again, where we could lie about, rest our legs, and neither move or engage with another soul on this planet for a few hours before dinner. No rest days since we left Porto, eight miles tomorrow. 

Alastair​