Somewhere Slowly

We started the day by going back to the same bar to have breakfast, sadly without bumping into the lovely Canadian ladies again, though the place was full of pilgrims. Shortly after picking up the trail we ran into a local man with an umbrella – it was threatening rain on and off – who was keen to talk … in German. From what I gathered, he was on his way to shop for plants?, and we chatted about the weather, and how far we were going, and how many pilgrims there were for a bit before he zoomed off. As it was, we walked past him again outside a shop and he showed us his bag, full of little plants for his garden. A very happy man. I hope his flowers are all blooming.

We also found this charming collection of painted stones with a camino theme; I think maybe guests at a nearby albergue are painting them.

Pretty soon the path started heading up a lush green hill, with views to a lighthouse on the next hill. It was rocky, it was hard, it was beautiful, there was shade and incredible sea views and the promise of a countryside bar just on the other side of the top. I loved it.

After a rest and an Aquarius, we carried on in a sudden mass of people down towards the bigger town of Baiona. This was another one of the places I had looked forward to seeing, as it has a replica of the Pinta, the smallest and fastest of Columbus’ three ships on his voyage of discovery, sitting prettily in the marina. The lookout on the Pinta was the first to see land after the transatlantic voyage in 1492 (being Norwegian, I’m not going to say first transatlantic voyage). It was also the only ship out of the three that returned to Europe, landing in Baiona, so the people of this town were quite literally the first to hear about the ‘New’ World.

I was so excited to see it I walked extra – at least 200 m! I find it incredibly fascinating that 26 souls went on board not knowing what would happen and where they would end up, enduring very basic conditions – and provisions – on the probably not very comfortable crossing. And as if that wasn’t testing enough, they climbed on board again and went back! I was so pleased to see it, and also baffled at how small it looked.

Having feasted my eyes on the small replica vessel and marvelled at the piece of history it represents, it was lunch time. We wound our way back into the medieval narrow streets near the waterfront and found a busy bar with shaded outside seating. They also served chicken wings and ribs, so that was our day made. We wished we were staying in the biggish, lively town, but I had booked a cheap hotel in nearby Sabaris to make the next day shorter. In hindsight I would definitely have stayed in Baiona.

Our hotel in Sabaris turned out to be a dated, forlorn establishment with a cosy shaded garden where if you order a drink, the landlord goes and purchases it in the bar next door but one and brings it over to your table. Our room was nice, with lovely beds and even air con … which didn’t work. After a few attempts to revive it, the man downstairs gave us a different room, and the cool air flow was such bliss after a hot day.

There was a laundrette next door, so we managed to get every single item of clothing we weren’t actually wearing, washed and dried. Laundry completed, we went for a meal at the Barro, a modern bar and restaurant with a very stylish backyard by the river and a mercifully modern menu. It was lovely to be able to sit outside in the dark and finally get our temperatures back to normal again. It seemed to be very popular as well, full of people and laughter, but we were too tired to make a late evening of it. We had air con to enjoy!