Last walk around the castle, such a beautiful sunny morning. While we were walking we bumped into Maite’s friend from the bar last night and then Maite! Had our last cafe con leche at Central Park. Said goodbye to Maite, Mark & Katherine then headed to the airport at 10am.

The sunniest day in Baiona and our last full day. Started the day at Central Park with Maite. We took a walk to Christine’s favourite bakery to get a sweet treat. Erin and I headed to the beach. We played cards and read. We unknowingly had a veil burger for lunch… it was okay. Next, we look a walk around the castle and headed for some gelato. Decided to soak up as much sun as possible and went for two laps around the castle. I was so warm that I jumped into Spanish sea! (Only for a second because it was so cold!). Heading out to see Maite, Maria and Josè at the Baiona ‘bar alley’ for one last night in Baiona! We listened to a 2 man Spanish band and drank Estrella 🙂

Erin & I went to the beach to pick shells then went for a coffee. We went for a long walk weaving up and down Baiona backroads and popping in and out of stores along the way. We landed at a bakery in the next town where we tried epañadas (fish and meat)… they tasted like pizza pockets but fishy. We walked back along the board walk and stopped at a sweets shop where we had squares and coffee. The owner of the cafe asked if we could write a review in her book and to say where we were from. She was a very nice lady even from the little English she spoke. Even though it was cloudy, Erin & I headed to the beach to get in some tanning. We were the only ones at the beach! We ended the night with a huge seafood dinner with Maite to celebrate Mom and Dad’s 33rd Anniversary. Afterward we met up with Maite’s sister (Maria-Carmen) and her husband (Josè) at a bar. Maite and her sister are a lot alike! And then… Erin and I went to Central Park to have a beer. They served olives and candy with our drink haha

What a day of eating and drinking!

Caught the bus in Baiona to head to Vigo then Santiago de Compostela. Arrived in Santiago and headed to the famous church which was being renovated at the time. This is where the Santiago pilgrimage ends so there was many hikers with backpacks hugging and celebrating the end of the journey. It was raining the whole time we were in Santiago so we didn’t get to tour the streets much but it was almost a bigger version of Baiona with wider streets and more shops. Finally caught the 4pm bus home and thankful to be out of the rain! Maite sure was:) Finished the day off with a run and ‘out door workout’ and a game of euchre with the family!

Second run around the Baiona Castle! Met Maite for a cappuccino at Central Park. Walked along the castle and got stuck in the rain. Saw a few goats in the castle grounds while walking back into town. Went to the Baiona museum. We learnt that Baiona was one of the first trade ports and Vigo is one of the larges ports in the world.

Bought some fish, calamari, scallops and canned clams to have a fiesta around 5pm. Erin’s and I went shopping on the main street and the sun came out! We met Maite and went to see the huge waves on the water front and walked towards the next town where the waves got even bigger. You could taste the salt from the ocean on your lips from the mist of the waves! We had an Estrella at a small bar which served tapas of croquettes, Spanish omelette, goat cheese and bread sticks. Delish!

First run this morning around the Baiona Castle! Met up with Maite at Central Park for a morning cafe con leche. Today’s walk was so fascinating. We toured around the back street of Baiona seeing Maite’s old house, her grandmothers house and her sister’s currently house. The back roads are very narrow and we had to look out for cars speeding by… they didn’t slow down. Mark & Katherine came from Berlin today and we met them on the main street of Baiona. We toured around more of the back roads this afternoon. We saw 3 different churches as well as Maite’s old school that she went to as a little girl… very cool. Her school was originally a hospital and now it is a public library. We stopped for some delicious calamari and are just about to go get some more seafood for dinner … followed by gelato… if we can find room in our stomachs:)

We met Maite at Central Park at 9am for a Cafe con leche and fresh orange juice (very sweet). We headed to the grocery store to get some groceries. In the grocery store, there were lots of fresh fish and cow legs for sale. Very cheap food & drinks so far! We headed to the market which was about an hour walk from downtown Baiona. On the walk and during the day we must have bumped into at least a half a dozen of Maite’s relatives and friends on the street. Very friendly people in the small town! We left Maite for the day and headed back to the condo for a ‘siesta’ and some lunch which consisted of chorizo, cheese and fresh bread & some red wine from the grocery store:) We headed up the hill to a statue called ‘Virgen de la Roca’. It was beautiful walking up the streets where people live out side of the main street. The statue is famous in Baiona for the diamond eyes, however, someone stole them from the statue a while ago. We walked around the Baiona Castle which has a beautiful new of Baiona and what surrounds it. We went to a seafood restaurant for dinner and had fresh octopus, scallops and seafood paello. Very delicious! We finished off the night with a $3 bottle of white wine… it was actually pretty tasty!

Monday May 6, 2019

We arrived in Baiona around 1pm after a 6 hour flight and a fast taxi ride from Porto airport. On the way into Baiona we past 3 white beaches 🙂 We got settled into our ‘condominium’ that Maite set up for us just off the main road of Baiona. The furniture & smells in the condo reminds me a lot of Maite’s house back on Wolfe Island. Nice and sunny today, it’s around 20 degrees. Shorts and tank top weather! Erin & I run to the beach right away to get some tanning in while the weather is so nice. We meet Maite for tapa’s at a local restaurant in the heart of Baiona. Maite unfortunately fell by tripping over a big circular barrier that was in the ground… she laughed about it afterwards. We had our first Cafe Con Leche at Central Park Cafe just down the road from our condo before calling it a light and getting a good night sleep.

Sunday May 5, 2019

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton