Day 5! Caminha to Baiona!
Day five would begin in Portugal, but we wouldn’t be there for long! With a two minute walk to the boat-launch, we were so close to Spain, we could practically swim there! But we had help. We were able to secure our passage from Portugal to Spain with XACOBEO TRANSFER. A quick two minutes on their website the night before, and I was able to get our 3 tickets without issue. All we had to do was show up at the boat launch the next morning.
When we stepped off the boat, less than five minutes later, we were in a different country. AND a different timezone. Spain is one hour ahead of Portugal. Suddenly the five minute boat ride ate up an hour and five minutes of our time. But we were in Spain!
And the walking, at least for a little while, was easy. We walked alongside a highway, with a nice footpath that was gentle on our blistered feet.
And the coast was still just a hair’s breath away…always there.
We were closing in on the halfway point of our journey.
It was easier to appreciate the proximity of the shoreline, knowing full well it would soon be gone for good. Some gorgeous vistas on this day!
At this point, what we didn’t realize is that we would soon be climbing a bit of a mountain. Just like that, we were stepping back into some treacherous and exhausting terrain.
Of course we had to climb a mountain before the end of our first day in Spain. And of course we had to climb back down it! One thing I remember from the Camino Frances is the amount of times we had to walk down into our final resting place town. The end of the day always seemed to end with steep downhill walks. This first day in Spain was no different.
Our apartment for the night was really nice, though…made it worth the struggle at the end of our day. We were in Baiona! And our lucky streak with Booking dot com was continuing!
What’s a first day in Spain without the delectable Padrón pepper!
The Padrón pepper is a must eat dish on the Camino de Santiago. One of my favourite Camino treats!
This was yet another super long day. We definitely had too many of them. Again, I suggest you spread this walk out over more than our 10 days. You’ll thank me…
Day 6 would have us walking into VIGO, SPAIN. Barely started, and we were already aware of the closeness of the finish line! These 10 days were going by super fast!
I’m also an author. One of my novels, a young adult story, is set on the Camino Frances route of the Camino de Santiago. THE CAMINO CLUB. It follows six teens on their journey from Ponferrada to Santiago de Compostela. The teens walk with court appointed counselors in a juvenile delinquent program that will see them free of their records once they make the journey to Santiago…a clean slate. Think of a more diverse The Breakfast Club, but on the Camino de Santiago over two weeks instead of in a school library on a Saturday. Give it a look! It’s available wherever books are sold. Here’s the Amazon USA link.
KEVIN CRAIG 
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