Spanish and Celtic Influences Experienced on the Camino

We really enjoyed our walk today. We’re lucky to have walked with the “Arys”, the name I use for Sherry and Mary, the only two Americans that we’ve met since we’ve been walking the Camino. Actually, they’re the only two people that we’ve seen walking the Camino that we’ve encountered in the last three days. 

Auntie Mame and I have been trying to cut down on our mileage but it didn’t even work out today where we planned a limit of 11. 

However, we were able to sign in here at Hotel Cais, in Baiona at 2:40 pm where we scored a nice room for €40. 

But first I had to find the place, with the help of my trusty old compass and my Maine Guide training.

 It is located right on the harbor, overlooking the street. Baiona has the distinction of being the town in Spain where on March 2, 1493, a tiny wooden ship called a caravel named The Pinta docked a few hundred feet from where we look out our window making Baiona the first European port to receive the news of the discovery of America. Yes, it was the famous ship that we all had to learn about as kids. 

Mame and I explored the exact replica of the ship this afternoon. 

 I was hard to believe that a vessel so small could make such a long voyage and also return across the Atlantic. 

The other stupendous attraction here in town is the Monterreal Fort,located on a jutting peninsula just a two minute walk away. 

It took me an hour to walk around its perimeter just before sunset tonight. 

I has been a walled precinct for 2,000 years when it was occupied by the Celts, Phoenicians, and Romans. 

It has experienced a great number of attacks and modifications. 

The fort itself is surrounded by over a mile and a half of reinforced battlement walls dating back from the 11th to the 17th centuries. 

I can’t believe my fortune in taking photos. 

Mame and I enjoyed our room overlooking the main street on the Harbor so much that we ordered an artisanal empanada to go and a bottle of Albarino wine, which is a local specialty. 

We pulled the two easy chairs to the big window overlooking the street and harbor and people watched while we enjoyed our dinner. 

This is not the type of evening that we typically spend at home on High Street in rural Maine. 

The hiking today was mostly right beside the Atlantic again, except the approach to Baiona where we ascended some 33O feet and skirted the rocky prominence of Camino Portela where we viewed old Celtic runes, trails, and obelisks.

 It reminded me of targeting mountain passes out west in the US.  

Our goal tomorrow is to drop mileage to 10. We both now want more free time. We’ll see.  

I am used to looking out at the Atlantic, and watching the sun rise along the Maine coast.  

Here, it sets.  At one time, Spain controlled the seas, and many foreign lands. I fall asleep thinking of Columbus and the sense of purpose in his heart.