After a brief rest we went out to explore this huge Monterreal Castle in Baoina. It was built by Catholic kings from the 12th-16th centuries. Takes awhile to build these massive structures without cranes, trucks, jackhammers, etc.! The castle sits on the harbor and is surrounded on three sides by water...according to Jeff, the best position for fending off approaching Vikings.
Baoina Harbor from the Archway of Montrreal Castle
A short day today as we hike 14.5 miles to Vigo. It's a large city with a major ocean port, about 300,000 population. We visited some very interesting locals along the way today!
Lots of stone houses in Baoina. These look like they will last for hundreds of years.
Many stone fountains have been installed along the Way to refresh the pilgrims. This is the 16th Century Fuente de Pombal
Jeff at 16th Century Fuente de Pombal
On the trail N of Baoina Spain
After about 8 miles and two mountains into our hike we stopped for cafe leche at Cafe Falucha. It's a local coffee shop, we are the only pilgrims there on this morning. This gentleman, Arturo, was delighted to meet some strangers and practice his English--it was much better than our Spanish. Arturo was joined by his buddy Jesus who was just as much fun!
Jeff, Arturo and Donna at Cafe Falucha
Jesus, Jeff and Arturo at Cafe Falucha
We thought this sign beside a major highway was kind of funny...until we saw a the actual thing a few miles down the road where a very old, but very spry, woman was cutting ferns with a sythe and loading them into her horse-pulled cart.
Donna at a small Corn Dryer and Personal Prayer Chapel north of Baiona
We finally arrived at Vigo in the early afternoon...not realizing that we needed to hike about 5 miles into the city to our hotel. It's a big city...and very hilly, of course. Consulting our map over a Coke Zero (no Diet Coke or Pepsi in Spain) we were fortunately approaced by Carmen who offered directions...and her very colorful life story.
Carmen explaining the map of Vigo, location of our hotel, and sharing her life story
Carmen has obviously never met a stranger. She's in her 80s and moved to the Los Angeles from Germany with a boyfriend after WWII. After a passionate break up (illustrated with large hand motions), Carmen moved on to American boyfriend number 2 and they moved to Utah. She said it was quite an adjustment after Berlin and LA... That relationship was "not meant to be" either said Carmen so she moved to Toronto Canada as an au pair for a wealthy family. The generous family offered to send her to English school at night, so delighted she accepted--and then went dancing every night instead. She was eventually busted, of course, and that job ended. As she launched into another story, we tried to say "Gracias" several times and ease ourselves away. After another 20 minutes we were able to politely leave Carmen (still talking and waving to us) as we headed off to the final 4 miles of our journey for the day. Carmen said it was about 2-3 km, but her stories were a bit fanciful...
