The apartment I stayed in last night also had 2 private rooms. The two ladies sharing one of the rooms were up by 5:15am, using the bathroom and preparing their departure for 6:30am.

Then, outside our patio doors we could see other pilgrims leave around 7am. Is this a bed race for the next stage’s albergue? Or is everyone still on Portuguese time? I departed at 7:40am to dramatically windy and dark skies with the sea crashing across the road. Rain seemed imminent but the weather actually improved as the day went on.

I had my mind that I’d be walking the highway all day, just get the miles done before the rain came, so I hesitated at the first deviation to drop down to a small road below, thought I’d just be adding additional distance but I did follow the arrows and happily as it turned out as the road went right down to the ocean and along the coast for a bit. Lesson #1 & 2: not to rush and not to second guess.

The way was gorgeous and invigorating but all too short and unfortunately the path returning to the highway was 1/2 the distance backwards! But it was worth it.

A little further on was my second deviation but I committed to staying by the highway. From reading other blogs I knew that this path would take me up into the hills and then down into Baiona, skipping several miles of coastline. I specifically chose this camino as it walked by the ocean and as this was my last full day by ocean and of decent weather I wanted to make the most of it.

At around 7.5kms I came to a lighthouse perched just above the road, with WWII gun battlements still in place below. This marked the corner of an estuary and once I made the turn the wind ceased and the way became much easier.

The weather had been improving from sure rain to having the sun peek out every now and again. Looks like today might remain dry. The cloudy sky made for some dramatic photography.

13 kms I reached Baiona and my first open cafe. I only had a few minutes break at 8 kms on a hard rest area bench so I was grateful to stop at the first cafeteria I saw. Maggie, a fellow peregrina whose blog I follow always orders tostada con tomate and for some reason today I did to. It wasn’t especially great but I didn’t want “sweet” for breakfast.

Baiona is a pretty town with a big walled fort on little peninsula in the harbor, and a nice waterfront with a wide pedestrian esplanade. However I didn’t feel any desire to explore the town even though I had plenty of time to do so. I think the grey cast to the day made me not want to linger.

There was a great walk/cycle path all the way to my destination Ramallosa. It avoided the busy road, going instead by sandy beaches and tidal marshes. The pictures might look a bit gloomy but it was really quite pleasant; a great temperature for walking and it felt quite tranquil, like it was a Sunday morning.

By almost 18 kms I crossed an old 13th C. bridge into Ramallosa and arrived at the albergue Pazo Pias about 3 hours too early to check in. Nearby was a large grocery store so I went to get some groceries – either for lunch or dinner, will have to see how day goes. Upon my return to the albergue I met the young girl from the Netherlands whom I shared bunks with last night. There’s another couple waiting as well. I’m not sure how large the albergue is but I’ve no worries on getting a bed. Often, in cases like this, you just line up your backpacks in order of arrival to “save” your place in line. I’ve just left mine on a bench and gone inside the inner courtyard to be out of the breeze and to enjoy the garden.

The hospitalero started signing people in at 2:15pm, which was really appreciated. It turns out our €15 gets us a private room with strong WiFi! My groceries have turned into lunch/supper as I’d included a bottle of wine in my purchases so there’s no need to venture out into the increasingly darkening & blustery afternoon. I’ve blogs to write and books to read and happy to stay indoors!