Our Loft was such a sweet find. After our stay-at-home dinner, we had a little Tawny Port and easily went to sleep. The morning came quickly, and we made some home brew. With full fat creamer and sweet butter, it was better than ever. This is Blue’s kind of Coffee!

The sun was shining and the skies were perfect for a morning stroll, or an entire day of walking. Anyway you slice it, the sunlight was a welcome addition to our Camino. In fact, we didn’t get any rain to speak of today. What a blessing that was!

We followed the coast for miles. The Coastal Way is a non official alternative. It starts in Ramallosa on the promenade and continues along the sandy areas of Praia América and Panxón towards Patos beach with Monteferro on the left. After passing Patos, we leave the coast and climb to Saians where this route meets the oficial one. And that pretty much sums up the day.

There were long sandy beaches, people out walking, and a wind surfer which I watched for close to an hour as we traversed the coastline. He looked like he was having a blast, flying through the air, being drug across the water and popping in and out of the water. I’d love to give that a try!

We found a great cafe to partake in our morning ritual of espresso and croissant. I’ve become a fan of fresh squeezed orange juice but they only had Peach Juice. I’ll give that a try. It was great. I typically have a small 16 ounce plastic water bottle I carry in my skirt pocket and mix that with 1/2 juice, 1/2 water for my first drink of the day. Now I’m a fan of Peach Juice too.

We headed up the hill into a superb. There was a few beaches that hailed Surf Lessons here. This was the best area hands down that we’ve seen for surfing. The beaches were clear of jagged rocks, big plus for surfers, and the waves were rolling in sets of 2-3 waves at a time. Another plus.

As we rounded a corner, there must’ve been 15-20 people on the sidewalk above the coast. And 6-8 people in wheelchairs with some using braces like crutches. They were giving them lessons and planned to take each one out on boards. How cool was this! It always amazes me what people are willing to do to teach others to overcome. It made me smile as I passed them. What a great day they are going to have!

There were a few places that we walked today where the trail made us walk on the beach. It was a good thing that the tide was so low, and possibly a minus tide because you could definitely see that when the tide is up, it could’ve been a wet walk! There was one place where we were pretty close to the water just trying to make it to the other end of the beach. Nothing but excitement on the Camino.

We headed back up some 500’ above Sea Level to find the road. The Camino has a way of covering all aspects of the area that you are walking through. Before we knew it, we were back on a major roadway looking for a place to eat. I found us a Gas Station and bought ham, cheese, bread and cookies. Good balanced diet and then we seated ourselves on a strip of grass and ate our makeshift lunch. It wasn’t our best meal to date. Being today was a heavy milage day, it got us nourished and back on the trail fairly quickly.

As we headed back down the highway, I heard Bon Camino. There were four bicyclists that were carrying other passengers on the front of their bikes. They had these special equipped bicycles that could propel the front passenger without any help. They appeared to be unable to ride themselves but with the help of a friend or parent, they were doing their own version of the Camino. What an inspiration! Bon Camino and hope to see you in Santiago.

Such a great day we had. As the afternoon wore on, I looked to see how much further we had. Six miles to go to our Hotel in Vigo. Rather than staying along the coastline, I found a sneaky shortcut that led us on the trail along the river’s edge. Ends up that back in the day, it was the original route so it wasn’t too far off from where Pilgrims have walked. We made good time and around 3pm we arrived in Vigo.

Vigo is a huge industrial city. It is also one of the biggest Galician City in Spain. Vigo, with one of the best harbours in Europe, is a port of call for transatlantic shipping and is also Spain’s most important fishing port, known for freezing and canning. Shipbuilding, metallurgical, electrical, automotive, and chemical industries are associated with the harbour. Needless to say, it is a huge export of sardines and many kinds of fish especially shark and hake.

Once we climbed our last hill of the day, we saw something I’ve never seen before, outside an airport. It was a People Mover Conveyor Belt. Bummer, we were going downhill as it only transported uphill walkers. I almost felt like turning around just so I could use it but we’d already had more than enough miles for the day.

A couple of gals that we have been tagging along with, the Canadians Barbara and Daffoni, recommended the Hotel Zenit to us. I love tips on places to stay and restaurants to eat at, so I bit. Oh my gosh, once again the Baraga’s are living large! If anyone ever decides to come to Vigo, you must stay at the Zemit Hotel and stay in Room 901. It is spectacular. The view from our balcony is something from the Desperate Housewives of Spain.

We checked out the sights of Vigo. The area we are staying in is what I would call The Rodeo Drive of Galicia. All the high end shops, clothing, purses, perfumes, children’s toys, furnishings, if you need it, they have it! We found a Cafe and partook in our afternoon ritual of Beer first, then Espresso. I’m having to change my order up to Beer then Herbal Tea. Any Espresso or caffeinated beverage after 2-3pm, I’m up past midnight!

We walked around for a couple of hours because we haven’t walked enough already. That just shocks me that George is onboard with all this walking. By the days end, we have walked around 17 miles, and some 2000’ elevation. Way to go George!

We headed back to our Hotel and ran into Daffoni. Her and Barb had just arrived. They took a wrong turn and ended up on a side excursion that took them way off course. We all met for dinner and talked about our Camino’s. They planned everything ahead of time, locations, hotels and transports for their backpacks.

I really wish they wouldn’t had said that because I’m sure George wheels are turning. He’s wondering why on God’s green earth are we carrying our packs? Well, because we can. That’s why. And we will. Ends up George is appreciating his backpack more and more these days. He says it’s actually helping his back pain and believes that his posture has improved. Hmm, then that’s a good thing and our backpacks will stay on us and not in some random strangers car, bring lugged from place to place. That is just not a good life for something as near and dear as our big ole’ backpacks.