When we booked our Camino we had the option of splitting up a long day into two segments. Day 6 and 7 were such days. Instead of walking from Aguarda to Baiona, we stopped in Oia. This means that our Day 7 to Baiona was a reasonable 13 miles instead of a very long 20+ mile day the day before.
Thank goodness we did. We followed the coast for some time, but then it was mountain crossing again, and I would have not liked to be doing those crossings at the end of a day instead of in the middle of one.
As we left the coast to cross a major highway, up into the hills, we noticed a lone young man hanging out by the crosswalk. He said Hello and then walked the rest of the way into Baiona with us.
His name is Ho, from China, and he was finishing his Master’s degree in Management at a University in Lisbon. He decided to come up to Porto and spend a week on the Camino before returning to China.
His English was excellent, and we had wonderful conversations about the U.S. and his world in China.
My favorite moment: As Donna and I were resting a bit before a steep climb, we took swigs of water from our respective Camelback water bladders inside our backpacks.
“Is that oxygen you’re taking!?” Ho asked, obviously worried.
We laughed and told him it was water. He must have thought we were little old ladies.
We arrived in Baiona before the pouring rain and said our farewells to Ho. He wanted to walk an hour more. We were too embarrassed to tell him that our hotel (not hostel) was off the route and waiting for us.
Here are some pix.
Thank you for your patience. I write this on Day 10, but will catch up when I can. I am already excited about writing more when I get home and can share more thoughts and insights.
