Andy’s last stop of his escorted tour was Baiona, just above the northern border of Portugal, and it turned out to be the best of the lot, in our opinion. Saving the best for last, eh?
Camping Bayona Playa is an excellent campsite and, whether by design or fortune, we lucked out by getting pitches which overlooked a tidal lagoon favoured by several species of seabirds: gulls and waders. The pitches were not huge by our expectations but were, by Spanish standards, quite generous. I’d say they were about 8m x 8m so 64 m2. As the tide fell, the birds began foraging on the exposed grasses and sandbanks. I could happily have sat and watched the activity all day. [I think this one is a Yellow-legged Gull.]
The campsite seems to be suffering from the inexorable creep of cabin fever, so how long it will remain in its current state for touring campers may be debateable. Some of the current camping pitches may be lost.
On our first full day we walked into the town of Baiona, guided by Andy. His walking tour began in the backstreets of the town where a religious procession was taking place, carrying effigies of saints. The procession was accompanied by my favourite of instruments [NOT!], bagpipes. These bagpipes, though, differed from the Scottish cousins in that they sported only one drone, whereas the Scottish version has three. I’m not sure if that makes the Spanish version only one third as irritating.
Escaping the bagpipes, our walking tour continued around a long circuit of the castle. Near to the beginning of the path, nestled in some uncomfortable looking rocks, I could not help but notice a sunbathing shapely lady with nary a stitch on. She was intent on smearing sun cream over the whole of her body. I’d have helped but time did not permit. [Smack – enough! Yes dear.]
Completing the castle circuit, refreshment was required at an accommodating bar to recharge the legs. Then it was time to go in search of a seafood lunch along a street that seemed to be restaurant alley. Knowing nothing about any of them, we popped into Ladr´n del Mar [Thief of the Sea], drawn by its menu which included pulpo con tetilla [octopus with tetilla cheese]. We added some grilled scallops, not for the first time. The waiter was very friendly and the food was terrific. We were going to opt for one of the more expensive albariños to wash it all down but the waiter pointed us to another, saying he’d only just received our choice and it wasn’t yet cool enough. Impressive.
Our tidal lagoon was entertaining at night, too, with lights on the opposite shore reflecting in the water at high tide.
Friday evening was our last official day of Andy’s escorted tour. By way of bidding fond farewell, Andy organized one of his group barbecues. We’d had only a few smackerels of seafood for lunch so had room for a burger with accompaniments. I was doing very well until someone started playing “Country Roads”. To add insult to injury it wasn’t even the John Denver original but an even worse cover version.
I retired to Frodo to watch the lights across the lagoon in peace.
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