Oia vey; We are in Spain

Sadly, our final morning in Caminha, Portugal was gray and struggling to clear. We were not going to swim the two kilometers across the Minho River to Spain. We had planned on taking the ferry, however, the first ferry of the day, due to the tides, was slated for 2:00pm. That timing didn’t work for us, so we taxied across the river in a mini-boat to begin our walk.Portugal and Spain are part of the 26 countries in the Schengen Agreement. This means that there are no routine immigration checks when traveling between other Schengen countries. Our small water taxi was the perfect way to cross.

We climbed through the ferry town of Camposancos and descended into the lovely town of A Guarda. It is known for delicious fresh fish, too early in the day for us; we will visit again for a Spanish seafood feast another time. We had the ocean to our left as we ascended, passing smoke-free beaches and wonderful craggy coastline views.

We made this a short day of about 21 kilometers/13 miles. It is always nice to people-watch and chill in a small hamlet. Oia is perfect. It was a bit chilly to sit outside, so we found a cozy restaurant, Casa Henriqueta, and enjoyed a Spanish tortilla. There is the former Monastery of Oia of the Cister order here. The local government is attempting to get funding to turn it into a five star hotel. There is a great view of the ocean from the church. When in Spain, eat tortilla, drink wine and enjoy. Check, check, check.