A bottle of red, a bottle of white and lots of tapas in Baiona tonight

Our way out of Oía was scenic. The ocean was calm and there were no other pilgrims in our view. Except for this guy. We passed cows and horses and some former carnival animals as we scrambled over rocky hills heading to Baiona. Along our hilly but short 14 mile day, we passed a funny sign. We kept going without telling our tale to the bored receptionist. We arrived in Baiona under sunny skies and a pleasant ocean breeze. We dropped our bags and began exploring the sights. Lucky for us, there is a tapas contest going on! We got our guide book and accepted the tapas challenge. Our first stop, the Fortaleza Monterreal. Inside this beautifully restored fortress is a Parador. This is a Spanish chain that has turned historic buildings into exclusive hotels. The tapas at Parador Nacional Conde de Gondomar were a take on a dessert, but surprise, instead of chocolate in the pastry, there was squid roe and ink. Yuck! The drink was a lemoncello with a merengue top; that was pretty sweet.The wine and the gorgeous view of Baiona Bay made up for the not so sweet tapas. The pedestrian streets and the walk along the harbor are lovely and filled with tempting restaurants, bars and shops. The next round of tapas and wine, proved much better. We started with a shrimp stir fry paired with a crisp white wine, then we went to a micro brewery where we had a tempura calamari over black cous cous. Moving on we had potato balls over rice followed by sliced and grilled octopus on toasted grilled cheese. The next setting was a real fun dive bar with a group of regulars singing and playing guitar, there was even a guy playing the scallop shells! The tapa served there was pot roast over mashed potatoes. After that blowout, we stumbled to a place that served a dessert tapa of grilled carpaccio pineapple with chocolate mousse. We couldn’t eat anymore. We are more than sated and it was a blast going to so many different places in a few short hours. The winner of the tapas contest…Us!