September 26-27 – Back in Spain – Bayona

So, it was time to return to Spain, and we headed North to Bayona, a pretty little town on the Rias Baixas in Galicia. One of the reasons that we liked our time in Portugal so much, was that the people we encountered were generally chilled out and friendly – this was a contrast to Spain, where people appeared a little more tetchy and less inclined to indulge stupid tourists, while the graffiti was a lot more prevalent. Maybe it was because the weather was getting colder, or because Spain is in the middle of a huge financial crisis, but Spain is definitely less laid back than in Portugal – Tracy managed to have a run in with the campsite lady within 5 minutes of arriving, which left her chuntering that the spirit of Franco was still alive and well and living in Bayona.

Anyway, Bayona is a very nice little seaside town – probably very busy in July and August, but pretty dead in September. It has an imposing castle that protected the town from the attacks of Sir Francis Drake who used to hang around the islands of the coast, ready to attack any galleons bringing riches back from the New World. The castle was also the first sight of Europe that Columbus's men had on their return from their epic voyage of discovery in 1493. In the harbour was a full size replica of La Pinta, the smallest of Columbus's three ships – it was tiny – I wouldn't fancy going out into the wild Atlantic in that.