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  • Writer's pictureArlene

May 20 - Day 37

Updated: Jul 22, 2018

Day 37 - Santiago to Finisterre


My original plan was to walk to Santiago and still have time to walk to Finisterre, but that plan went out the window pretty early on. When we re-evaluated our plan, though, we decided there was time for a bus trip there. We could have just done a day trip, many do. But I wanted to spend the night (I wanted to watch the sun set onto the ocean), so we walked to the bus station, got on the bus at 9:00, and went out to see the “end of the earth”.


This was after a not so restful night. Santiago is a city, and all the cities in Spain seem to get rowdy on Saturday nights. And somehow we have ended up in big cities most of our Saturdays. Not sure why. Anyway, last night there was merrymaking below my window until some time after 3:30 am. Thank goodness for earplugs, but when your neighbours come rolling in drunk at that time, earplugs are not enough.


Anyway, we did make it to the bus station on time. It is a 2 hour ride to Finisterre, or a 3-4 day walk. Today the ride felt nice, and a lot of it was through little coastal towns so we saw lots of ocean, too.


It was no problem to find our accommodation - a pension right beside the bus stop. We checked in but the room was not ready yet, so we walked around a bit and had lunch.


Finisterre (it also goes by Fisterra), is a lovely town on the ocean. Plenty of accommodations for pilgrims, a long row of restaurants across from the pier. And of course a couple of churches.


Finisterre/Fisterra

And today is some kind of special church celebration day. We saw a bagpiper warming up before lunch, then started hearing loud booming noises a bit later. They even had a procession through the streets with the bagpiper and drums. This followed by more loud booms. Sounded like fireworks but only left smoke balls in the sky. Later there was a party by the church.


You might wonder why they have bagpipes in Spain. Well, the original Galicians were actually Celtic. There is a lot of Celtic music, symbols, and history here. I think especially here in Finisterre it is more about Celtic and pagan traditions than about St James.


So it’s a special Sunday in Spain. Nothing new for us. Good thing we don’t need any groceries or medicines today (nothing open).


What we did this afternoon was our final Camino walk. About 3 km each way, the walk to the famous lighthouse is a gentle incline, no need for poles, and we left all our gear on the pension. It was a nice sunny day, but not too hot and with some breeze as we approached the tip of the cabo.


There are even markers, which count down to 0.00 km, something we did not see in Santiago.



At the “end of the earth” there is a lighthouse, a hotel (very expensive) with a cafe, and a couple of souvenir shops. Also plenty of rocks and a few statues, crosses and monuments. It was easy to explore, we got some great photos. We even found a good place to put the rocks we had brought from home (Cruz Ferro didn’t feel like the right place, this did).


Final resting place for our Alberta stones - May Peace Prevail on Earth


And when we just sat and looked out to sea, I felt very peaceful. I felt a sense of completion I had not felt in Santiago, and so did Rachel. Now our Camino was complete. Walking back to town I even felt lighter.




The boots made it 800 km - and then some

Remember I said I wanted to watch the sun set into the ocean? Then Rachel pointed out that the town faces east. Oops. We could walk to the lighthouse or the other of the cape from the town. But I spotted a kiosk where they were selling cruise tickets (very small boat cruise). For 15€ you get a 2 hour cruise, first along the coast toward Cee, then down and around the point where the lighthouse is, in plenty of time for sunset, which was 21:57 today. You also get a glass of wine and a piece of empanada. During the actual sunset they played “Stairway to Heaven” on the sound system (up till then mostly Celtic). The timing was perfect, with the song finishing as the last sliver of sun disappeared into the ocean.


I got my wish of seeing the sun set into the ocean!

Then we zoomed back to the dock and went off to bed, this is the latest we have stayed up in a while.


Today’s lesson: make your Camino your own.


Breakfast 3€

Lunch 10€

Pension 14€

Supper 12€

Souvenirs 5€

Sunset cruise 15€

Sense of completion and peace: priceless!

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