I made it to Finisterre (Fisterra) today, and I found out the difference. Finisterre is the name of this place in the Gallecian language, in Spanish it’s Fisterra. It’s the same place:)
Beautiful early morning in the small port village I stayed at last night. Much of the trail was very well kept today, and, there wasn’t too much road walking.
I made it to the 000,000km marker, with the lighthouse in the background:). I then went beyond the lighthouse and way down almost to the Atlantic Ocean to place my last stone. The stone is close enough that very high tides reach there. Without a doubt I was way closer than anyone else today. Finally, even I got nervous and decided it wasn’t that important for me to get in the water, a tide pool was good enough.
Tradition has people leaving their boots/shoes there, and even clothes. Sometimes burning their clothes. I really like my Hoka shoes, and leaving perfectly good clothes as basically litter, makes no sense to me. All I left was an important stone.
It was thought for centuries this was the furthest west point in Europe. As such, since they didn’t think there was anything west of there (little things like North America and South America) this was as far west on land as a person could go. That’s how it got it’s name, end of land, or end of the world. Two problems with this, first was Christopher Columbus and his trips west. The second problem was there’s a place is Portugal that juts out further west.
Now, this is just the furthest west point in mainland Spain. Still a cool place, and, keeps its old name(s).
When I arrived in town I did laundry, ate, got an albergue to stay in, and tried to figure out plans for tomorrow. Language challenges, and people having differing ideas, make planning interesting. I was going to ride the bus to Muxia tomorrow to start being a tourist. Depending on who I talk to, that may or may not, be feasible. Maybe all the tickets are sold already. Tomorrow morning I will be at the bus stop early to figure it out. One way or the other, I have two days to get to Santiago. Maybe I’ll be hiring a taxi after all:).
I’ve tried to keep track of how many countries I’ve met people from on this Camino. I’m sure I’ve missed some, and I haven’t asked everyone, but I’m up to 26 on the list. Slovenia is represented, so is the Czech Republic, Belgium, and, of course, Latvia. I didn’t know how to count the Irishman who now lives in Sweden, so I gave him double billing:)
I was walking really slow coming in to Finisterre all morning. It was time to enjoy, and soak it in.
My style is to get up very early, and escape the albergue either first, or with the first group. I have it down to a science. Everything I can pack, I do, the night before. I leave my “ditty bag” out so I can do things like put in my contact, brush teeth, etc. I shower the night before. I grab everything I can and as quietly as I can head to the common area where I can make a little noise as possible packing up and others can sleep. It’s nice to walk, catch the sunrise, and get going early. One problem is coffee shops often don’t open early in small towns here. Today I again had to walk quite a while before coffee until I actually woke fully up.
The other day I met a pilgrim taking care of his CPAP machine. There was no way I was going to carry that extra weight! He said it was 1/4 the weight of his entire pack. The ones who suffer the most when I don’t have my machine are the people who have to listen to me snore. I tell myself there are plenty of other snorers in those rooms. My snores just keep the drone consistent throughout the rooms.
I have met quite a few folks along the way who refuse, or quit, using albergues. They stay in hotels instead. Hotels are occasionally nice, however, the huge part of the experience is getting to meet so many, wildly different people! That’s what’s so fun. One funny example is what is socially acceptable to wear in such a setting. One lady from San Diego quit going to albergues after one night when a man in only “bikini underwear” was cooking in the kitchen. The Swiss woman in the conversation saw no problem with that. Just a cultural difference. Personally, I didn’t think I could be shocked after 67 years, so, let’s just say, I have been surprised.
The pilgrimage is done, being a tourist begins, and I will try to post some the last few days, but, no guarantees. I hope to go to Muxia, Santiago, Porto, and fly out of Lisbon June 2. Who knows.
This has been good for me:)
Buen Camino
