Blogs from Cape Finisterre, Galicia, Spain, Europe

Well, this is it. The end of the line. After six weeks of walking I've run out of land. I'm writing this from Cape Finisterre, which until Columbus(?) was the end of the known world, the edge of something that no one at that time, and probably today as well, could really grasp at convincingly. Grandiose words I know. I can already hear the 'pretentious siren' sounding around town. Any moment now a crew of Spanish rednecks are going to crash through the windows of this net-cafe and beat me into a gibbering, ignorant wreck. But until that happens, you're going to have to put up with needlessly extravagant descriptions of otherwise unnoteworthy feelings or places. Having said that, all self-indulgence aside, this place really has something special about it. Yesterday, upon arriving, I walked to ... read more

Vigorous downwind sailing up to a force 7 past Finisterre meant we got to Ria Muros quite quickly. It's actually quite heartening how well overall rainmaker is sailing and what a pleasure it is to sail. With Pete at the helm we got up to over 10 knots at one point as we surfed on the back of a wave. In celebration we got the beach boys on in the cockpit and felt compelled to have a bit of a dance. Over the next couple of days we had more downwind sailing in lighter winds leaving the rocky and rugged coastline for one that is sprinkled with sandy beaches and small islands amongst the beautiful Ria’s. We visited a number of Ria’s and islands that sit in them. San Vincente was immaculate in its presentation and ... read more

Saturday, December 12th dawned promising one of those warm, sunny days, unique rather than rare this time of the year here in Galicia. We were coming from 10 consecutive days of rain and the blue of the sky so clear and diaphanous looked like a chimera. Indeed, a few hours after that would prove to be: a chimera! By midday some sort of unhealthy semipermeable haze looking like clabber darkened that intense blueness that Mother Nature had presented us with. A natural phenomenon? An eclipse? A sudden perturbation driven at high speed by ocean winds? No, none of this, it is called "chemtrails", a phenomenon as subtle and (potentially) dangerous, as unknown to most. I heard of it for the first time last year, speaking to Flavio, a friend here in Galicia, the westernmost point of ... read more

Pictures of the End of the World Finally, I have reached the end of the world, ie, Finisterre. For me, this is a magic place where the the sea is especially blue, the bushes and trees especially green, and in fact, everything comes to an end. Every person I met on the Camino I had to say goodbye here. My pilgrimage to Santiago has ended so that I am not a pilgrim to Santiago anymore. When - and if - I am going on I have to define a new aim (which, of course, will be the old one to find new objectives for my life...). After having arrived here I went up to the lighthouse and put my old shoes somewhere on the cliff. The I bid them farewell with a nice little ritual. After ... read more

With only a few hundred kilometers left of spanish coastline to cover, we enjoyed the day cruising through the small towns that lay between Finisterre and Baiona. We camped out just north of the Portugal boarder, deciding to tackle a new country and language after a good night´s rest. Our fisrt encounter with people from Portugal was at a carny...and yes there are even midgets in Portugal. We quickly discovered that portugese is not an easy language to fake. You should´ve seen us trying to order a round of hot dogs. Later in the day we pulled into a busy campsite in the town of Villa de Conde and rented a bungalo for two nights. Dan, Mike and I had a good jam night with people staying at the campsite. We came to this town in ... read more