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Published: November 22nd 2016
Cape Finisterre in the sun rays
Our destination for the day and this pilgrimage3 October 2016, Cee to Fisterre, Monday, Day 4. Hotel Larry to Hotel Rustico Prado da Vine. 16.88 miles
We awake to a beautiful day. Pepe. the proprietor at Hotel Larry, serves up a very satisfying omelette to fuel us on our way. We meet his daughter who is now manning the reception desk. We figure it is her husband that checked us in the previous night. We are told there is a grandchild and he is being taken care of by Daddy.
We find our way back to the water's edge, passing through a large park with interesting nautical sculpture. And who should appear but the two Lindas striding off to our side. One of the duo has done this portion of the Camino before in the spring of this year. The guide sheets we are attempting to follow cautions pilgrims about the route and says it is easy to take 'the road less traveled' and wind up in a dead end! It is wonderful to have a seasoned guide to point out the right direction at a number of intersections!
I scanned the headland as we reached the water this morning, looking for a route a-r-o-u-n-d
not up over the headland, but alas, a trail is not spotted. Upon checking the elevation chart on the guide sheet I see the jagged up and down marks and it can only mean this short day will not be a 'walk in the park.'
We pass from Cee into the beautiful little village of Corcubion and find the small street stretching up on the right. Here is an example of our written directions: "At the Y junction, take the right branch, at the T junction take a left and at the crossroad do a left/right. Next is an open Y junction, take the right branch." We are now supposed to be above the town and, thankfully, we are! We next surge upward, on a very narrow path, hemmed in by two high walls of stone. We level out and have gorgeous views of the Cape and some beaches.
Just as we are about to get into our 'walkers high' we found ourselves charging pell-mell down a steep incline where we pass some beautiful beaches. The first beach we walk around and find a coffee shop is in the village of Sardineiro. As we step in the door
we are hastely directed out to the patio above the beach. Here we take some group photos and contemplate the Xs made by the jet contrails in the deep blue sky above.
On the next up and down we hit the road and Karen and Jo are fascinated by the neon green house just out of the woods. We stop at Praia da Langosteira, a beautiful two kilometer long beach. I am searching for my magic Magnum bar but one is not to be found. The young man says he is closing up shop in a few weeks and has only a dwindling inventory.
We now walk over sand dunes using a boardwalk that takes us through a seaside pine forest. Slowly, slowly we make our way toward the Cape. We arrive in the picturesque village of Fisterre and find our lodging is, of course, up a very steep street. We check in to find our bags arrived but rooms not yet ready.
It is time for lunch so we roll down the hill and stop at a corner restaurant, Fin Do Camino. It is a lively establishment and appears to have many locals enjoying the pleasant
vibe. We are sitting, staring at the menu, when an older lady approaches and says, "Everything is good!" She sits at a table next to us and orders while telling us a very interesting tale. She is from Hawaii and is waiting for her sister, who is a 'sister' in a religious order and another nun to arrive from their Camino walk. The order to which the sister and friend belong had felt the two sisters were not 'worldly' enough and did not want them doing the Camino on their own. So, it was agreed that our new acquaintance would accompany them and keep them out of trouble. Unfortunately, the escort developed a serious problem with her leg and had to have medical attention and so the nuns were now on their own!
Our new acquaintance then tells us how she had been asked to help teach adults English. One of her co-workers was the wife of the local doctor who saw that she was enrolled in the Spanish health care system and they were now picking up the tab for her lodging, a nice hotel across the street from the restaurant, while she taught and waited and recovered.
She was quite fun to chat with--one of those people for whom every day is filled with adventure!
Harlan and Jo go to get their certificate indicating we have gone to the 'End of the World.'
And now we are off to Cape Finisterre, the latter word being Latin for Lands End - thought in Roman times to be the farthest western point on the continent. Strangely, we have not been in a rush to get to our day's goal. It is rather bittersweet and we all have our own tangle of emotions to try and untangle as we reach the end of this journey. The end of the this journey is near but now we know, "once a pilgrim, forever a pilgrim."
The Cape is another 143 meter climb. Really, why would we even think we would saunter downhill to the lighthouse!
We take our pictures next to a cross, the lighthouse and then, take a number of pictures for other pilgrims. Something about our demeanor seems to have other pilgrims entrusting their expensive cameras to us to ensure they have a memory 'snap.'
We climb out past the lighthouse, being very careful of
our footing. There are various monuments and memorials but the real attraction is Costa da Morte, the Coast of Death. It is a wild coastline and many ships and lives have been lost off this cape. It is a stunning day and the waves are roiling at our feet.
We take pictures of 0.00 kilometer bollard.
Slowly we descend from the Cape, back into town. We decide to take a boat ride in the evening to officially end our journey. The Maria Elena fills up gradually and we leave the busy little harbor of Fisterra. Here I have used the spelling for this little village that is used by the locals in this region, using the Gallego variation. We dip our shoes in the Atlantic and have a nice pizza for our dinner. We end the day with the hike, in the dark, up to our hotel.
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David Miller
non-member comment
Lands End
When we visited Maui we went past Lindberghs grave to what the natives there called Lands End. Must be more than a couple of those around the world. Happy you are both home and trust that Karen is recovering from her broken hip! Blessings always. David