Yesterday we completed the 89 km walk from Santiago to Finisterre. As we approached the coast, we began to get glimpses of the Atlantic Ocean and then saw a beautiful coastline appear, with white sand beaches. What a contrast with the rugged hills of Galicia that we had been traversing for the past weeks! We walked the last kilometer into Fisterre (the shortened name of the modern city) on the beach.
The end of the cape is 3.5 kms further along and it is there that is considered to be the westernmost point of land in Europe, the “end of the world.” Long before Christian pilgrims started visiting the spot, the ancients were offering sacrifices there where the material world seemed to end and descend into the chaos of the deep. The location was the site of sacrifices and rituals for those trying to reconcile the seen and the unseen worlds. The Romans built the legendary city of Dugium nearby, by where many retired legionaires retired, close to the “meeting of the worlds.”
Yesterday evening, we walked to the end of the cape and, along with many other pilgrims, sat on the cliff and watched the sun set into the Atlantic. The sunset was beautiful and made even more special when we turned around to leave and saw a full moon rising in the east. The Camino for my brother Dave and I has come to an end. What a wonderful time of bonding with my dear brother! Tomorrow he heads to Porto to join his wife Phyllis and I head to Lisbon with Raymond to start the Camino Portuguese. A new beginning! Stay tuned.