Travels to the Edge

People do strange things at the end of the earth - but hugging a concrete milestone, really? Getting to zero is not weird, it’s emotional. All the planning and preparation, starting out, finding ‘your way’, having problems with your feet and/or your pack, the joy and diplomacy of meeting people - ‘Buen Camino’, and saying goodbye - these experiences well inside us, and memories and random thoughts overwhelm. So hugging a tourist attraction is ok, right? My day started differently- in the dark, with an early breakfast. I handed in the key and left. Almost 32 kms to the Lighthouse at Cape Finisterre. The rotating wind generators sent a gentle hum down the hillside and across the valley. After dawn, there were decisions to make - Muxia right, Finisterre left - I took the ‘sinister’ path - hey I am left handed!  I passed a kind and generous, and unattended donativo stall. If you like it, pay what you think. More decisions and reminders that this is more than a walk - l went left again....

‘The heat was hot (well der) and the ground was dry. . . ‘ except for this stream to cool my feet minutes from my destination. If today’s walk had a name, it would be ‘a walk with no name’. The point was simply to get there. Around 30 km to travel with afternoon heat expected -good idea to start early. Some roadside shuffling followed by shaded forest. Not much on offer food wise So Sancho and I took solace and prayed for an open bar. Still nothing - only countryside . .  Corn fields  Paths that seem to stretch on forever.  and rich countryside with plenty of water.  and apples’ Early afternoon sun and walking roadside again  Today’s walk reached a high point of bleakness when I got to this section of footpath. The uneven broken surface is such that ‘gravity leaps like a knife off the pavement.’ I stopped for a Coke and a couple of Camino Smarties. I was nearly there. A short climb towards the wind turbines With attractive vistas to the valley below. Follow...

Goodbye Santiago! The cathedral spires in early morning. Today I continue walking-  to ‘the end of the land’ - Finis-Terre (Finisterre or Fisterra).  I left around 7am and walked across to the cathedral  Hardly anyone around  Within minutes, I was down the hill, out of the city and figuring how far . . .  Familiar paths reappeared. It was almost 10 kms to breakfast - a humble combo of  coffee and croissant.  Oh the joy of being back on the way. An hour or so later I stopped for a coke, On the Camino, I did not expect to come across this. - ‘Bovine World’! In need of repair now, sure, but once could have been the set of a Simpsons episode.  Negreira was the first (only) town I walked through today. I stayed there once. A left turn off the main street and I was feeling medieval (again). The climb out of town was worth it. The path was shaded and afforded good views. The path levelled just before my albergue. Shade was  a godsend today  - i...