Finisterre

I had the pleasure twice in my life of going to Finisterre, both times at the end of the Camino after being in Santiago. It was a pleasure to be back in the country side again after being in a city, and to see the sea once again. I grew up in Scotland and the sea is never far away, being beside it brings peace to my soul for some reason.

In Finisterre I met other pilgrims from along the way. There was a calmness about the town and the pilgrims. After so much time away from home, away from their lives, people appeared to be contemplating the return to it “all” – me also. What was next, just go home and everything would be the same as it was before? Nothing is ever the same as it was before, I knew this, but also felt that there had been some bigger shift in me and I had no idea how this would fit into my daily life.

I am not a religious person, however I do not ignore things only because they are said or written by religious people. (Religious people can also be spiritual!) I read a small booklet that I had pick up in an albergue written by an American priest. One of the questions he aimed to answer was “How do I take the Camino now into my life?” A question that played in my mind – with no answer. While on the Camino direction is easy, we follow the yellow arrows. Later, for me, good direction is harder as life pulls me in various directions. However I have discovered the solution – balance. The answer has been easier than the implementing of it. As it is said “it is the journey that counts” yes it is.

There is one albergue in Finisterre, one can only stay in it if you have walked to Finisterre. There are lots of small pension though. Getting somewhere to stay is easy, the helper in the albergue will point you in the right direction.

It is said that there are three things to do when you get the Finisterre.

• Bath in the sea – it’s not that cold, I did it naked.
• Burn something at the lighthouse. There are steel bowls set up for this.
• Watch the sun set from rock beside lighthouse. This is an incredible experience. I am not a person for having spiritual experience – however…

A bus runs fom Santiago to Finisterre, not very often about twice per day, same on the way back. It takes about one and a half hours.

(Spaninish – Cabo Finisterra; Galician – Cabo Fisterra) is a rock-bound peninsula in the uttermost west of Galicia, Spain.

Cape Finisterre is the westernmost point of Spain, though not of Continental Europe (that honour belongs to Cabo da Roca in Portugal), and its name, like that of Finistère in France, derives from Finisterrae in Latin which literally means Land’s End.

Cape Finisterre has a notable lighthouse on it and nearby is the seaside town of Fisterra.

The pilgrimage to Finisterre

Cape Finisterre is the final destination for many pilgrims on the Way of St. James, the pilgrimage to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela. Cape Finisterre is about a 90km walk from Santiago de Compostela.