Cee to Finisterre - the Last Walking Day

Thursday, May 26, 2016

Cee to Finisterre, the "end of the earth"    Walking Day #35, the last.

I have completed my 800 kilometer walk on the Camino Frances from Saint Jean Pied de Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia, Spain, followed by 88 kilometers on the Camino Finisterre from Santiago de Compostela to Finisterre.

No more 6-7 hours (or more) of walking each day. It is a routine I have adapted to, waking early, having breakfast at whatever time it starts, 7:00, 7:30, or 8:00, then getting out the door by about 8:15 or 8:30 and walking 20, 25, or 30 or more kilometers to the next destination sometimes in the rain, cold, wind, or sun; sometimes walking by myself, sometimes with others, and sometimes talking or not. Tomorrow will be different, and I will report on it as well.

In Cee, looking puzzled about the direction out of town, I met Elsa from the Canary Islands. We took a guess at the direction, and headed off. Soon we saw Camino way markers and knew we were on the right path to Finisterre. The major challenge for the day is to get over a coastal mountain range, then we head down into Finisterre.

We soon found a Camino way marker indicating less than 14 kilometers to Finisterre.

At the start, the path was rocky, definitely uphill, and the forest in which we walked was beautiful, as has become common in Galicia.

And like other days, sometimes the forest gave way to clearings and sunshine. We are grateful it is not raining today. The weather reports anticipated rain in the morning, and we saw sun all morning.

Back into the forest, this one more eucalyptus than pine.

Here we are at a point looking in the distance to Finisterre. I am squinting into the bright sun. For a day in which I had my poncho ready for the rain, it was quite sunny.

Back into a pine forest, heading down to Finisterre.

And there is the beach, just a little south of Finisterre. We still have a few kilometers to go to get to the town.

And along the coastline, we walked again through this pine forest. That is the back of Elsa on the right.

After getting in to town, we found that the pilgrim's office at which we could get our certificate of completing the Camino Finisterre was closed until 1:30. Elsa and discovered that we are staying at the same hotel, and we also discovered that it was 500 meters UP a hill...oh my...another uphill. We made it up the hill, checked in, got settled, and at 1:30 headed back down the hill to get our certificates.

After getting our certificates, we almost accidentally found Elsa's friends also from the Canary Islands. The plan was to walk to the lighthouse at the "end of the earth" at 6:00 PM. Elsa and I returned to our hotel at the top of the hill, and met at 6 PM to walk to the lighthouse and meet her friends.

From our hotel, there is a "direct" route to the lighthouse, or so it seems on the map. This route is actually more difficult than going down the hill into town, and walking out to the lighthouse on the gradual uphill road. The route we were advised to try was very steeply uphill, going over a mountain and descending to the lighthouse. And it started with this narrow and very rocky climb of 250 meters. Whew!

That hill on the left is what we must go over to  get to the lighthouse using this route.

And finally, we can see our first view of the lighthouse at the "end of the earth". We have to descend down to the lighthouse, a long descent, fortunately on a good road.

Elsa and me at a monument near the lighthouse.

Elsa and her two friends at the Camino way marker indicating 0.00 kilometers.

And here I am at the same kilometer 0.00 Camino way marker with the lighthouse in the background.

A view of the lighthouse from the south (sea) side.

Looking down from the same point the other direction, out over the ocean to the end of the earth.

On the rocks is a "statue" of a boot. We all posed with the boot, symbolizing the end of a long walk.

Tomorrow the four of us will share a taxi to Santiago. The bus is 15 Euros and takes almost 3 1/2 hours. A taxi is 80 Euros, or 20 Euros each, and takes only about 75-80 minutes; seems like a bargain to me. In Santiago, I stay one last night across the square from the Cathedral in Santiago de Compostela before I leave on Saturday morning to fly first to Madrid and then to Paris.

Next: The journey home starts.