El Camino de Santiago and other trails.
And this is what the end of the world looks like. Kilometer zero, the Cape of Finisterre.
After covering 900km over seven weeks of walking, we are starting our relatively short journey home. Tomorrow Madrid, and then California on Sunday.
For the medieval pilgrim, the continuation of their pilgrimage to the sea was likely the one opportunity in their lives to see the ocean. As a souvenir of their visit, they would take a scallop shell back home with them. The scallop shell is now the emblem for the Camino de Santiago and is found all along the route on signs and wayposts.
22km through hilly coastal terrain. One more day remains on our pilgrimage until the lighthouse in Finisterre…..
Long 34 km heading towards the sea. Mainly through Galician farmlands, countryside, and hamlets. Fortunately, a good breeze was blowing from the ocean to the north and kept us cool.
Santiago de Compostela was actually our penultimate destination on this trip. We are hiking about 90 more kilometers to what the pre-Columbian world believed was the end of the flat earth, or, as they wrote in Latin, Finis Terre. This is now known as the city of Finisterre, which will be our last stop by foot. 22km today through beautiful Galician countryside.
Santiago! Through more eucalyptus forests in the morning before hitting the city and working our way towards the square and the cathedral. Emotions were high when we arrived a bit after lunch. Tears of joy and stupefaction at reaching our goal. 800km walked, 45000 feet ascended, 45000 feet descended, 33 days walking. Tomorrow we will explore Santiago…..
Today we did 22km through small hamlets and eucalyptus forests. The weather remained on the cool side, and the trails were generally easy, with minimal elevation change. We will arrive in Santiago tomorrow, on Easter Sunday.
We left Palas de Rei this morning under a veil of high fog/clouds which, happily, never managed to burn off. We were grateful for the cooler temperatures as we had a long 30km hike through moderately hilly terrain. Our bodies are tired, but we are excited to be almost there. Just two more days until Santiago!
Approximately 26km through Galicia, down country lanes, through various hamlets, across freshly plowed fields. Our feet and legs are holding up, just barely, as the arrival in Santiago becomes tangible. For those that have been following this slow, plodding trek, Santiago now sits about 65km out. We have walked about 740km up to this point.
The morning started off foggy and cool, but it quickly warmed up as we worked our way out of Sarria towards Portomarin. We walked approximately 22km and are now less than 100km out. Lots of new faces on the trails today and, not surprisingly, a good amount of families, mainly Spanish, who are on vacation for the Holy Week.
TrekTok 