KM 0

Of all the places we’ve stayed along the trial, this one is the hardest to leave. It isn’t the quirky whale theme that they somehow manage to pull off, but there’s something about looking out over a quiet old finish town and down to the water that calms the soul. Were this the first day of our journey rather than the last, we may never have made it very far.

The route today takes us mostly along the coast, climbing from one secluded bay and descending to the next. It is a bit more strenuous than my fellow pilgrim was hoping for, but the rapidly declining distance markers provide the motivation to keep going.

Past the town of Finisterre, there is one last, long climb to the lighthouse at the end of the trail. It is mid-day, the sun is hot, but, finally…

Years ago, hikers that finished the camino would burn their boots on the rocks here, in theory to signify leaving one stage of life behind and starting a new one. Given how my shoes smell after just five days I suspect there may have been a less spiritual motivation. Nevertheless, it is frowned upon now (for obvious reasons) so, instead, people have started just leaving them in a pile. I’m not sure how much of an improvement that is but I guess at least no one is starting fires on a windy spit of land where there is no equipment to put it out. On a postive note though – free shoes!

It turns out there is a small hotel here that, under different circumstances, would make for an amazing place to hole up and watch the sun go down (and come up for one of us). We do take advantage of the cafe patio though to have a drink and soak in what we have accomplished.

Of course, no journey like this would be complete without some souvenirs. Nick, we remembered how much you like SpongeBob so got you a shirt you can wear at college.

And I have to ask, who thought this was a good idea? It is a machine that flattens a penny but, really? Did no one stand back and look at it first? No matter, it is all rusted up at this point so even if you wanted a flat penny, all you could do is put a coin in the slot and yank on the handle trying to turn it (pictures of which would make wonderful souvenirs for everyone else who watched you).

I gave my fellow pilgrom so change and suggested we get pennies for the boys but even after all of this walking, her mind is still too quick.

Here’s the final tally (including a few extra hours when I left the meter running while we drank wine and ate dinner). Now, it’s a three hour bus ride back to Santiago de Compostela and an early morning flight to Barcelona.