Day 22 - Muxia to Finisterre
I’m currently writing this from my hotel room in Santiago, a couple of days after completing my Camino. Forgive the lateness, but it’s been a whirlwind since arriving in Finisterre, with little time to write the final installment of my blog. Final for this Camino anyway. I’ve now got some downtime so I’ll fill you in on what’s been going on.
On this Camino I’ve been very lucky with the weather, having had only twenty minutes of light rain thus far. My luck had to change sometime though, so after a quick breakfast I threw my poncho over myself and my pack, set a course for the end of the world, and headed off into the rainy morning.
The trail weaved its way south, alternating between coastal and inland trails, with very little in the way of services. By the time I reached the first bar in Lires (15.2km into the trip!) I was dying for my second coffee of the day. With coffee drunk and a huge slice of chocolate cake consumed I pushed on.
The last half of the trail was also devoid of services, so without the distraction of hot coffee and delicious cakes I made good time and arrived in the town of Finisterre around 3PM, only to discover that the distance of 28.1km quoted by my guidebook was a little misleading. That distance was to the center of town, the actual endpoint, Cape Finisterre, was a further 3km away! And then another 3km back! Being stubborn and refusing to catch a bus there after walking so far, I gritted my teeth and set off.
My feet were hating me by this point. The two previous days were over thirty kilometres each and now the final day was going to follow suit. I threaded my way up the narrow trail running parallel to the road, jealously watching busloads of tourists go rumbling by. After what seemed like an age the lighthouse came into view and I charged towards it, knowing that the 0KM bollard and the end of my adventure lay somewhere below it.
And then there it was, sitting to the left of the trail, beckoning me forward: The Bollard. I approached it, savoring every final step, and then…walked straight past it because there was a line of people waiting to get their photo with it. Instead, I found the nearest bench and took my trail runners off. The bollard could wait, my feet were killing me. So after a quick foot massage, I changed into my jandals and was finally ready to have my meet and greet with the bollard.
With a photo taken, I walked as far as I could to the point, sat down, and took in the view that I’d walked 532km from Leon to see. It really was a beautiful spot to finish a Camino. Once satisfied that I’d taken everything in I got up and started making my way back into town, eager for a shower, something to eat, a cold beer, to get my Fisterrana, to find Pablo and Elaine, and to enjoy our final night together at the End of the Earth.
Epilogue:
A friend asked me upon my return to Sydney whether these Caminos, including the San Salvador, were my favourite hikes so far? My answer was "Yes, but by a very narrow margin. I think these Caminos were prettier than the Frances, but the Frances had more variation" and after a week of pondering on this, I still stand by this statement.
The mountainous parts of the San Salvador and Primitivo were breathtaking. These sections alone make these Caminos worth it. The scenery towards the end does start to feel like it's on a loop though, and that's where the Frances comes into its own, with its greater variation in scenery, including my favourite section: The Meseta, a week-long stretch of open fields where you have nothing to do but walk and think. If you're pondering something along the way then this is the section for you, and the San Salvador and Primitivo have nothing like it.
Another thing worth mentioning is that the number of pilgrims on the Camino Primitivo and especially the San Salvador is much lower than the Frances, which definitely appeals to me. Albergues along these caminos were full, however, as there were fewer total beds available in each town than on the Frances, so numbers were smaller despite being at capacity. I felt that this made for closer personal connections than on the Frances.
The Camino Finisterre is a strange one. I liked it, but again I felt like it was an extension of the Primitivo as the scenery was quite similar, but once you hit the coast, WOW! After being in the mountains, forests, and farmland for a couple of weeks the ocean is a welcome punch to the face. If I did it again though I'd probably not do both Finisterre and Muxia and just choose one town to finish at. To me, after walking into Santiago, Muxia, and then Finisterre, it felt like I'd spread the climax out over three points rather than having one big payoff. Of the two endpoints, I'd personally choose Muxia, as the Santuario da Virxe da Barca felt more of a satisfying endpoint than Cape Finisterre did.
Distance - 28.1km (plus 6km round trip to the cape)
Difficulty - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️/5
Camin-oh no! - The additional 6KM round trip out to the 0Km bollard after almost 30KM. My feet hated me for it.
Camin-oh hell yeah! - Obtaining my fourth, final, and prettiest certificate of the trip: My Fisterrana!
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