6/21/17 – 49.2km/30.6mi from Olveiroa to Finisterre, which the ancient Romans thought was “the end of the world.” The distance includes the distance we walked to Finisterre, in town, and climbing to the “lighthouse at the end of the world” and back.
The stars were smiling on our night in Olveiroa as we had a truly quiet and comfortable sleep. No odor, no intolerable heat or cold, and surprisingly no snoring. It’s just what we needed considering we had a long and tough day to Finisterre ahead of us. The weather cooperated with us too, and heavy cloud cover kept us from getting too hot. After a quick breakfast stop in a village called Hospital, we had a 10-mile stretch through fairly desolate forested hills. After reaching a certain elevation, we literally walked in a cloud with almost no visibility – at one point, a hiker that was coming towards us emerged from the mist like a ghost. It was thick.
David and I remembered this stretch fondly from our 2014 Camino, and were looking forward to our first view of the sea. We hugged the coast on the Camino Del Norte for the most part, but it had still been almost 2 weeks since we last saw the ocean. As we slowly began a steep descent into the city of Cee, thick clouds made it impossible to see the water until we were pretty much right there. After a much-needed lunch stop around the bay in Corcubión, we began a steep climb out that we only appreciated when we stopped to catch our breath and turned around – the twin cities looked amazing against the blue sea as if the clouds opened up for us, just for that view, at that moment.
We then proceeded onward, eventually arriving at a long beach that marks the peregrino’s entrance into Finisterre. We took our shoes off and walked a solid mile on that beach into town. Later that evening, after a great dinner, we loaded up my pack with celebratory champagne and wine and began trudging the final twisting 2 mile climb to the Faro de Finisterre, the “lighthouse at the end of the world.” On the last Camino, I left my bag at the albergue, bought myself a box of Peñasol wine, and ran 2 of the happiest and most free miles I’ve ever run up to the lighthouse. That felt great, but this time I wanted to go up together with my good friends. And plenty of champagne, of course!
It was a great feeling to reach and celebrate the famous “0.0 km” marker on the summer solstice, and we anticipated a magnificent sunset from our high vantage point. That alas didn’t come to pass – the sky was so filled with grey clouds that they just blended into the sea at the horizon. Instead of seeing a sunset, it just gradually grew dark. But not before we had an absolute ball laughing with each other and trying to recall all the zany, hilarious, and poignant moments of this epic journey.
