Day 50: Beach Day!

It was strange to get up and not start the Garmins and set off on the trail, but it was a great day nonetheless. We walked to the beach on the western side of the peninsula and discovered a lovely, quiet slice of sand facing the clear blue Atlantic. While there were some people there (many with well-behaved dogs) there was plenty of room for everyone. We didn’t swim - the water was very cold, and although I’m no ocean expert, seemed to have a stiff undertow. Wading in the cold water felt great on the tired pilgrims’ feet!

We walked back to town to do a little shopping and get lunch - fantastic vegetarian sandwiches. We decided to check out the beach nearest to the town center only to find it noisy and rocky, so we walked back along the cape to a beach we had passed on the previous day. Beach #3 was busy and very nice except for the gale force winds! We told ourselves we were getting free microdermabrasion but didn’t last long before giving up and heading back to town. We stopped at a grocery for dinner snacks and then rested a bit before heading back to the western beach to catch the end of the sunset. So peaceful and beautiful! We lingered for quite a while, hoping to see the Milky Way, but the moon was too bright.

While in Santiago we picked up “pasaportes” in which we collected more stamps on the way to the coast, so while in town we obtained our “Fisterranas,” the certificate for this part of the Camino. Seashells from the beach added to our collection of mementos. Overall a great way to spend our first post-Camino day!Read more