Day 1 to Finisterre

I am feeling the effects of the advancing years. Every other time I’ve walked to the ocean, I’ve always stayed in a place about 4 km further than where I am today. It was a good idea to stop here, the Albergue Rectoral de Mamede. Private rooms are a bit pricier than I’ve encountered so far, but it’s nice, has hot water, a comfortable bed, and good places to hang the clothes outside to dry. My GPS shows 31 km and 800 m of ascent, so it wasn’t too shabby of a day.

I left Santiago later than usual, almost 8 AM. This was because San Martin Pinario has a big buffet breakfast included in the Pilgrim price, so I thought I would take advantage and have some fruit salad, orange juice, toast with tomatoes and olive oil, it was glorious.

I had not remembered the two pronounced climbs in today’s stage, but I will definitely remember them going forward. Another sign of advancing age! Thankfully, the last nine km were almost all shady, because the temperature was over 80 F (28 C) in the afternoon. Though that’s not extreme, it is hot to walk in the sun.

One of the prettiest little villages anywhere on any Camino that I’ve seen is Ponte de Maceiras. An ancient bridge with a very full river, rushing underneath it, several old mills, an old church, and some beautiful stone houses. It’s always a good place to take off your shoes and soak your feet in the ice cold water. Someone had beat me to my favorite spot, but he graciously moved over so we could both fit.

Leaving Negreira, I always stop at the sculpture dedicated to emigrants (Galicia had a huge number in the late 19th and early 20th century). I spend a few minutes sitting on a bench near there and thinking about all of the people in generations of my family who left their home country because of economic necessity. And that of course leads me to think about the millions of people who are suffering that same fate right now, for all sorts of reasons.

There are lots of people walking to Finisterre. Predominant nationalities seem to be French, Italian, and US. There will be a group dinner for anyone who wanted to sign up, and since we are essentially in the middle of nowhere, I assume many will.Read more