To Finisterre

This was thankfully a very short day of walking. About 15 km. Every step in the rain. I left at about 7:30 and I just kept walking till I got here. I was very much hoping to be able to see the coastline. Except for my very first Camino, I have always walked into Finisterre from Muxia. The main reason I chose to walk into Finisterre first this time was to have that nice long walk along the beach. I got that long walk along the beach, but I wouldn’t describe it as nice. Oh well, it wasn’t meant to be.

I had no idea what time it was when I rang the bell of my small hotel. It’s a family run place, and the owner was there cleaning rooms. In spite of the sign on the door that said check in at 4 PM, she very kindly looked at her books and said I could go up to a room she had just cleaned. But, she said, I’m sorry that that the bathroom floor will still be wet. I burst out laughing, since I was a walking puddle, and after a few minutes of a puzzled look, she too burst out laughing.

It seems odd that after hours of walking in the rain, standing under a shower is the thing that appeals the most. But unlike when you’re walking, the water is hot, and when you step out of the shower, you have a towel to dry off, and dry clothes to put on!

One of the reasons I had decided to do such a short stage today was because I had wanted to go up on the “back roads“ to the lighthouse. There are some sacred rocks, which apparently cured infertility, and also the ruins of a hermitage from early Christianity. I was just about to accept the offer of a nice lunch with a few people I had met, when the sky suddenly seemed a bit brighter. Feeling lucky, I decided to go up to the lighthouse instead.

If you can believe it, there were about three hours of glorious sunshine. I was able to walk the entire planned 10 km loop. When I got back to town, the sky was dark once again. I was very very lucky. I am not going to push my luck and will forego the chance of a decent sunset.Read more