When the World was Flat

May I just say that the very blue skies of my title photo for today is a rarity rather than the norm and at the same time the Atlantic Ocean (odd writing that when the Pacific so dominates your life) was putting on a nice display of windy at the same time. But I digress, again.

When the world was flat, the Romans believed that the western most coast of Galicia, the furthest most western tip of Europe, was the end of the world beyond which there was only mythical other worlds hidden by the setting sun.

So pilgrims came to walk, not only to Santiago, but to the Atlantic to see the edge of the world.

Today, as in times past, many pilgrims extend their walks to Finisterre, derived from Latin, meaning the finish or end of the earth. Cape Finisterre is the final goal to watch the sunset into the Atlantic as a symbol of the end of your journey.

There is some historical evidence that the walk to the coast long predates the pilgrimage to Santiago and may have been part of the prior Celtic culture. This part of the Way was documented in the earliest known pilgrim guide, the Codex Calixtinus which was written in the 12th century.

Walking to the Cape was never part of my plan but visiting was. I took the morning bus from Santiago and enjoyed a long and winding road past Finisterre to Muxia (pronounced Moo-shia) where I am spending the next week wandering, reading, contemplating the meaning of life (as all good pilgrims are required to do post pilgrimage) and possibly writing in this blog thing on occasion.

All you need to know about Muxia so far is my little apartment has the most comfortable bed I've had el Camino and that it's great to have hair conditioner and razor blades again. And salt and butter, I've missed them too.

One of my photos is a hint that the Camino has been calling you forever, you just couldn't interpret the message. Another photo is an indication of the sometimes very unclear Camino markers which are supposed to show you the Way.Read more