Finisterre - Epilogue

I can't begin to describe what a great day we had!  The weather was awesome: sunny, warm, and breezy.  After another delicious buffet breakfast and an impatient wait until 10 a.m., our rental car arrived right on time.  Although we started out somewhat nervously, we soon discovered that signage in Spain as in the rest of Europe (as we have previously experienced) is simple and clear, making it almost impossible to get lost.  We had our brief moments, especially within Santiago city limits, with its narrow and one way streets, but for the rest it was a breeze.

We left Santiago promptly at 10, and headed for the coast in the village of Noia, as per the instructions of the concierge at the Parador hotel.  From Noia, we made our way leisurely through village and town after village and town, snapping some quick shots along the way, of glorious beaches...

And a not so glorious shot of an old forest fire scene...

When we finally reached the village of Finisterre (technically, it's Fisterra), we parked our car and hiked the last 3 kms to the end of the earth and mile 0 of the Camino, from whichever direction you come.  You might think we're crazy, but it felt so good to be hiking the trail again!

In a moment you'll see what Diane is carrying in the bag, and what I was carrying in another bag.  After 3 beautiful kms., we reached km 0...

It's an old tradition of pilgrims to either burn or dump some of the clothes or footwear that have become so worn that you'll never use them again.  Here's what was in the bags Diane and I carried: 4 pairs of shoes, belonging to Jeff and Chris and Diane and myself respectively, two of my old t-shirts whose underarms you don't ever want to see (never mind smell) again, and Diane's old bandages (she bought knee supports instead)....

 

Of course we didn't want to burn them and pollute that fresh, clear air, so we took this photo and then...

We hiked further down the rocks overlooking the Atlantic coastline and then had someone take this shot...

...while I added this one of the waters below, a little too risky to climb all the way down...

Shortly after we walked back to our car, we decided we needed to find the first possible beach where we could dip our feet into the Atlantic.  On the way there, whom did we see but our old friend Marcel with the flowery hat (see Villafranca rest day), though we were not able to stop and chat.  We found a beach very soon, and there Diane met one of her relatives, oops, I mean one of the donkeys we had met weeks earlier on the Camino.  He seems quite happy to see Diane...

Then we each took turns walking in the warm (yes, warm) Atlantic waters...

We also picked up 2 scallop shells, symblematic of the Camino, and fresh from the beach rather than from an office in St. Jean.  About 90 minutes later, we found our way back to the Parador hotel plaza (thanks to Diane's sharp navigating skills), dropped off the car, picked up our luggage,and walked it 10 minutes to our final night's destination in Spain.

And were we ever surprised!  For a place that cost next to nothing, we have one of our most amazing rooms of the whole Camino.  From our large 3rd floor room, here's our view from the back window...

That's the Santiago cathedral.  And here's our view from the front skylight, of a city park and an old arbutus tree...

Tomorrow we leave for an overnighter in Paris and we have arranged for a taxi to bring us to the airport (the third time ever in our lives in a taxi!).  As our last dinner, we had pizza and beer (not very Spanish, I suppose, but very good), and a huge sundae with whipped cream that we share (evenly, in my opinion, though Diane begs to differ).

So this is the end of our Camino.  As we talked about it last night, and off and on along the way, this is what we take from it all, as summarized by Diane, and I'll simply quote what she wrote out on paper in her words, which reflects my sentiments as well..........

"To walk the Camino is to become a pilgrim on a path that has been walked by millions of others over the centuries.  Putting one foot in front of the other for 36 days, for hours per day, for just over 800 kms., gives you time to think.  And when you think, you learn things.  For example, gratitude - gratitude that my knees acted up but didn't give out.  That the rain stopped and the mud dried.  We've learned humility from our blisters, and from people with far greater pain than us and still they kept walking.  We've been humbled by the Camino and by many of the people we've met.  We've learned that by just putting one foot in front of the other and with God's strength, you can reach those mountains in the distance and even climb them!  We've learned again that in spite of our many possessions, you don't really need very much: water, bread (crust not too tough, please), cheese, Compeed, moleskin, clean underwear and socks and a couple of shirts and shorts, to name a few.  Bert would add good red wine, an occasional ice cold beer, and great pizza!  We have learned by observation that people of all different sizes and shapes and physical/health obstacles can do the Camino.  Miracles happen and people can overcome and succeed with God's help.  We have felt God with us every step of the way.  We have seen him so clearly in the beauty of his creation that he made for us to enjoy, in the kindness of others from all countries of the world, and in the ancient cathedrals and churches of cities and villages.  We have been reminded that every day is a pilgrimage, and that what truly matters in life is the love of God given to us in Christ, and that we share and pass on that love to others."

For myself, speaking for both of us, I think, it will take some time to fully appreciate ALL the benefits of this great adventure.  Aside from all the fun and good times and great relationship we experienced with Diane's sister and our brother-in-law Jeff, the only thing I will say at this point is that I had heart and attitude issues to deal with and that I have truly felt God's peace filling me throughout this journey.  I will leave it at that and simply say, "thank you, Lord, for your love for us in spite of us, and for the opportunity and gift of the adventure of Camino el Santiago de Compostela!"  

Thanks also to all of you who joined us on our Camino via this blog.  We are gratified to note that we have had almost 11,000 page views.  That kept me from getting lazy and thinking nobody cared anyway so why bother.  But many of you did care, and we thank God for you and for your encouragement and support in this way.   For now then, and simply: Adios!

Distance today (on foot): 6 kms

Time on the road (on foot): 2:00+

Total distance to date: 802.4 kms