Aug 15, 2017 Finisterre

Today was deliberately a non-driving sort of day.  We started with a very short drive (we considered the option to walk…but we drove) down the peninsula to the Lighthouse at Finisterre.  This is the proverbial last stop at the “End of the World” for the Camino de Santiago.  We passed a few pilgrims along the road, distinctive for their backpacks, sturdy walking shoes and trademark scallop shell.  But mostly there were tourists and families there for the holiday.

The lighthouse itself is not terribly dramatic but there’s a quiet beauty and even spirituality to the site.  This is the westernmost point in Spain and long considered the westernmost point of continental Europe (evidently there’s a point in Portugal that barely beats it).  One can’t help but contemplate the long blue horizon and consider the state of the world and your place in it.

There’s a marker for the end of the Camino where everyone lined up to get their photos.  Laurie, who waked a good chunk of the Camino to Santiago de Campostela on her own a number of years ago, was eager to mark the moment.  It was fun to see an actual pilgrim make it to that point, but even more moving to see the small offerings of shoes or other mementos that pilgrims leave at various spots on the headland.  Not sure who cleans these things up or how long they stay, but I found them poignant.

After an hour or so on the point, we drove a bit around the town and scouted routes to the beach on the west side of the peninsula, the Pria Mar de Fora, where we’d be able to see a sunset later.  Then we headed down to the harbor to scope out a nice lunch.  After finding that the top-rated O Pirata was closed for the week, we headed over to O Centolo which had a good table available on this holiday.  It turned out to be excellent.  We shared a very nice spread of grilled octopus, John Dory fish, scallops, shrimp salad, and Albarino wine.

After a pleasant meal and 6 days on the go, it was a fine time to take it easy for the afternoon.  The commendable Spanish tradition of siesta beckoned and we extended it into a quiet afternoon of reading and catching up on the world of email and news.  I got through several more chapters of “Everybody Behaves Badly.”

Along about 8pm we got ourselves together and walked over the hill behind town to get to the beach for sunset.  There are a couple of long wooden boardwalks to get to the beach but otherwise the western side of the peninsula is remarkably undeveloped.  No doubt this has to do with rougher weather coming off the ocean, but today was pleasant with blue sky and a few high clouds.  We walked the beach for a while then found a little overlook with some benches to settle for the sunset show along with a small handful of other watchers.  The sunset was a nice one, and we lingered for as long as we dared before it got completely dark for the walk back.

We went back down to the harbor in town and randomly chose a spot for a light evening meal.  We shared a dish of shrimp in garlic oil (gambas al ajillo), pimientos de padron and beers.  A satisfactory end of a good day.

Back at the apartment I couldn’t resist seeing what was on TV.  I bumped into a replay of a soccer match from earlier in the week, Barcelona vs. Real Madrid.  It turned out to be the first game of the SuperCopa de Espana, another soccer thing I’d never heard of.  It’s a two-game series that pits the winner of the previous season Spanish league, La Liga, against the winner of Spain’s Copa Del Rey (King’s Cup), yet another season-ending tournament.  Essentially it works out that the SuperCopa is a pre-season tournament to get ready for the new La Liga season.  Whatever.  It was entertaining to see Messi, Ronaldo et. al.  Entertaining to me, anyway.  Laurie quickly headed for bed.


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