Etzy

Saturday, November 14, 2009

Finisterre - The End of The World










I met with Kate in the morning, after having said goodbye to Inge, who was flying back to Germany later that day. Together we walked to the bus station, and on the way there I saw a lady coming towards us - she looked familiar? - It was my sweet landlady Maria from last week, who did my laundry for me, when I stayed at her house! She was all smiles, and we gave each other a big hug. She was happy to see I arrived safely in Santiago, and I told her I was on my way to Finisterre, and thanked her once again for her hospitality, before we waved goodbye and Kate and I continued to the bus station. There we met Vihar, who was taking the same bus as us, and Nina, who was waiting for the airport bus to go back home to Denmark.
The bus ride to Finisterre took about 3 hours along lovely country roads, and after about 1 hour we saw the first glimpses of the sea. Once we arrived, Vihar, Kate and I went in to a restaurant right by the bus stop called La Fronterra, which turned out to be run by a lovely German lady. We had coffee, and then Kate went to find the "alternative" albergue. Vihar and I had a bit more comfort and privacy in mind, so we checked at the Hotel Finisterre just up the street, and ended up getting single rooms w/bath for 30 Euros a night. We both made reservation for 2 nights.
I enjoyed settling in knowing it was for 2 days! After I had rested a bit, I went to find and Internet cafe, and later in the afternoon I walked out to the lighthouse at the tip of Finisterre peninsula, a walk of about 3.5 km, to see the sunset at the End of The World. Along the road Kate joined me - armed with a bottle of wine!
It was a lovely evening, and several other pilgrims were out here and we all sat and enjoyed the beautiful scenery right at the edge of the world. Just before the sun set a very tired young pilgrim came up - she had walked 37 km that day to make it before sunset, and she was exhausted, elated, emotional, body and feet hurting. Tears of joy streamed down her face as she laid down looking into the sunset and smiling at the same time. We could all relate - she had reached her goal, she was finally at the end of the Camino! Kate shared her wine with her also. We all drank straight out of the bottle, no worries about swine flu! We enjoyed this special moment together, as the sun slowly sank into the Atlantic Ocean at the End Of The World. I felt totally content, and realized this was the perfect end to my Camino, I was ready to return to my family and friends, and let the lessons of the Camino continue to work in my life!

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