A Visit To Finisterre
“Sometimes a simple moment of joy is all we need to remember how lucky we are”
Upon completing the Camino de Santiago some people choose to continue on to Finisterre, a further 88 kilometres along the coast. It was never part of our plan to walk this, but Brian collected a people carrier this morning and off the nine of us went to check it out anyway.
The nearer we got to the lighthouse at the “world’s end”, the windier it became. By the time we reached our destination about two hours later (passenger unrest necessitated a coffee stop along the way), it was sunny and blowy, the waves were crashing against the rocks and the blue sea filled the horizon.
There was an alternative marriage service being held while we were there, the ceremony taking place to the accompaniment of a bloke playing a digeridoo. It was all highly unusual, but bride, groom and guests all seemed very happy. Everyone appeared to receive a plastic dummy as a souvenir!
From there it was down to one of the many lovely beaches for a quick dip in the Atlantic, swimming with the multitude of fish that congregate close to the shore. The water was cold and very salty (I inadvertently swallowed some of it) and my swim was, to put it mildly, brief. Three of the girls, Helen, Jackie and Carolyn, went for it, everybody else wimped out. They appeared to enjoy the whole experience a bit more than me, to say the least. Thicker skin, I suspect.
Having completed our dip, we got dried and dressed, jumped back in the people carrier and commenced our return journey via a garage where we bought insane amounts of chocolate, juice and crisps (not very sensible). Unfortunately it wasn’t the most straightforward trip back (at one point we appeared to be heading for Vigo in the opposite direction!) but, as always, we got there in the end, so well done Brian.
A very pleasant way to spend our final day in northern Spain. Tomorrow morning we leave on an early flight from Santiago to Stanstead, then onwards to Glasgow. Our journey over, we return home to reality. It’s been a lot of fun in the company of new friends and old friends. Lots of amazing memories and stories with which to bore people rigid.
And the end of the blog! If you’ve been following our progress, you really should improve the quality of your reading material. But thanks for slumming it anyway. To everyone that’s donated money, once again, thanks a million. Without your help, the charity can’t exist, but you just keep delivering! Time to go and pack. See you all soon. Mission accomplished. Santiago reached. Blistardo vanquished. Over and out.
The final album track of the trip is REM’s “It’s The End Of The World As We Know It”. Because Finisterre was once considered the end of the world!
To Donate to Lisa’s Gift – Click here
