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| Cathedral of Santiago |
Our final day of walking yesterday started under a clear
blue sky (yes it does exist in Galicia) and was completed without us getting
completely wet. The blue sky did not last long and as the cloud became heavier
we had a brief shower as we were entering the outskirts of Santiago but
fortunately it cleared and we reached our destination (the Cathedral) dry for
the first time on the Camino. The final day’s walk for us of 20km was actually
more difficult than we expected – we had no problems or difficulties over the
previous days (apart from lousy weather) and we really expected the better
weather and the fact that it was the final day would mean we sailed through the
journey. While again we did not have any problems we would have to say that
once we arrived in Santiago we really felt overcome with weariness and would
have struggled to front up again the next day. I believe it shows the power of
the mind. Once our ‘goal’ was achieved
we experienced a ‘let down’ leaving us exhausted.
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| Looking out over the church at Muxia to the Atlantic |
On the final day we met up with the Australian group from
Sydney again a couple of times and also walked for some time with a couple who
had been at the same accommodation on a couple of different nights. They spoke
Spanish as well as English so that proved handy on a couple of occasions. It
was quite deceptive entering into Santiago as you were expecting to see
evidence of the city a long time before it became apparent. The airport was
skirted relatively early during the walk and then you came upon the motorway
but then the path headed off into countryside again. Once you came down and
crossed the ring road you started walking in the city itself which we must say
was not terribly attractive. It turns out that the old city has been maintained
in one section and then a new commercial centre was set up rather than trying
to revamp or extend the original city.
After visiting the Peregrino office to receive our
Compostela we collapsed in the accommodation for a little while before
returning to the Cathedral again for an English prayer service. This was a
great reflection time on the Camino and will be complemented with some time
with the Companions of the Camino tomorrow to further reflect on the journey.
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| The Camino marker at Fisterra |
Increasingly pilgrims are extending the Camino to finish
either at Muxia or Fisterra and as we had some time in Santiago we decided to
investigate these areas. They are all part of the Costa da Morte (Death Coast)
so named due to the number of shipwrecks and loss of life in the area. Fishing
villages line the coast line and the loss of life even continues now – during the
last winter even though it was fairly calm there were 3 deaths in the waters of
the coast. Having seen some of the tiny boats the local fishermen go out in you
can understand as there is nowhere to hide if the weather turns nasty.
Martin from Discover Galicia was extremely knowledgeable and
an excellent guide and bus driver – a small tour of 8 people (4 Spanish
speaking and 4 English speaking) handled admirably. Martin also speaks
Portuguese and Finnish – extremely impressive to us monolingual Australians. To
visit these areas was again a real privilege – at Muxia where according to
legend Our Lady appeared to Santiago in a stone ship when he was disheartened
over the response or lack thereof to his preaching. Consequently a church was
built which is currently being restored after being struck by lightning on
Christmas Day last year. The lightning caused a fire which burnt the roof and
the interior of the church behind the altar. We noted a lightning rod has also
been installed! On the beach in front of the church where the sail, hull and
rudder of Our Lady’s stone ship are to be found, legend has it that if a
pilgrim passes under the ‘sail rock’ 9 times they will be cured of back pain.
As my back was actually playing up today I did toy with the idea – I crawled
under it once and then decided if you could do it 9 times you obviously never
did or would have any back problems. As the back improved throughout the day I
now regret not persisting another 8 times – positive it would have worked!!
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| Looking west from the end of the earth |
Cape Finisterre was actually quite disappointing – a
spectacular and wild windswept headland but ruined by one of the traditions
attached to the Camino. This tradition for pilgrims is that you are to burn an
item of clothing to show you are a new person after the Camino – you are also
supposed to swim in the water off Cape Finisterre however given the rocks and
cliffs that is just about impossible (or if you tried it may be literally dying
to your old self). With our synthetic clothes these days Cape Finisterre is a
series of black scorched areas with half burnt boots, underwear etc – in other
words a bit of a rubbish dump. I really can’t see the spiritual significance or
turning an amazing natural phenomenon into another waste ground.
A spectacular lunch at Meson Dona Teresa near the beach at
Lira with fresh seafood was certainly a high point of the day also. We did
visit the beach later a little further along the coast – at least it had white
sand although it was struggling to justify its tag as a surf beach. It had
slightly more swell than Bargara, but Bargara does not claim any surf beach
status. Fortunately the only rain today was mainly while we were eating lunch
or in the bus so we escaped dry for a second day in a row. All the people who say the weather in Galicia is very variable no matter what time of year are correct – the day started and finished with clear skies and then heavy rain overnight.
Another day in Santiago before flying to Dublin to begin the next part of the adventure.
Love to all
S&E
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