Day 33 - To the end of the earth

Today we left Muxía for Fisterra.  Sue on foot and me by bus. It was the first time I was in a mechanized vehicle since Apr 7th. Those things can go fast.

Starting off solo.

Views along the way.

And another.

Eucalyptus trees to left, pines to right. Endless path in the center.

Trail greeters.

Beautiful coast.

I arrived in Fisterra first and found us a place to stay. An old lady snagged me at the bus station. Private room for 25 euros. I checked in, and then went to scope out the city and find the route Sue would be coming in on.  It was 2:00pm. I expected her to come thru about 3:30.  Just as I found the path there she was. She covered the 28km very fast without me holding her back.  She is really glad she chose to walk the last leg to have completion of everything.

She made it!

Fisterra means end of the earth.  Before Columbus it was believed to be the western most point of land on earth.  3 km south of town, on a cape high above the water and jutting into the ocean, is the km marker 0.000 marking the official end of the Camino.

We needed to go there, but first had to get the last of our Camino certificates.  This one only Sue qualified for.  Our credentials said to go to City Hall. We didn’t find City Hall. Our land lady said to go to tourist information across from the bus stop. We were having a hard time finding that. So, I went into the municipal albergue to ask. The line was too long to wait, so we went back outside to look again.  Sue found the sign for tourist information. We went there, but this is Spain. By now you know what that means.  Siesta.  They would open again at 5pm.

So, after a drink off we went to the cape. Just as we arrived at the 0.000 marker we stared at another couple standing there, too. They were staring at us, too.  Would you believe it was Kevin and Robin, fellow cheeseheads from Superior?  We last saw them in Astorga over two weeks ago. And, they were not alone.  A cheesehead reunion at the very end.  How poetic. Both their spouses had flown over to join them.  A little confusing at first, it seems Kevin and Robin are not a couple. They are just friends who travelled 500 mi together by foot.  So, we all, spouses included, had a sangria together on the cape to celebrate the official completion.

The four cheeseheads at marker 0.000.

End of the earth #1

End of the earth #2

End of the earth #3 - metal boot monument.

Then it was back into town to get the certificate from the tourist information center after 5pm but before 7pm when they close.  We got there at 5:30.  The office was open, but the man who works there was gone for 10 min, or maybe more. He might return at some point.  It wasn’t really clear.  We waited talking with three Australians for about 10 min. When we got around to telling them why we were waiting, they said we can get the certificate across the street at the municipal albergue.  The one we were in a few hours earlier with the line when we didn’t want to wait.  Anyway, mission accomplished. It was now all complete.

All that was left was salad, seafood paella, and sangria for dinner.

Tomorrow we head to Porto, Portugal.