How About a Little Sightseeing?

Our arrival into Santiago yesterday was a day earlier than initially planned, so we decided to take the day today to do a little sightseeing! We booked a bus tour from Santiago to Cape Finisterre about 90 km west of Santiago. This area of Galacia is filled with history dating back to Celtic occupation of the Iberian Peninsula in the 5th or 6th century BC.

This area is known as the Costa de Morte, or Coast of Death, due to the large number of shipwrecks along these shores.

We visited the town of Fisterra which translates to “land’s end”. This area is the westernmost point of the region and was considered the “End of the Earth” in earlier times. Many pilgrims in ancient times, and still today, would continue their pilgrimage from Santiago to Fisterra to worship at the shore. We opted to skip the additional four days of walking and book the bus tour!

There is a zero kilometer marker at this point to signify the absolute end of the Camino de Santiago.

There is a brass boot on the rocks to mark the tradition (now discouraged) of pilgrims burning their shoes or casting them into the sea at the conclusion of their pilgrimage.

We also visited the remarkable Santuario de la Virgen de la Barca, or Sanctuary of the Virgin of the Boat. This church dates back to the twelfth century and marks the location where Mary reportedly revealed herself to St. James to encourage him in his evangelization across the peninsula.

Our tour also took us to several lighthouses that guide ships around this treacherous coastline.

And we visited the beautiful Fervenza de Ézaro which is famous for being the only waterfall in continental Europe that plunges directly into the Atlantic Ocean.

Lastly, upon returning to Santiago, Charlotte and I celebrated our last night together with a pitcher of sangria and some of the most amazing paella you could imagine!

That’s all for now!