MY CAMINO: The PORTUGUESE WAY (Part Three: Santiago to Finisterre)

Friday, September 16th, Day Thirteen of our Camino, we began our journey to Finisterre, "the end of the world."  We walked 14 miles from Santiago (population of 96,000)  to the relatively modern town of Negreira (population of 7,000.)  We donned our ponchos shortly after we reached the outskirts of Santiago, and wore them for most of the day.  We walked in a light rain most of the day.  The hike was quiet and peaceful.  We saw only a half-dozen other pilgrims on the Camino; most pilgrims end their journey in Santiago.

Cloudy skies as we depart Santiago.

A dense fog, which soon turns to a mist.

The rain brings out the slugs.

We saw a lot of half-built houses on our Camino.   Who knows the reason why.  Did the builders quit because they ran out of money?  Or did they decide to build a house some place else?

A nice roof and basement, but not much in-between.

The mist became a drizzle and then a light rain, so we didn't take too many pictures this day.

I loved this spider web that covers the blackberry bush.

A double-long granary.

My favorite part of the walk was at mile 10 when we came to a magnificent medieval stone bridge, the Ponte Maceira.

The rain even let up so we could photograph it.

But I have my yellow rain poncho handy just in case.

The view of the tiny village after we cross the bridge.

We arrived in Negreira in the late afternoon and checked into the Hotel Millan.  The hotel wasn't anything special, though it was the top-rated hotel in Negreira.  (There were only two hotels in town.)   It didn't take us very long to explore the town in the evening before dinner. 

Day Fourteen, (Saturday) we walked from Negreira to Abeleiroas, and then we exited the Camino for an additional two mile walk to our hotel, which was in the town of A Picota, off of the Camino route.  This was our longest day of the Camino, with a total of 21.5 miles.  Granted, we did take an optional detour, and got a little lost, but it was well worth it.

We began our walk shortly after day break.  The Hotel Millan opened for breakfast at 7:00 am, which we appreciated.  Often breakfast doesn't start until 8:00 am.  We never skipped  "the most important meal of the day" on this Camino.

We pass under this stone arch as we exit Negreira.

Soon we are on trail.

It is very colorful as we walk along.

We see wide open spaces in all directions.

There were scattered clouds, but it was mostly sunny as we walked through the pastoral countryside, where cattle and sheep graze in the fields.

Moo.

We peek into a barn for an up close encounter.

The granary style has changed.  In this area they are entirely comprised of stone.  It is interesting how each region has their own unique granaries.

How old do you think this is?

This one is more modern., but probably still incredibly old.

I tried to milk this Camino for all its worth, and Gerry and I took most of the scenic optional routes, even though they meant bonus miles, each day they were offered.  We headed uphill for our detour via Monte Aro, which took us up and above the crossroads through a line of windmills.  I had never in my life been close to windmills. 

Heading uphill on the challenging detour.

I am up high, and near the windmills. 

I can't believe how humongous they are!

We were the only pilgrims who took this detour today.  Nobody was around to ask for directions back down, and we had no yellow arrows pointing the way.  It took us a while, but we figured it out.

We arrived in A Picota shortly before 5:00 pm and checked into our hotel, the Casa Jurjo, another one of those small, quaint family fun hotels which we love.  To our utter surprise, in the courtyard adjacent to our hotel an acrobatic performance was about to begin.  We certainly didn't expect this live entertainment.

We were privileged to watch the show from the window of our hotel room on the second floor.

Dinner in the restaurant at the Casa Jurjo was excellent, especially our first course of fresh mussels with tomatoes, onions and garlic. 

Yum. Yum. 

Day Fifteen of our Camino we walked from Abeleiroas to Cee, 16.5 miles.  We took the Casa Jurjo up on their offer to drive us from their hotel in A Picota to the camino in Abeleiroas after breakfast.  (All of our breakfasts are included in the package deal we have with Camino Ways.  They range from the basic to the sublime.  Casa Jurjo was one of the better ones, especially their strong coffee with the frothy warm milk.)

After three miles we passed the only significant town on the way to Cee, a village called Olveiroa.

The "city" welcomes us.

A colorful mural as we walk the main drag.

And then we were in farm country, and saw our share of handsome horses and walked by one cornfield after another.

This couple of horses are in their element, happily grazing. 

We pause and beckon one of them over to us. 

Cornfields, cornfields, and more cornfields.

A corn cutting machine has his work cut out for him, for sure.

Approximately 3/4 of this day's walk was on natural pathways, mostly dirt paths.  It included one glorious stretch across the high moors (7 .5 miles) which is one of the longest and most isolated stretches of the entire Camino.

The church, Ermita San Pedro Martir, appears out of nowhere.

We walk behind the church and see this cross in the grass.

We gaze to our right and see flowers.

To our left, we can see far and wide. 

It was a lengthy, but beautiful 7.5 miles.  The sun began to take its toll, and we we stopped a few times to take water breaks and also to absorb this spectacular scenery.

I sit on the ground, and take a sip of water here.

It's so beautiful...3 miles from Cee and I don't want it to end.

The long descent to Cee.

It wasn't as steep as I expected it to be, though I did use both of my hiking poles to assist with my footing and balance on the final few miles.

Do you see what I see?  "Cee!"

We'll be down in Cee within an hour from here.

Our final approach to Cee.

We walked into Cee, very tired and hungry.  Lucky for us, we soon located an outdoor cafe.  We sat down, took off our hiking shoes, and ordered cervezas.  And then we chowed down on grilled squid, Padron peppers and a basket of bread.

Oh, yeah!

We checked into the Insua Hotel, located in the center of town.  It was a very nice, (though corporate) hotel.  The rooms were spacious, and our dinner in the restaurant was very good.  Gerry and I ordered fresh clams as an appetizer, for a change.  And then our usual Hake fish for the entree, Santiago cake for dessert.

Day Sixteen (our final day) on the Camino came all too soon. I loved walking the Camino and felt like I could continue on and on.  Our last day was a 13.7 mile hike from Cee to the town of Finisterre and then onto the lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula.

We started our walk at 8:30 am, and said goodbye to Cee.  We passed through a few small villages in the morning and admired the architecture and tiles on some of the houses.

The last shot of Cee

A final church (at the top of a hill of course.)

The countdown is on!

One final granary.

Colorful houses line this street.

This blue house is especially impressive.

Beautiful tiles!

 We left the "urban" area and walked several miles on a trail high above. We enjoyed views of the peninsula and could see the sprawling town of Finisterre and even the lighthouse at the tip of the peninsula out in the distance.  We took our time and savored our moments on the Camino today.

Finisterre is in our sight.

We're getting closer.

The sandy beach below looks inviting.

The final 3 miles into town were flat, and along a stone pathway.  We stopped at a grocery store when we got into Finisterre for a large chocolate bar and a loaf of bread - the nourishment for our final five-plus mile hike to the lighthouse and back.

About two miles to go.

We walk along a rugged cliff to the end of the world.

Here I am with a few steps to go.

Marker 0.00!

Gerry at the end of the world.

The famous lighthouse. 

 It was crowded near the lighthouse. It is a popular place for tourists.  There were much more people here that arrived by the tour bus, instead of on foot.  It was quite windy, but we stayed for thirty minutes or so to celebrate.  We found a quiet spot away from the crowds and I sat on the rocks to meditate.

We then returned to Finisterre on a trail that took us up above the lighthouse and through the woods for one final time.

We look back at the lighthouse and the end of the world.

Isolated beach on our way back to Finisterre

One of these buildings is our hotel.

We checked into our hotel, the lovely 16-room Hotel Rustico Spa Finisterrae, and to our delight we learned it was only a ten minute blackberry-bush-lined walk back to the isolated beach.    Late afternoon we visit this splendid beach.

Gerry dips his feet into the freezing Atlantic Ocean.

I dry off and relax.

We did have a few sandpipers which kept us company, but other than that, we had the place to ourselves.

One final photo before we pack it up and leave.

 And so our journey came to an end.  The four day walk from Santiago to Finisterred came to 66 miles.

We covered 252 miles on our Portuguese Way Camino over 16 days.  I learned to appreciate the surprises, the joy, the beauty and the people along the way.  It was a wonderful experience for which I am grateful.