Our band of four – Birte, Kaitlin, Greg, and I – packed and ate breakfast quietly before starting our day of walking on the Camino for what is to be our final day walking together. There was anticipation and excitement, but also a looming sadness that it will soon end.
When we finally arrived at the lighthouse at Cape Finisterre, we four had walked all the way across Spain together in 30 days. It’s been a while since I’ve had a blister, but I managed to pick up a couple of new ones today. My feet ache, as does my heart.
At the Cape, we did the usual pilgrim things, taking photos of the zero-kilometer marker, standing in the cliff overlooking the Atlantic Ocean and snapping pictures, and wandering down the rocky trail to sit quietly and ponder life.
A few fires still smoldered where some pilgrims had burned their guidebooks and bits of clothing. In medieval times, pilgrims burned their lice-infested clothing here, donning fresh clothes for their journey home. Today, although it is illegal to start fires on the Cape, the tradition continues.
We found a bench on the slope out of the cold wind, happy that the rain had abated for a couple of hours, and popped the cork on a bottle of wine. My friends drank out of plastic cups we borrowed from our albergue, and I used my favourite hiking cup to celebrate our Camino finish as well as our newfound friendships.
At the Cape, we met a fellow pilgrim whose family had flown to Santiago to meet her at the end of her journey. They had rented a car and driven to Cape Finisterre for the day. It was a happy reunion.
After walking the three kilometers back to town, we ran into more of our pilgrim friends we had met along the Way. Everyone was all smiles and happiness.
Tomorrow, although I will continue on the Camino de Finisterre to Muxia, I will be entering a new chapter, hiking without my wonderful friends for the first time in a month. Birte will head off to Portugal to surf with a friend, and Kaitlin and Greg will head off to Seville (Greg says he needs to see a barber – haha) before exploring Porto.
