End of the world -Fisterra (Finisterre)
When I walked my first Camino I was fascinated by the stories I had heard about Fisterra. Having walked 800km to reach Santiago, while elated with my achievement, I felt a deep stirring within me that the journey wasn’t yet complete.
A spiritual story going back some 4,000 years!
The path to Fisterra (Finisterre), which for many is the true end of Camino de Santiago, was pulling me forward. Situated on the Atlantic Coast of Galicia, around 87km west of Santiago de Compostela. A land whose mythical allure has witnessed Pilgrims, since the time of antiquity.
A land where it is said Compostela comes from the Latin “campus stellae” meaning field of stars. Archaeological findings along Camino tell the tale of Celtic people who 1,000 years before Christ went in search of Earth’s End and the sun’s resting place—partaking in celebration and ritual ceremonies, as did other peoples before them‑pagans travelling across northern Spain in born-again rituals on a Megalithic path following the Milky Way. Therefore the origins of the Path are lost in time.
I had to experience meeting with the “End of the world”
As I walked toward El Faro (lighthouse) where the end of the Camino marker sits, my breath was taken away. The view of a wild Atlantic coastline was well worth the extra 4 days’ walk alone. As I watched the resting of the Sun a feeling of completion overwhelmed me. I pondered all that Camino de Santiago had offered me. It was only then that I knew my Camino had ended.
The following day I walked to the water’s edge and sat in a personal ritual. Soaking my feet in the sea, I felt a profound connection to the land, the sea, and the Pilgrims who, since time has forgotten, had sat in the same sea. I thanked Camino de Santiago for all that I had left behind, and all that I dreamt to walk towards during my Camino.
Buen Camino!
