Stage 34: Logoso – Fisterra – Camino for Closers

Stage 34 – the day I reached the end of my world

Start: 6:15, 15 ºC, sunny

End: 15:00

Distance: 28/852.0 Km

OST: Chase the Sun, Planet Funk

What to say? If walking into Santiago de Compostela was anticlimatic, reaching Fisterra and the ocean was the complete opposite. I was really excited, the ocean was a much more exciting objective than some catedral in the middle of a tourist trap.

As mentioned, there is an optional path leading to Muxia. In fact, at this point you have to choose which direction to take. A bit like Tinder, but for pilgrims, swipe left or right, but pick one.

Some pilgrims do the full triangular circuit, I couldn’t care less about Muxia, so… on to Fisterra.

If the approach to SdC is depressing, the final stage before Fisterra only gets better, in particular in the final part where you turn the corner and see the ocean, with the long beach stretching out from your position down to a couple of blocks from the office where you’ll get your Fisterrana.

The Fisterrana here is pretty much urban, but it doesn’t matter: it’s a lovely walk, especially on a sunny morning.

So close, yet still far. At this point I had been walking for 5 hours, still could of hours to finish…

At this point, I was walking next to the beach.

I had to carefully manage the weight of my backpack for these past 5 weeks, and this is what carried me to the end of the world:

toiletries bag
small backpack for the evening, and for valuable
alcohol to hygienize random toilet seats
insect repellent
newspaper sheets to absorb water from drenched shoes
desenfectant
small bag for coins, plastic bag for other cash (alas)
passport, that’s important!
earbuds
power pack and 1m cable
EU plug with USB port
plastic cutlery
swiss knife
sacred foot relief bag with compeed, padding, patches and plasters
dry ice (in case of emergency!)
toilet paper (idem)
spare laces (idem)
secret diary (that’s how I still remember enough to write all this)
sunscreen
raw almonds
paper tissues
foot protection ointment
insect bite soothing ointment
bug repllent spray for the bed
large backpack (not pictured)
shoes (idem)
sandals (idem)
two pairs of socks (idem)
two t-shirts (idem)
one long-sleeved hiking shirt (idem)
three boxers (idem)
one pair of shorts (idem)

I think that’s it. As Olivier taught me, it’s all about the Essential. These items are all that carried me from SJPP to Fisterra. Other items were simply in excess, like my kindle, and I got rid of them way before SdC.

The emergency items were relatively unnecessary, but that’s the whole point: you don’t expect to ever use them.

After dropping my things in the hotel, it was time to finish this.

First, as short walk to get my Fisterrana certificate.

Then, a walk to Km 0, the very end of the Camino, next to the lighthouse.

The restaurant inside the lighthouse is highly recommended.

Sunset in Fisterra in June arrived arond 22:15.
It was unlike any other sunset I experienced: not because I was in a different place, but because I was in a different me.

These past 5 weeks had changed me profoundly.

How?

Of course, having a life-improving epiphany doesn’t really make you smarter: I forgot to pick up my room keys from the reception.

As I was feeling good about myself I got an alarmed call from the receptionist: I had less than 30 minutes to pick up my keys, or I they would lock me outside for the night.