My Journey to Santiago de Compostela Part XXXV
I am excited today because I am going to reach the Atlantic Ocean, not only for the first time since we started our journey on the Camino, but also for the first time since I live in Spain. My home is in Malaga and for the past eighteen years of coming to Spain for holidays, I have always visited the east coast of Spain never the north or west, although I got a glimpse of the Atlantic when I was in Cadiz in 2007.
So here we go! We left Lago around 8:30 am, so no more starting to walk in darkness… but we are enjoying the sunrise because days are getting shorter now that autumn is moving in. We climbed for the last time from Olvieroa to Hospital then down to Capilla de San Pedro Martir before our final descent to the town of Cee and the Atlantic coast.
At km 30, we entered Vakner Territory and I had no idea what it meant. There was a photo op and I had Nadine take my picture. Then we met this group of three Portuguese men at a cafeteria in Hospital, right before the intersection between Muxia and Fisterra. That cafeteria happens to be the last place where anyone can buy food and water for another 16 kilometers. (see the sign they have posted at the store). So we bought sandwiches and water to have lunch somewhere in between.
As we left, the three Portuguese guys were walking in front of us. At the intersection between Muxia and Fisterra, they asked me if I would take their picture and after I did, they took ours. Later, we found a rest area to have lunch. But Nadine preferred to go on. So I sat and ate my sandwich and then kept on going alone. Further down, I saw what Vakner meant. It happened to be a monster that haunted the area in the Middle Ages and terrorized Pilgrims. The Portuguese again assisted in taking my picture in front of the gigantic statue and I took theirs.
As I kept walking I lost sight of the three men. Later, I saw a sign for Saint Martin Well and I saw an entrance to a small church. As I went in, behind the church were five men sitting at a table and eating. They waved at me to join them. The three Portuguese men were having lunch and they invited me to share their barbecued meat, cheese and homemade wine, that the father of one of the three men had brought in their van. The “old man” happened to drive the van along the Camino Portugues meeting the three guys on agreed upon spots along the way and feeding them!!! I spent a fabulous time with them just talking and drinking before hitting the road once again.
Before climbing down the hill, right after the Capilla de San Pedro Martir, I saw the ocean. It was magical! I cannot explain the feeling but I guess it was a sense of achievement after crossing Spain entirely from East to West, going through so much history, from the Celts to the Romans to the Visigoths to the Moors, Jews, Catholics to today’s inhabitants of Spain.
I met Nadine, Antje and Bernhard at the hotel in Cee and after the usual shower, we decided to take a cab to Fisterra to meet with Cynthia and her husband and have dinner at the Lighthouse. It was like a rehearsal for tomorrow’s official arrival by foot in Fisterra but that night was cloudy and there was “no sunset”. As we learned by checking the weather, we would be blessed the next day with a clear sky and a beautiful sunset.
