The End of the World

During my last day in Galicia, my new friend Richi and I went around the coast and looked at cool stuff near the ocean. I'd be lying if I said that it wasn't the best day I've had in a long time; seeing the Atlantic was the perfect end to my Camino and to my week of adventure. I was delighted to be able to explore such a beautiful place with a local; Richi had immense pride in being able to share his native Galicia with me. (If you're reading this, Richi, thank you for being such a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide!)

We went to Castro de Baroña, which is this incredible two-thousand year-old fortress originally built by the Celts. It's fairly well-preserved, but there are no restrictions on walking through it, so we could just sit and eat empanadas on these ancient old houses. Afterward, we went to Ézaro and saw the cascades where the River Xallas (pronounced like "shy-us") empties into the sea. Apparently it's the only river in Europe to empty into the ocean in a waterfall, but now there's a hydroelectric power plant right next to it, so it's probably way less picturesque now than it was before. Also, Wikipedia says that there are other waterfalls that empty into oceans in Europe, so maybe that thing I said before about it being the only one isn't actually true.

Finally, we bummed around la Costa da Morte ("the coast of death"), so named because of the numerous shipwrecks and barnacle-fishing-related deaths that have occurred there. In what was perhaps one of the most memorable points of the trip, we ended up at Finisterre (or Fisterra in Galego). Finisterre was so named because it is one of the westernmost points in continental Europe, and so for centuries it was the end of known land. Many people considered to be the end of the world, hence the name: Finis terrae.

Sitting on the promontory and watching the sun go down over the ocean was unbelievable. It was the most open view I think I've ever seen, and I couldn't help but look out to the southwest and think of everyone I've known in the U.S., and how far away all of it was and how big the world is. I'll wrap this up before I get too faux-philosophical, but if there's one part of Spain I can recommend to you, it's Finisterre.

Castro de Baroña

The view from above the Ézaro Waterfall

And the Ézaro Waterfall itself

Cape Finisterre