As I left the hostel in the dark this morning to complete the final stage to Finisterre (also referred to by the locals as “Fisterra”), I’ll admit that my thoughts were all across the board.
I started out by thinking about the Apostle James and the feeling of apprehension that he had to have before he went to Spain, 2000 years ago. I can’t even imagine what was going through his mind! He was going to a place that was considered the end of the earth. Communication back home would have taken weeks, if not months.
But then my mind left the Apostle James, and started thinking about Joe. I also remembered my apprehension before the trip. Obviously, my apprehension was on a much more immature level, but nevertheless, there was still apprehension. Part of it came from not knowing how I would do staying with 1 to 3 dozen roommates every night, sharing 2-3 bathrooms (many times shared by both men and women).
Then there was a pretty high level of apprehension regarding booking my lodging. I can’t believe I booked 39 different hostels over the last 39 days! That’s not as easy as it might be in the States — very few do online reservations. Booking was mainly through WhatsApp. Not only did I have to book the rooms; they all wanted me to confirm with them the day before, which required another WhatsApp contact.
Probably the biggest apprehension I had was worrying whether or not I could actually walk 555 miles! Of course (total transparency here), I announced to my congregation and to the world what I was going to attempt. This is maybe a bit prideful, but I was thinking, “Okay, what if I get 4-5 days into this and realize I just can’t do it? It would be pretty embarrassing to go back home and say, ‘I just couldn’t do it!’”
So I’ll admit, there was a lot of apprehension within me!
But really, the thought that dominated my mind more than any other thought was just a feeling of gratitude — gratitude on so many different levels! I may talk more about this in the next day or two, but my gratefulness was that people and God allowed me to do something that many people will never ever get an opportunity to do. I do realize most of them wouldn’t want that opportunity, but this was just an incredible gift from the church, my family, and especially my Lord.
I am also filled with gratitude that God’s strength was made perfect in my weakness. Again, I will perhaps elaborate on that in the next day or two, Lord willing.
Looking back on Cee before sunrise
I was also grateful that I got in one more sunrise! I left a little bit later this morning, around 7:00 — in fact, I think it’s the latest I have left this whole trip. But I planned it so that I would get to see the sunrise before I got into Finisterre.
Trail was narrow at first
First view of Finisterre — on the left
Yet again, God’s timing is so perfect! When I came up over the last mountain and got my first glimpse of Finisterre in the distance towards the west, I happened to look back towards the east. And again, as God has done so many times during this trip, He was allowing me to see another unspeakably amazing sunrise!
As I saw Finisterre, my emotions were subdued, but, again, I was just grateful that He had given me strength to do something that was beyond me! I didn’t celebrate. I didn’t high five myself or pat myself on the back. I didn’t even give a thumbs up. I was just thankful to God for His strength and faithfulness.
Finisterre is actually about two miles from what is truly considered the end of the earth. There’s a little lighthouse called Cabo (which means the end, tip, or final part) Finisterre. As I walked into town, I found my hostel. Its name is interesting — it is Albergue Por Fin. It means “Finally” — pretty appropriate for the circumstances.
The name means, “Albergue (hostel) Finally.”
But since I saw on the door that I couldn’t check in for another 2 1/2 hours, I decided to walk the two miles one way to get to the Cabo where the kilometer marker shows zero, indicating you can’t go any farther west. I will include some pictures of this — it was well worth the two-mile walk there and two-mile walk back!
0 Km to go!
Looking west from the Ends of the Earth by the famous Bronze Boot!
So, with God’s strength, WE MADE IT! I say we, because you were all an important of this process! Without your prayers and encouragement, and especially without God’s strength, I wouldn’t be at the “End of the Earth!” So let’s all celebrate together and thank God for His faithfulness! And let’s celebrate that my shoes stayed together just long enough! They made it! But they are done!
This shoe died a hero’s death!
Now I have to get home! This is complicated as well. I have a bus ticket tomorrow back to Santiago. I have tried to book an afternoon/evening train tomorrow for Madrid, but the system is down! So I am hoping they will still have seats available when I get to the train station tomorrow. If not, we’ll see what schedule God has for me. I can’t change my plane ticket until I know when I can get to Madrid. So even though I am actually pretty chill about it, just pray that the right schedule will open up for me.
Congratulations, pilgrims — I loved walking the Camino with you!
The whole route, starting in southern France at St-Jean-Pied-de-Port, through Santiago de Compostela, to the “Ends of the Earth” — Finisterre or Fisterra (Hint: if you’re using Chrome on a computer, right-click the map and choose “Open image in new tab” to see the map larger and zoom in)
Approximate total miles: 555
Approximate miles walked today: 13
Approximate remaining miles: 0
My first sunrise over a month ago in the far eastern part of my walk
My last sunset in the farthest western part of my walk. Everything I have experienced, written, and photographed happened between these two bookends.