Day 28 – Santiago de Compostela to Negreira – 15.3mi/24.6km
Like the epilogue to a book, there is a post-Camino Camino – the 3- or 4-day trek to Finisterre and/or Muxía. David and I have done the epilogue twice, and this will be our third.
There’s something special about both destinations. Finisterre, which the Romans thought was the westernmost point on earth and the “end of the world,” has a festive but relaxing beach atmosphere. Muxía feels like a quieter, more contemplative place. Both places have stunning sunsets that you can sit and watch in truly special settings. Doing so gives your journey a sense of closure that I never have found amid the the throngs of peregrinos and tourists in Santiago.
Today, that hustle and bustle melted away as quickly as we walked east out of Praza Obradoiro and out of the city. We’ve only got 3 days so we will choose either Finisterre or Muxía on Day 3 when the trail splits at what the guidebooks call “the great divide.” For now, we just walk on. We also walk alone, as we left all our familiar faces behind, and are craving quiet.
Apart from one grueling climb of nearly 1000 feet and a final mile that seemed never-ending, it was a relatively pleasant walk to Negreira. We’re both tired and hurting, but have only 2 more days to push onward.
David’s Observations
It definitely felt different not having the complete Camino family with us today. When you’re there same people for so long, you miss them. There were lots of new faces today as they filtered out of Santiago but no one was too social and that’s alright.
We stayed out pretty late last night so me and Nilanj decided to sleep in. Being that this is the third time we will have some this walk to the coast, we know it well and it doesn’t take more than 5 hours the first day.
I was reminded early on why I enjoy the extra days after the main journey is complete. It’s more peaceful with less people and there is less urgency in each day. It’s a good way to just unwind after a long trip, even if it means walking more!
There is one big climb on this day that we knew was waiting for us and it lived up to the memory of it. Plenty of sweat was lost in making it up and over it. After that though it’s mostly downhill and not very long left to complete they day.
We had a surprisingly good meal at the restaurant associated with our hostel which was much needed. We then explored Negreira a bit since we’ve never actually done it in the past. After a quick grocery store stop it was time for rest.
The next two days are relatively long and difficult and will require plenty of rest!
