Somewhere Beyond The Sea

CAMINO FRANCÉS – Day 32+1: Sunday 11 May 2025 – REST DAY in SANTIAGO de COMPOSTELA (Finisterre Tour)

Finisterre: where Europe meets the Atlantic

Well in many ways, today turned out to be not so much of a Rest Day after all – and I was away from Santiago for the most part of it. They say that a change is as good as a rest and I can concur, having signed up for a ten-hour guided bus tour in order to continue my westward journey all the way to the extremity of Iberia, the point of rock that they call Finisterre. In actual fact we visited seven locations on our whistle-stop tour of north-western Galicia, an intensive trip that gave me just a flavour of the coast. So herewith some of the highlights of my day out as a tourist.

This map of north-western Spain may assist in locating our travels today

It was quite a strange feeling ‘letting the bus take the fuss’ after a month completely away from mechanised transport. I made a few more friends today, from Taiwan, Australia, the US, Italy and France; we had a super day, a great lunch, and above all the opportunity to see the rugged coast where the Continent meets the Ocean. Here are just a few of my pictures.

First stop, Ponte Maceira (near Negreira) on the Rio Tambre . . .

. . . where the river has been bridged since Roman times

Next up, the marina at the fishing village of Muros . . .

. . . where the town’s church has a 35-metre long *horreo*, or granary (a sign of great wealth and power) . . .

. . . and the most impressive of cemeteries to match

According to our guide, Davide, the waterfall at Ezaro is the largest in continental Europe to discharge directly into the sea . . .

. . . and I was almost equally captivated by some of the mature plane trees in the car park

Then to the fishing village of Finisterre . . .

. . . for a fine seafood lunch, with Hanna and Ann (where a plate of fresh calamari and a glass of the local Albariño wine went down particularly well)

Then on to Finisterre itself – the lighthouse . . .

. . . and the headland on the western tip of the peninsula . . .

. . . where I ventured down as close as I dared to the Atlantic

. . . next to the most westerly of churches . . .

. . . and the eleven metre high granite memorial to the MV Prestige, an oil tanker that split in two and went down, just off this part of the Galician coast in 2002

Then it was back to Santiago, to which all roads lead: a thank you to our guide Davide, and his company Galicia Travels, for the comprehensive tour of this stunning part of the province

Not wishing to miss out on an evening of celebration, after a quick turnaround at my hotel I joined Rod, my Camino friend of almost a week now, and two others who had completed their Caminos today, Werner and Michael from Munich. Many thanks to Rod for sourcing the most exclusive seafood restaurant in Santiago (linen napkins!), for what turned out to be a most entertaining evening, and a fitting celebration of our Camino pilgrimages.

The last supper: with Werner, Michael and Rod

‘Beyond The Sea’, the song title that I have adopted as today’s Blog heading, is the English language version of Charles Trenet’s French ode to the sea, ‘La Mer’, that was ascribed English lyrics and transformed into a love song by Jack Lawrence. The piece was brought to mainstream popularity via Bobby Darin’s 1959 rendition, hitting the Top 10 on the US Billboard in late 1959, and the UK charts in early 1960.

Somewhere Beyond The Sea

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