Walking from Cee to Finisterre Spain
After some fantastic Spanish Camino tapas last night and a good giggle thrown in we crashed at 9pm totally wiped out from a hard days walk in the rain. Living the high life in Cee and in bed by 9.30pm….!
Table of Contents
Camino Finisterre Day 4 Overview
- Distance – 16.2 km
- From – Cee
- To – Finisterre – marker 0km
- Min/Max Elevation – 4m/129m
- Elevation gain – 445m
- Steps – 35,000
- Calories – 3,000
Cee is a pretty little town but after a few beers and doing our laundry the early night really helps. Today is the day we arrive in Finisterre, the end of the world at Cabo Fisterra and see the Atlantic Ocean. We can’t wait to get to the 0 mile marker.
After a full nights sleep we didn’t rise until 7am and a pain au chocolate was the order of the day at a local cafe washed down with a Spanish Cafe con Leche. Very nice indeed and it set us up for the day ahead.
We worked our way back to the centre of Cee and set off on the journey to Cabo Fisterra. It was a nice start to the day with no rain so we had a good chance of a photo to mark our journey before we left.
We’re at sea level so it was an easy start but after the village of Corcubion there is a hill to walk over and a great walk through forest for most of the way.
After about 2 hours we came out of the forest and all of a sudden we found a fantastic deserted beach at Playa de Estorde.
It was time to take our walking boots off and dip our toes in the sea and it felt fantastic ! what an amazing experience !
There is a fabulous cafe, Restaurante Place de Estorde, which has a lovely deck by the beach and we chilled and had another cafe con Leche before we set off with just over 7km to go.
The route then heads back in forest for quite a while and then once again we came back out and there it was. Finisterre in the distance and what a sight it was. We’d nearly made it.
As we came down the hill there was a 2 km beach with a little beach bar right at the side of the camino trail.
Well and it made sense to stop for a beer and a bit of reflection. That’s what we told ourselves anyway !
The sun came out after quite a few days of rain and it was rather nice.
It was one of those moments, like walking into Santiago de Compostela for the first time.
You don’t want to get there and just stay put and drink in the view, thinking about what you have achieved.
ps the Estrella was particularly nice 🙂
Reflection lasted 2 beers and we made ourselves get up, get our boots back on and set off for Finisterre and Cabo Fisterra.
We have some things to throw into the Atlantic Ocean at the ‘End of the World’
We headed off again on the last section of our journey and walked all the way around the bay and beach and this section is a really nice walk.
Eventually we arrived into the village of Finisterre. Once you get through the village there is actually a 3km walk out to Cabo Finisterre and the end of the word.
We wanted to celebrate whilst there so stopped and picked up some bread, ham, cheese and beer at a local supermarcado.
Finisterre is a busy little port town around a harbour full of energy. We knew we would be back in a short while to celebrate properly. adios Finisterre, see you soon……
Once through the port we walked the last few km and got to the last camino distance marker and it definitely read 0.00km. The joy in this picture is amazing and felt like another glorious achievement.
Luckily the rain had stopped today and we had some sun so we sat and chilled and had our lunch before we threw our stones in the Atlantic.
Each one has some significance to each of us and I won’t go into that here but lets say it was emotional.
Here’s the videos of each of us throwing our stones and walking sticks into the ocean at the End of the World.
Throwing our stones in the Ocean at Cabo Fisterra
Finisterre
Then walked back into Finisterre to celebrate but first had to find a place to stay as we had purposefully not booked ahead.
We found a great apartment overlooking the Praia de Ribeira beach in Finisterre and what a glorious view.
Our apartment was above one of the best bar restaurants in Finisterre and was amazing. I would recommend going and giving the Restaurante la Bayonnaise 1803 a try.
We certainly celebrated in style. Pilgrim Bob’s wife had sent him with a large cigar to celebrate, and he did ! with a stiff drink as well.
We then played cards and had a fantastic steak to celebrate along with lots to drink and started planning our next adventure in 2020……
We ended the night in a great bar and witnessed a local tradition that was amazing.
The tradition of Conxuro da Queimada
We found ourselves in a dark lively bar in the centre of Finisterre drinking beers when the strangest ceremony took place.
A druid came out (He was the bartender me thinks) and started starting mixing something in a large bowl, the Queimada, before he starting talking in a weird tongue. Being English I heard some words I thought I recognised.
Everyone in the bar went quiet and watched and listened to the bartender, sorry I mean Druid, as he started reading an ancient spell and ritual. This is the Galician tradition called the Conxuro da Queimada.
I’ve researched this and it’s a tradition that dates back to Celtic times when Paganism was widely practised in Galicia and also the final trail of the Camino de Santiago and the remains of St James.
The druid then mixes into the liquid items such as brandy, coffee, cinnamon and lots of sugar whilst incanting further details of their powers and sometimes with some humour. The Spanish people in the bar were absolutely howling.
I think the liquid is 60-70% alcohol and is burned to reduce some of this.
As all the patrons stand quietly huddled around a large bowl, the bartender-turned-druid he then burns the liquid and it has a bright blue flame. He lifts the flaming liquid out of the bowl and pours it back in. Its quite a show.
After about 20 minutes he finally shouts something out loud and the locals chant back at him as he walks around the bar to cheers.
We were then invited up to get a small cup of the liquid, which we did straight away. In for a penny in for a pound.
It was hot and sweet and believe it is supposed to bring good luck and cleanse your soul.
It was a great tradition to see and pay for, as we got a bill for the cups we drank. Well worth seeing and I hope you get to see this after walking this last stage of the Camino from Cee to Finisterre.
Camino Finisterre Completion Certificate
Once you have completed the Camino Finisterre you can obtain the official certificate of completion, which is known as the Fisterrana. This can be obtained at the local tourism office in Finisterre.
If you have walked the Camino to Muxia you can obtain the Muxiana from the municipal albergue in town for a small fee.
You will need to have all your stamps in order within your Camino passport, from Albergues, bars, cafes and churches along the routes.
When is Fiesta in Finisterre
Every Pilgrim loves a fiesta and being able to immerse yourself in local culture is fantastic. In Finisterre Holy week is the largest and busiest fiesta in.
Many thousands of tourists and local Galicians descend on the village to take part in the celebrations and processions and it gets very busy.
The Fiesta Patronales del Carmen en Fisterra. is celebrated from the 8th / 10th of September. If you are walking and your planned arrival day in Finisterre is one of these days my recommendation is to book your albergue or hotel ahead of time.
Details of other Fiestas and festivals in Finisterre can be found here.
