Onward to the "Ends of the Earth"

On Monday, the day after I arrived in Santiago, I went with a couple of friends, Dave from San Diego and Danny from Manchester, England, to visit a seaside community called Finisterre, which is about ninety kilometers from Santiago.  Many pilgrims choose to travel to Finisterre, some hike, and some - like me - take the bus!  For hundreds of years, people believed that Finisterre was the westernmost point of the Iberian Peninsula.  The name of Cape Finisterre, in fact, derives from the Latin, finis terrae, meaning "end of the earth".

It is tradition for pilgrims to travel to Finisterre, throw their walking sticks into the Atlantic Ocean and then burn their clothes to rid themselves of lice, bed bugs, or other such unwelcome creatures. We tried to burn some of Danny´s socks, but the wind was too strong and the flame from the cigarette lighter was too weak. So, on this particular day, our efforts to follow tradition were blocked.

Our joy at seeing the turbulent waters crashing against the rocks below and the majestic landforms above, however, was not blocked.  This site has a mystical feel about it, and I can only hope that the millions of pilgrims who have come here over the last thousand years and who have beseeched the Lord´s blessing and guidance contributes to this experience.  I would like to have stayed at this site for several hours, to sit and ponder and pray, but our return to Santiago beckoned, as well as the bus that was waiting to take us back!

After I returned to my room (in a former stone monastery near the Cathedral) in the evening, I was reading Isaiah 62, starting at verse 11.  While this text was originally intended for the people of Israel, I discovered it rather unexpectedly last night, and the subsequent verses seemed to speak directly to me.  Some of these verses exclaim,

     The Lord has made proclamation to the ends of the earth..."Say to Daughter Zion, ´See your Savior
     comes...you will be called Sought After, the City No Longer Deserted.´"

This is all part of God´s encouragement that He has bestowed upon me in the last few days, things that are not meant for a public blog, but which I attribute to the prayers that many of you have offered on my behalf during this pilgrimage.  I am grateful to you.  I pray also that my rejoicing extends to you and onward to the ends of the earth, whatever that truly means.

Finisterre

The stones placed on the cross are a symbol of people laying their burdens down

The horizon from the "end of the earth"

Dave and Danny with me

Site where clothes are burned

The lighthouse on the point in Finisterra

The coastline along the bay in Finisterra

The last way marker, which says, "0.0 K.M." (0.00 kilometers)!  (Note, the scallop shell is the symbol for the Camino. It has its origins in the myths and traditions about St. James-who in the Spanish is called "Santiago".)