The End of the Earth

Yesterday my walk across Spain came to a most definitive end when I hit the Atlantic Ocean. Few times in my life have I experienced such an exulting and yet humbling feeling as I did arriving at the shore of Finisterre, planting my staff in the white sand, dropping my pack, and diving into the ocean. For a time after I emerged from the water I simply lied there on the beach letting the moment wash over me. As I write this, I realize how out of place an expression of time is in describing the experience. There is something about the sea that for me dwarfs all else, even seems to blot out memory. At the first glimpse of the ocean, I felt a world apart from that which I had experienced for the past month. This was something entirely different from the albuergues, blisters, and coffee breaks of the camino. The experience of standing there at the edge of the world with the vast waters stretching interminably before me defied any comparison and dwarfed any thoughts that may have been running through my mind. It was worth the walk.
Eventually I did make the connection back to the camino life. I soon after checked into my albuergue for the night and met up with friends, including some old ones I had not seen for weeks. (You´ll recall Mark from the ¨Fountain of Youth¨.) That evening we prepared sandwiches in the kitchen and then, packing them away with a few bottles of wine and some dessert, climbed to the lighthouse that keeps watch at the outermost point of Finisterre. There we watched a spectacular sunset, singing songs, and continuing the pilgrim tradition of burning a few items of clothing that had accompanied us on the voyage. As we raced back down the hill with the midnight hour approaching, the last shades of blue still persisted in the sky. This would be Barbie´s and my last night with the friends who have walked at our side, some for a few days, others from the very beginning.
I can´t begin to wrap this all up at the moment. I think for now I´ll leave you all with this final image and wait until I´m back home (without time limits on my internet usage) to make my final reflections and perhaps put up a few pictures. In the meantime, keep us in your prayers as we fly home, and I´ll see some of you very soon.