Finisterre
According to legend, the peninsula that the Romans called 'Finis terrae' (and what Spaniards now call 'Finisterre' and Galicians 'Fisterra' = "end of the earth", "Land's End") was the site of a Phoenician altar to the sun, Ara Solis, destroyed by St James as part of his mission. There are certainly numerous prehistoric megaliths in the area, though curiously the most westerly point is not the headland known as Cabo Fisterra but Cabo da Nave further north.
In the Codex Calixtinus we also read that St James's followers wanted to bury his body in the city of Dugium, now called Duio (the castro is just outside Fisterra), but were not allowed to do so. Because of these associations with St James, and because the route west from Santiago to the end of the earth was an obvious continuation of the 'Milky Way', the route soon became popular with pilgrims.
Since the 14th century, the Holy Christ (Santo Christo) statue in the church of Sta Maria de las Areas (Our Lady of the Sands) on the outskirts of the village of Fisterra has also been a pilgrimage destination. The nails and hair of the statue supposedly grow just like human ones. The village is the scene of a yearly Passion-tide festival, with reenactments of Christ's Passion, particularly on Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday.
The lighthouse and coastguard station on the cape is now a hotel.
Continuing to Finisterre
The walk from Santiago to Finisterre is 97km and takes approximately four (4) days, maybe three (3). There are three (3) refugios on the way, so you've got to keep the pace up, or you'll have to sleep outside (which wouldn't be the worst thing in the world!).
The Confraternity of St. James sells a guide for the route from Santiago to Finisterre.
Pilgrims can continue north along the coast to Muxía (33km) as the waymarked path is in the form of a loop Santiago-Fisterra-Muxía-Santiago.
The pilgrim albergue is in the village, and pilgrims can obtain here a certificate of their journey to Fisterra called a fisterrana.
Bus service
Arriva buses run daily between Santiago and Finisterre. Ride times run about 2.5 hours each way, and the last bus leaves Finisterre for Santiago at 18.00 (6:00 PM) Sunday through Friday, and 15.00 (3:00 PM) on Saturdays. Seven (7) buses run Monday through Friday, and three (3) on Saturday and Sunday. Take a bus back to Compostela, and from Compostela back home!
The telephone number for Arriva Buses is 981 488 511. If you go to the tourist information desk in Santiago, you can get information on the Arriva bus station and a card with bus hours.
