• For 2024 Pilgrims: €50,- donation = 1 year with no ads on the forum + 90% off any 2024 Guide. More here.
    (Discount code sent to you by Private Message after your donation)
  • ⚠️ Emergency contact in Spain - Dial 112 and AlertCops app. More on this here.
  • Get your Camino Frances Guidebook here.

Search 69,459 Camino Questions

LIVE from the Camino Live from Fisterra - My first Camino is now officially over!

isabelle304

Active Member
Time of past OR future Camino
Camino Frances (SJPP-Santiago) (Oct-Nov 08)
Santiago to Finisterre (Nov 08)
Via de la Plata/Camino Sanabres (Sevilla-Santiago via Ourense) (Oct-Nov 09)
Camino Primitivo (Oviedo-Santiago) (Sep-Oct 14)
After setting off from St Jean de Pied de Port on 3rd October (seems like a lifetime ago!), with the intention of being back home in England by 1 November (ha ha!!), here I sit in the Mariquito (Cafeteria! Pub! Habitaciones!) in Fisterra nearly 7 weeks later, feeling extremely satistied, if a little sad, that the adventure is over.

It took me 41 days (one day short of 6 weeks!) to walk St Jean Pied de Port to Santiago (including 1.5 days' rest in Burgos, 0.5 day in Sahagun and 0.5 day in Léon). I then rested in Santiago for 1 day, before setting off again for Fisterra, which I opted to do in 4 days instead of the usual 3 (my way: day 1 - Santiago to Negreira; day 2 - Negreira to Maroñas; day 3 - Maroñas to Cee; and a leisurely last day 4 for the final 16km Cee to Fisterra).

Although going on to Fisterra was only an afterthought, and not something I had planned to do before setting off, it is quite ironic that these last 4 days were probably 4 of the best on my Camino. We´ve just had unbelievably good weather for this time of year - incredible blue skies and magnificient sunshine, and fairly high temperatures - and for the first time since leaving Burgos I have been able to walk wearing a tee-shirt and sunglasses rather than my micro-fleece and my woolly hat! The scenery on this stretch of the Camino is to me very appealing as I grew up by the seaside (south of France) and seeing the beautiful beach here reminded me much of home.

When I first arrived in Santiago last week, I felt a bit underwhelmed. The journey felt unfinished - something was missing, I could not rest. However last night, watching the sun set over the sea here in Fisterra, I felt my journey was over and I could finally return home.

So I return home on Friday. Once there, I will spend much time updating my blog (something I have not felt inclined to do since Azofra!) and hopefully it might be of interest to future autumn pilgrims.

Once again, thanks again for all the advice here. Reading this forum thoroughly before I set off helped me a great deal, especially as my decision to come was fairly sudden and I only had 2 weeks to prepare for the trip.

To end this long post, I thought I´d attach 3 photographs as a taster (there will be more on my blog) - one taken on 1 November as I was walking from Rabanal del Camino to Cruz de Ferro - it snowed for 2 hours that day - and two taken yesterday: my first sight of the beach as I walked from Cee to Fisterra, and one of the sea as the sun set last night around 6pm - a fitting end to this trip.

Isabelle
 

Attachments

  • Isabelle between Rabanal and Cruz de Ferro.jpg
    Isabelle between Rabanal and Cruz de Ferro.jpg
    60.4 KB · Views: 1,207
  • Walking towards Fisterra.jpg
    Walking towards Fisterra.jpg
    59.4 KB · Views: 1,207
  • Sunset over Fisterra.jpg
    Sunset over Fisterra.jpg
    20.8 KB · Views: 1,208
3rd Edition. More content, training & pack guides avoid common mistakes, bed bugs etc
Transport luggage-passengers.
From airports to SJPP
Luggage from SJPP to Roncevalles
New Original Camino Gear Designed Especially with The Modern Peregrino In Mind!
Isabelle,
Looking forward to reading your story. Kudos to you for walking in that cold, something this FLorida girl has a hard time with.
I too, and many others will tell you that arriving in Santiago was more a feeling of a stopover, albeit a very important one, and that moving forward 3 or 4 more days to Fisterra made it feel more complete. True for me. I shed tears in front of that cathedral (actually as I was coming 'round the corner) and it felt glorious, but that sunset at Fisterra gave me a feeling of completion I had not felt before. I was happy to have gone there.
Onward,
Lillian
 
Congratulations Isabelle!
Your photos are lovely. Sometimes the "spur of the moment' decisions are the best ones! Looking forward to hearing about your "autumn walk".
Ultreia,
 
Congratulations Isabelle! It sounds like you had a wonderful walk, and I too look forward to reading your blog. I love the photo at Rabanal with the snow! (I just got fog up by Cruz de Ferro in June.)
Enjoy your well-earned rest!
Margaret
 
A guide to speaking Spanish on the Camino - enrich your pilgrim experience.
Congratulations and well done Isabelle.

I was getting a bit concerned about you as we did not hear from you for a few weeks. I am really looking forward to reading your blog and seeing some more of your photos. You must have had some really interesting experiences along the way since we parted company in Uterga all those weeks ago.

I am planning to return to the Camino in April 2009 and again in October of next year when I plan to reach Santiago. Maybe we will meet again if you ever decide to do your second Camino.

Again, well done Isabelle, you are an inspiration to us all.

Paul
 
Wow! 2 weeks to prep! and your photos are amazing...The first one nearly made me tear up! and then your smiling face...surrounded by SNOW!! Really looking forward to reading your blog. Amazing job.

Karin :D
 
€2,-/day will present your project to thousands of visitors each day. All interested in the Camino de Santiago.
Isabelle,

Congratulations! I can't wait to read your story!

I'm planning for my first Camino this year...You had 2 weeks to prepare, how awesome!

Buen Camino,
Silvi
 

Most read last week in this forum

Hi Forum! Just to reassure those starting now and the next week, but I was in Roncesvalles last night and, though full and busy, I talked to the hospitalero who told me, there were still 27 empty...
Walking the Camino Frances, since the 16th there has been a lot of mud on the trail but doable until today on the way to Pamplona! It got very difficult with the mud on the pass high up beside...
I started out from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port on 1 May. It turned out to be an unforgetable day. Above 1,000 m or so it snowed, catching many people unprepared. Later that day "many" walkers were...
I'm flying from the USA to start my Camino this week. I will check my backpack, and to protect it, I will ship it in a plastic storage bin like this one: Rather than shipping the storage bin to...
Hi everyone -- After walking the Frances from SJpdP last October, I'm planning to revisit the bit between Logrono and Burgos this July, following different stages. It's the section where I had...
Just after 9am this morning I turned the last corner of the Camino Frances and stood in front of the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela!! It's been 33 days since I left Saint Jean Pied de Port...

❓How to ask a question

How to post a new question on the Camino Forum.

Forum Rules

Forum Rules

Camino Updates on YouTube

Camino Conversations

Most downloaded Resources

This site is run by Ivar at

in Santiago de Compostela.
This site participates in the Amazon Affiliate program, designed to provide a means for Ivar to earn fees by linking to Amazon
Official Camino Passport (Credential) | 2024 Camino Guides
Back
Top