Northward!

A one hour flight north and we are now in Galicia, a region known for sandy beaches, spectacular seafood, and an eclectic and varied history. Over 2000 years ago, this area was inhabited by the Celts which is reflected in the presence of old circular stone structures called castros and bagpipes (!) in Spain! We started our visit in Santiago de Compostela, the main end point of the famous 800km Camino de Santiago, a pilgrimage trail traveled by 150,000 or so people every year. The endpoint is the cathedral where Santiago is supposed to be interred. The cobblestone streets lead through small alleyways and there are ancient plazas and churches around every corner.

Today we found a quiet little beach that does not seem to have many foreign tourists. The beach is littered with beautiful seashells and there’s a small restaurant nearby. Perfect! The place where we are staying as a little terrier that lives next door and the kids have semi-adopted it. We got to take it on a walk to the beach.

And now we ventured to the end of the known world from Roman times, Fisterra, literally ‘Earth’s End.’ This little finger of a peninsula was where people used to think the world ended. Just imagine, they thought that if you sailed out into the sea from here, you would fall off the Earth into who-knows-what. There’s a lighthouse at the point that some hikers use as their pilgrimage endpoint. This small fishing town is really charming with small alleyways and stone buildings. This morning I took a peaceful solo run out to the lighthouse. It was so foggy and misty, it reminded me of San Francisco. In a bit we will all walk out to the lighthouse and behold the great beyond that is the Atlantic Ocean!