Tomorrow, I begin the four-day walk to Finisterre. It is the only camino that begins, rather than ends, in Santiago de Compostela. It was considered to be the end of the known world. (Finis=end Terre=land). Also known as the Costa de Morte (Death Coast) because the sun died into the ocean (pretty sure that’s what I read).
“The Road to Fisterra and Muxía is a route that dates back to prehistoric civilizations, which continued with the Celts and was assimilated by Christianity. It is born from the tradition of walking towards the west, following the movement of the sun, to discover the limits of the known world.
The Codex Calixtinus explains how the disciples of the Apostle travelled to Dugium, the current Fisterra, looking for an authorization from the Romans to bury the Saint in Compostela. Already in the 9th century, when the remains were discovered, many pilgrims continued walking until the Costa da Morte or Death Coast.”
