Day 30: The End | Murray Morrison

We have a confession. We told a little white lie in the last post. We told y’all we were going to take 2 days to get to Finisterre (trans. “end of the world”), but we had already booked our accommodation in Finisterre for last night. Confidence is key. The plan was to get there last night, so we would have a night to watch the sunset at the end of the world. And the Memphis Pilgrims execute their plans. So against our better judgement, we headed out yesterday morning for our 90 km half road, half mountain biking trek.

We only brought the essentials, which included the clothes we were wearing, tooth paste and toothbrushes, phone chargers, and phones. My computer did not make the cut, which is why we did not post yesterday. Alex though believed his crocs were a necessity, so he strapped them on the end of his bike. What a sight that was.

At one point during the ride, we were passed by a guy in a biking suit and biking shoes who looked like this wasn’t his first rodeo. I was out there in a Memphis Grizzlies cotton t shirt jersey, while Alex was biking in his hiking boots. We didn’t see crocs hanging off the back of the veteran’s bike either.

A major key for us in making it to Finisterre was our uphill strategy. Any uphill that exceeded about a 2% incline we walked the bikes up. Walking is something your Pilgrims have gotten very good at over the course of this last month.

We were overcome with joy when we reached our accommodation for the night around 6:30, but there was a sunset to see. So we had another pilgrims meal and walked the final 3 km to the lighthouse at the end of the world. As we watched the sun set over the Atlantic, we could see why people thought it was the end of the world. We both agreed that the sunset was well worth the bike trip. We walked back to our accommodation and had the best night’s sleep of the trip.

Today was the first day in 30 days that we didn’t have any hiking or biking planned, which has been nice. We slept in to 9:30 and had a great breakfast. We had planned on going to the beach, but the coolness and cloudiness of the day didn’t call for it, so we roamed the town for a while and then just sat for a while enjoying where we were at. Had a nice lunch and then told Finisterre goodbye, as we strode off on our bikes headed back to Santiago. Not. We instead boarded our first motorized vehicle in a month and headed to St James’ city.

We are here now. Alex and I have been separated for a grand total for 200 minutes when we felt a great deal of separation anxiety, which means we have been together for the 43,000 other minutes. We’ve had our minor irritations with each other for sure per usual when you are with a close bud for that long. It’s been an incredible adventure and definitely a memorable one, and we are an interesting mix of sad and happy that it is ending. Thanks for walking with us on our journey.

Most importantly, Buen Camino.