This weekend our travels took us to Fisterra, on the Costa da Morte. Fisterra is named such because the Romans thought it was the end of the earth. Finis terrae. Obviously that is not the case, as we know there is a whole other set of continents in the distance, not to mention it's not even the westernest part of the continent. Nowadays Fisterra is the optional ending point for the Camiño de Santiago, the walk which officially ends in Santiago de Compostela to see the remains of the apostle St. James in the 800-year-old Cathedral. Some pilgrims choose to continue to Fisterra, and maybe burn their boots while they're at it. By the way, today is a holiday throughout Galicia: the feast day of St. James.
You can't get to the ends of the Earth without stopping first in Corcubión. A small, historic town on the coast, I didn't expect much of it, since it's not usually mentioned when discussing cute little fishing villages in Galicia. So I was pleasantly surprised when we stopped there to get some fresh seafood. It just so happens that they were hosting the Medieval Market of the Costa da Morte. Serendipity! We had time to kill before getting to Fisterra so we walked around. Although I didn't buy anything, I was giddy about the variety of stands set up. Usually at fairs it's all the same. Several stalls of leather (belts, wallets, etc); a handful dedicated to cheap jewelry; maybe one of wooden toys, but the same style at every single fair. But this was different. There was a guy carving wood into decorative pieces. There was more than one stand with all sorts of Lego characters. Another with some handmade soaps. One full of spices/medicinal herbs for all sorts of ailments. An Arabic-themed tea stall with sitting area. A pig roast! There were actors roaming around in Medieval garb, including two dressed as ¨street sweepers¨ with big baskets to collect rubbish, and who also did balancing acts. If we ever go back, we'll have to bring our Medieval dress to fit in with the corcubioneses.
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| Medieval entertainment in Corcubión |
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| Festive in Fisterra? |
Once at our final destination of Fisterra, I was charmed by the amount of small alleys above the port area. I had been before my first year in Galicia, but we had only really gone to the lighthouse and cape.
Last time, I don't think we even visited the village. Our loss! It was nice to wander around the alleys which sometimes were dead ends. And although the town is a popular destination among foreigners and pilgrims, it wasn't packed either. Especially considering the date. Guess everyone was in Santiago de Compostela celebrating.
As far as beaches go, on this occasion we visited two. The first was smaller and I enjoyed it because it had plenty of ever-increasing shade thanks to an adjacent pine forest. I didn't like the other one as much because there was absolutely no shade. The view might have been ¨better¨ though, as it was open to the sea, with nothing in front. On both occasions the water was frigid! Clearly I'm spoiled by warmer Galician and Mediterranean beaches! At the open-sea beach, swimming was prohibited due to undercurrents.
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| Mediterranean vibes, Galicia |
