Lighthouse, Fisterra, Playa Langosteria

Rounding the last corner the harbour and town of Finisterre and Playa Langosteira came into view. There was a moment of unreality, recognition and it almost felt like a dream. Then my eye began to notice the changes. Im all for change and certainly not a fan of stupor and stagnation, but the developers had been. I suppose it was unrealistic of me to expect this quiet corner of Galicia to go unnoticed by the greedy developer types.

When I was last here in 2002 I rented a house directly on the beach and had the intention of doing so again, but the building has gone. There are a number of new developments, awful touristy, soulless places devoid of life, sanitation, people and style. You can see the architect was shown images of beautiful unique villas and then told to design these but in blocks, equal amounts architecture, lithium and Prozac. I was not surprised to learn they had been illegally built.

Swallowing my shock at this, I followed the stone path that runs behind the sand dunes of Playa Langosteria to town. After some discussion I eventually decided to stay at the Refugio as it seemed calm enough, however this was to prove a questionable decision.

There was a bloke from Munich there, Boris. Im not certain but I think his parents were from Slovenia. A sensitive big lad, looked like the main character in District 9. We chatted for some time as I was busy washing my clothes which was more time consuming as I liked as the dryer kept blowing the a fuse, probably a physical manifestation of my Climate Conscious, anyway, he and I eventually went for something to eat.

He had been finding eating in Spain difficult as he is a vegetarian and prefers Bio/ Ecologically sound food. As he had found a place that suited him earlier I agreed to go there, but it was awful. A noisy bar with cramped tables serving burgers, grease and nicotine in equal measure. After a while I suggested we go somewhere else and I promised him it would not cost more than 10e. He had not discovered the Menu option in Spain, which usually give you a selection of 2/3 starters, 2/3 main courses, dessert, water /wine / coffee for 10-14e.

Merluza Galego, Steamed hake and potatoes

It was the first proper meal he had had the whole time he was in Spain and he began to relax. I had the excellent chipirones and Galician hake. He was overwhelmed by his steamed cod & boiled potatoes which is quite understandable considering some of the shit he had been eating and we sat there discussing his woes. A sad collection of stories of a sensitive man who is just slightly out of phase with where he needs to be. It seemed everything back in Munich wasn’t well and the Camino had just been hard work. Yet, he was desperate to get back to Bio shop and garden.

We talked for hours and eventually headed back to the Refugio around 1am. Sadly we were the first to return and people began to return from 2am on. Hushed conversations, tripping over bags, phones beeping as alarms are set, SMSs received etc etc. The typical Spanish Pilgrim effect, one guy was leaving for the early bus and he had only been in bed an hour before his alarm went off the first time. The third time it went off, I took his phone, he understood from my gesticulations where the phone was heading and he left the room. This experience is indicative of the Refugios, cheap places to stay, but its typically the Spanish who spoil it for everyone else. If you stay in one that has but one dormitory, expect to get little sleep, even if the lights out time is strictly controlled.

The next morning, Boris and I went for brunch while he waited on his bus and as I left to organise accommodation for the night, he very surprisingly gave me a hug. I wasn’t expecting it, especially not from someone who had grown up in Germany, I hope he gets himself back on track.

Lighthouse, no really its there with strong white beams of light

For my second night I moved to a house, it was at 15e a little expensive but very quiet. The availability of cheaper accommodation was a good deterrent and meant I spent most of my nights there alone. There was a German who appeared and we had breakfast together, he was a Judge I forget from where and we had an interesting discussion for a few hours that morning. However I returned that evening to discover he had drunk half a bottle of my wine, which didnt go down well with me.

Artefact from bronze age pilgrim

You can imagine the conversation, Did you like the wine, “yes”. I don’t remember offering you any, “Oh I didn’t realise it was yours!”, What despite you asking if any of the food was communal this morning? “Oh Ill give you the money” – I dont want your money, I expected your respect you prick.

He stayed a few nights more but I didnt see him and he didnt replace the wine. What else would you expect from a Judge other than the prerequisites of fraud and sexual deviancy?

On my third night I headed to the light house and burnt my notebooks and other suff. As this isnt the end of my journey I wasnt going to burn any of my clothing, though there are two t-shirts that are getting old.

The final Camino marker, The distance reads 0km

I was disappointed with my fire at the lighthouse, so a couple of nights later headed to Mar de Fora, a wild rarley visited beach. Ive been known to swim in some heavy surf, but I wouldnt venture out here, it really is wild, the waves are very powerull, its often very windy and much of the beach is quicksand. Once pace forward and your leg disappears to the knee, one pace back your on firm sand.

Mar de Fora on a calm day

Anyway, I build this fire/ warning beacon but no drug smugglers appeared, it seems they use Playa Langosteria..

Carbon Neutral Camino

It was a warm blustery night and I was certain the weather would soon change, so I spent the evening with a bottle of wine and a cigar. It was 2am when I eventually got back, despite having thought of spending the night on the beach my weather nose had said it would rain and man it did.

If only Id brought some potatoes

After a week or so I moved to the flat owned by the people at the iNet cafe, its only 10e a night per room and a little out of town, has a view of my much loved Playa Langosteira and have been here since. I shared for a while with a fine young lad form Brazil, he was here selling tourist tat, beads, bracelets and the like, despite a common language we got on well.