Editorial photo #3300532 Religion and Belief
From Santiago to Muxia and Finisterre
May-June 2018, Spain. The Camino de Santiago (the Way of St. James) is a large network of ancient pilgrim routes stretching across Europe and coming together at the tomb of St. James (Santiago in Spanish) in Santiago de Compostela in north-west Spain. Finisterre (Fisterra in Galician) was both the end of the known world until Columbus altered things and the final destination of many of the pilgrims who made the journey to Santiago in past centuries. Pilgrims in past centuries also continued northwards up the coast to the Santuario de Nuestra Señora de la Barca in Muxía, 29km north of the “end of the world” itself. Very peaceful route and very different from the crowded route prior to Santiago. Only a very small proportion of all those who make the journey to the “City of the Apostle” continue on to the “end of the world” but with improvements in the waymarking and the availability of pilgrim accommodation the numbers are increasing each year. (Photo by Romy Arroyo Fernandez/NurPhoto)
