Finisterre to the lighthouse

One of the saddest sights I experienced on Camino, was seeing Tano sitting patiently with his hand-carved walking sticks in hand, waiting to say goodbye to us.

This man had been a pillar for us all, the 'tap, tap, tap' of his sticks became the rhythm of my Camino existence, and now he was going home, back to his farm near Santander.

I'd never seen him walk alone before, so he struck a lonely figure as we waved him off from the hostel.

I had a little cry as Davide and I washed up our breakfast plates and then it was time to say goodbye to Rasmus, our Viking, as well. Too much for one morning.

Our plan for the day was to walk the final three kilometres of the Camino to the clifftop in Finisterre, the official end point.

It was Palm Sunday and we inadvertently timed our walk to coincide with the public parade to the church. It was slow going following the crowds through the town and the walk offered plenty of time for reflection.

I had begun my Camino on the 1st March - Ash Wednesday. I'd travelled for forty days and forty nights, I'd found new life in the ocean, and now here I was in the middle of things on Palm Sunday.

Sometimes God lays it on a bit thick.

Whatever your beliefs, I don't think anyone can deny the power of undertaking a difficult journey and reaching its conclusion.

Finally at the cliff top, my friends and I had time to ponder what the journey had meant to us.

Susanna took the opportunity to give me a piece of pottery she'd picked up from the ground the day before when I'd fallen, 'something beautiful had been broken,' she said. I can't articulate here how that made me feel.

We all made our way towards the cliff edge, climbed down onto the rocks, each of us finding our own spot to spend some time with the ocean and with our thoughts.

I'll always remember watching Manon standing on a rock looking out to the horizon - so young, yet so strong, meeting the vastness of the ocean with a power all her own.

Later that day, we came back to the cliff, armed with beers and music, to watch the sunset. Together Davide, Susanna, Martine, Sueon, Manon, Ines and I celebrated reaching the end of the earth in the best way possible - with friends.