Camino Portugués de Santiago de Compostela Phase 3: Santiago - Fisterra
2 - 5 October 2026
Before Columbus found his way to the New World, Fisterra was considered to be the «end of the earth». Here, pilgrims burned their shoes and clothing worn during the Camino. This marked the end of their physical journey to give way to a deeper meaning in their lives. They would have seen the vastness of the endless ocean touching the horizon; Earth meeting Heaven, reminding them of their final destination.
The road to the end of the earth is actually a pre-Christian route, a pagan road with Celtic origins. Galicia, which the route crosses, is of the oldest Celtic nations. Fisterra itself was a place where Celts, Druids and Romans venerated the sun in the Ara Solis or altar of the sun. The route is still not officially recognized by the Church as a Camino, but pilgrims can still obtain their certificate at the local tourist office, if they can show their stamps obtained along the way.
We expected to walk it in 4 days, then return to Santiago for a train to Madrid that we had booked some time ago. It was also possible to walk beyond Fisterra, to Muxia, further up the coast (and receive another certificate). But that would be for another time.
Day 1 (Friday 2nd October): Santiago - Negreira (36 kms)
We left our hotel, the Pombal Rooms, in the dark, after a quick breakfast. We were right on the Camino and the walk started gently at first as we climbed up out of the city. The problem was that this ascent continued for hours through the forest. We had to take frequent breaks to get our breath back on the steep terrain.
We met two Taiwanese girls on the way but soon left them behind, they were even slower than us. In Negreira, we stopped for some food and in hindsight, we should have stopped there for the day. According to Google Maps, it would be a six hour trek from Santiago to our hostel, Albergue Al Pena. In fact, it took us 9 hours to get there.
We arrived at 6pm in the evening, the latest arrival time so far. We were exhausted and wondered about the wisdom of doing this Camino. But then on reflection, what is the point of a pilgrimage if there is no suffering or self-doubt along the way? After a quick shower, we had a communal dinner (with an excellent lentil soup) and chatted with our neighbours at the table, an Israeli, a Scot and a Bulgarian. Then we hit the sack, passing out almost immediately.
Day 2 (Saturday, 3rd October): Negreira – Ponte Oliveira (29 kms)
We were up and out of the hostel before daybreak and walked for about an hour, guided by our torch. Again, we marvelled at the beauty of the world as the sun rose over the hills on the horizon.
Today’s walk was also quite long but not as steep as yesterday. There were scenic views of the Galician countryside and a cool breeze to accompany us. We had not booked any accommodation after yesterday’s fiasco but were lucky enough to find a hostel on the way which even had a private room for us, at Ponte Oliveira.
It was a family-run establishment with three generations tending to their guests. And what a great job they did of it. The food served in the restaurant was delicious. We had a very nice stay there indeed. Mylene was able to tend to her toe which was giving her some pain. As for me, with my trusty Kybuns, I never had blisters or sore feet at all.
Day 3 (Sunday, 4th October): Ponte Oliveira – Cee (30 kms)
Today was another pleasant walk in the countryside of rolling hills, forest and offered scenic views. We were on the road at 7am and luckily, about an hour later, we stopped for some breakfast at a café advertising itself as the last stop before Cee. It turned out to be true.
We met up again with the Taiwanese girls (who had taken a taxi in the meantime to catch up) and a Belgian who had actually just finished the French Camino (900 kms!!) His secret? Never walk more than 20 kms per day. About 2.30pm in the afternoon we arrived at our hostel (Moreiro) in Cee. It was located just in front of the river near the Old Town. We showered and changed and then had some lunch at a seafood restaurant on the other side of the estuary. It was owned by a lady from Zurich but the food was disappointing.
We did some washing, had a quiet beer as we took in the Sunday evening small-town vibe and then retired to bed early. We were just 13 kms from Fisterra. Tomorrow would definitely be our last day on the Camino (for this time).
Day 4 (Monday, 5th October): Cee – Fisterra (20 kms)
We left the hostel in the dark as usual and it was a very steep climb out of Cee to get out of the town. After that, it was a short hike to Fisterra. We walked in th water along the beach and collected our certificates from the tourist office in town. But we were not yet finished.
We set off on a steep 3km climb in the midday heat to the lighthouse for a photo session. It was crowded with tourists who had arrived there by car or bus. The views however were stunning as we gazed into the famous horizon, like countless pilgrims before us.
Luckily, we met a group of Filipinos who have us a lift back into town. After lunch we got our bus back to Santiago. It took just over 2 hours (we had taken 4 days for the same distance). The weather had now changed and we saw some poor pilgrims walking the same roads as we did in the heavy rain. The bus left us at the train station in Santiago and from there, we walked to our hostel, Albergue Azabache. It was very centrally situated in the old town, near the cathedral.
The next day, we woke early as usual and had breakfast at the hostel. We walked round to the cathedral square; it was very quiet and almost deserted. We checked out the local market, the Abastos, where we ate some fantastic oysters; attended a Pilgrim’s Mass in the cathedral; collected our baggage from the Pombal Rooms and then walked to the station to catch our train to Madrid.
The next stop after that? Check out our blog to see!
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