Because of its historical and geographical significance, the journey to
Finisterre is essential for anyone visiting Galicia, but it also contains
a number of surprises because of the countryside and monuments in the
area.
The journey begins in
Santiago and passes through the historical town of Noia, running along the
banks of the river until reaching the picturesque port of Muros. The route
continues by the large bay and expansive sands at Carnota, the mythical
Monte Pindo and the Ézaro waterfalls until joining up with the classic
Costa da Morte (Coast of Death) route in Cee.
It is one of the most evocative and
unusual of the coastline routes, and begins in La Coruña, where the C-552 road starts, and runs on to Finisterre, or ‘Fisterra’ as it is called in
Galician. In Carballo, the main town on the route, the road branches off
towards various points on the coast.
The first of these leads to the
characteristically Galician fishing village of Malpica. Next comes Corme,
with its memorials to the ‘percebeiros’ (daring barnacle fishers), Laxe with
its extensive sands, the mythical lighthouse Vilaño de Camariñas and the
pedra de abalar in Muxía (a giant swinging stone which only the innocent are
able to move):
just a few of the landmarks
along this coastline. Last but by no means least comes the excitement of
reaching Fisterra, considered to be the westernmost point of the continent
of Europe from the time of its discovery by the Romans under Décimo Junio
Bruto.