A Corona - a Spanish getaway

A chance to see some sun, sand and beach is something not to be missed.  We hopped on the train in Santiago and hurtled into the countryside to A Corona - a beachside town pretty famous for is golden sands.

It was pretty enough - after we walked about a billion miles from the train station to find it. The kids and I were glad we were so used to walking as it might have been a bit annoying after the first hour of being lost int he tiny medieval streets.

We were rewarded with clear blue water and golden sands; though not as soft as the sand back in Aus, it was s delight to have it between our toes.

We slathered up in sunscreen and the kids darted off to the water, only to run screaming back almost immedialty. Yep.. Blazing hot sun, sweltering day, and the sea was as icy as the North Pole. You know the cold that takes your breath away and you begin to shiver even with your feet in it?  That.

We took the opportunity to wander the historic area and check out Hercules Tower - the oldest - still still standing ( and to my understanding) operational lighthouse. It dates from the Roman Empire - 2nd Century - so is pretty amazing. 

The day remained hot and sticky, with the water freezing, we tried to have another swim, but the cold beat us again.  It didn't stop other people though.. phew.. no wonder Europeans go crazy when they see our coastlines. 

Stone Shrine for Age at Finsterre

Hugging the edges, along the entire trail, there are stone shrines. These range from haphazard rocks piled against each other, to elaborately manicure stones set perfectly in a tower. Many are left as they are built, where others are added to by anonomous pilgrims as they set thier rocks and stones down. They can be clustered in tiny rock skyscraper villages, or set along the trail on thier own. 

The common theme however, is the intention behind the shrines.  Each have been built to honour or as a reminder of a loved one, often passed on. Many have hand written prayers under the bottom rock. Some have an order of service from the funeral. Others have a photo.

Morgan has carried Adrians memorial dog tags on his neck the entire trail ( bar the last 60 - see the amazing story in another post on how they were lost and then found and returned to us ) 

It was a very special ceremony for us to build a shrine and lay what we feel, is the last piece of our farewell in our grieving process.

We spent time alone staring out at the sea, as Age often did, and as he did last year.

Finisterre and Muxia

Finsterre is the 'official'. 0 km mark, though its a little over 100 km from Santiago. Instead of walking that extra bit, or taking the bus, we hired a car snd spent time exploring the beautiful fishing villages on our way to Finsterre. Next time we do the camino, we will def get a car for a few days and stay in one of the villages, rather than spend time in Santiago.

I've done a seperate post on the laying down of the tags. It was a pretty intense but special moment for us.

We dangled pur feet over the cliff, sat and meditated and then found the pieate seafood place we ate at last year. The pirate cook was still there, looking more like a pirate than ever. Best seafood ever - all fresh and so yum! Totally blew our megre pilgrim budget for the day..

Muxia is an integral part of the pilgrimage as it is believed that one of the early apostles, after being rejected by the locals, wanting nothing to do with Christianity, the virgin Mary floated up the bay in a stone boat and encouraged him. He went on and converted the masses, got a Monestary built and  kept the place her boat came ashore as a sacred spot. 

Its a pleasant sandy little cove which was a perfect paddling spot today.