Day 0
Finisterra – Santiago de Compostella
62 miles
5758 ft climbed
![](https://nbjtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/06932b8a-9749-4437-bb7f-82f310de876a-1.jpg?w=768)
We knew this trip was going to be tough and although our first day in the saddle was a bit shorter it had plenty of hills to remind us what lay ahead. However we all completed a longer first day than expected properly signed in as pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago.
![](https://nbjtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/38fb51ff-f860-459e-9209-2df94bdae286-1.jpg?w=768)
After breakfast this morning at our campsite in Santiago we unusually all boarded the camper for the drive to the start at Finisterra. It took over an hour and a half to get there, winding its way over endless tree clad hills making us think we were going to be in for an honest day. Note Finisterra is the Galician spelling , Finisterre the Spanish.
![](https://nbjtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/d11f1656-7598-4ab0-adaf-4b480b1806b4-1.jpg?w=1024)
We therefore did not leave the end of the earth until after half past ten and agreed a first meeting at around twenty miles. As can be seen from the photos the sky was a cloudless blue However there was a strong north/northeasterly headwind all day just to make this a bit more difficult.
![](https://nbjtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img_6663.jpg?w=1024)
We initially ran a little along the seaside through the towns of Finisterra and Cee, the latter having a Sunday market blocking the roads causing the first detour of the day
![](https://nbjtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img_6667.jpg?w=1024)
Leaving Cee we had our biggest climb of the day up from sea level to 1300ft over almost 6 miles Apart from a couple of steep ramps it was not too bad and lead us up Into the interior of the Galician mainland. As ever that mountain goat Cabrera lead the train with Dom snapping at his heels with Chris & Neil bringing up the rear.
![](https://nbjtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/600b8782-96f3-4b43-bc95-9a0ab70f2da9-1.jpg?w=768)
Nearing the top of the climb we saw another cyclist getting some water at a farmhouse. Before we knew it,with a fully laden bike he latched onto the back of the Cabrera train.
![](https://nbjtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/84b80250-b358-4273-9bbb-e87689620c9b-1.jpg?w=1024)
We established that Jerome was from Alsace and had just completed the Camino by bike starting out in Le Puy 23 days earlier. A chef who works at Montgenevre near Briancon in the Alps, he had completed the ride in honour of his mother who had wanted to do the pilgrimage but sadly died last year As we were coming up to lunch we obviously invited him along to join our feast. He was only too pleased to accept
![](https://nbjtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img_6682.jpg?w=768)
After lunch I decided that cycling on the quiet main roads would be easier and we therefore parted ways with Jerome although did see him filling up with water at a garage later on. Nick in front missed the turn but luckily Nigel was just passing the rest of us so we were able to get him to get Nick turn round to come back up the hill to join us.
![](https://nbjtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/8c138574-2c0f-4edd-91c4-25e4a999f71e-1.jpg?w=768)
The amended route was a good call and apart from the nagging headwind the hills were just that bit gentler and roads smoother. The highlights of this leg were a spot of bell ringing at this old church at Olviera which Nick reckoned was Chris summoning the devil, which knocked his bike over, and a crossing of a medieval bridge at Brandomil.
![](https://nbjtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img_6686.jpg?w=1024)
Nigel met us on his bike to lead us into our tea stop by a sports centre to end leg two with in theory only 17 miles to go but that’s not quite how it panned out
![](https://nbjtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img_6696.jpg?w=768)
Soon after tea we took a little detour to see the even more ancient bridge at Maciera which although indicated as a footpath we had to get out the way for a car.
It was just after this point that Nick’s descending enthusiasm got the better of all of us as he headed full speed down a four mile hill taking us off route. This required some Google map rescheduling plus some climbing back up adding at least four miles to the day.
![](https://nbjtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img_6703.jpg?w=768)
However all was not lost as we still had the highlight of our arrival into Santiago to come as we wound our way between the well behaved pilgrims to the enormous square in front of the impressive cathedral.
![](https://nbjtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/img_6706.jpg?w=1024)
We then got our pilgrims passports stamped and took ourselves back to the campsite arriving around seven o clock after a satisfying and tough day in the saddle.
![](https://nbjtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/dcbc1bd1-e887-45e3-ba72-d895745058eb-1.jpg?w=768)
As ever Nigel and Monica had everything ready for us so we only needed a shower before our bangers and mash were served up.
It is worth noting now the reason for the pilgrimages here date back to the ninth century when a shepherd was led to a hillside at night and discovered some bones which were later confirmed by the local Bishop to be those of St James, one of Jesus’s disciples who, according to local legend came to Galicia to spread the word. Santiago de Compostella means St James of the starry field.
A church was built to house St James’s relics and pilgrimages started in the Middle Ages but stopped after the Black Death. The present pilgrimage routes really started in the 1980’s and now over 500,000 pilgrims are said to walk at least part of the route to Santiago every year.
![](https://nbjtours.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/55bfcc82-ee2f-4a97-8d52-f760b6216da4-1.jpg?w=1024)