Somewhere Slowly

I got up with Nanci and had a coffee before she set off after breakfast. It was odd to see her melt into the steady trickle of pilgrims all heading the same way, while I stayed behind. I had made the decision the night before – I wanted to backtrack a km or so and head uphill to find the Pedra do Brazal, the balancing stone that has fascinated people since ancient times. There was a large photo of it on the wall inside the new restaurant, but I wanted to see it for myself. It’s supposed to give you strength and purpose, which would be a nice bonus.

There was a huge stone sticking up out of the earth near the hotel, and as I followed the steep gravel road higher up, there were many stones placed more or less on top of others, but none that looked like the one in the photo. Until … there it was.

The balancing act seems almost impossible, and it actually felt a bit perilous to approach it, but … strength and purpose. I’m not sure how tall it is, as there is nothing nearby for scale in a photo, but it was definitely a lot taller than me, and I am easily 1,80 with my Hokas on. 3-4 meters? I stretched my hand out and touched the top stone, and then went around it a few times for a good look (and hopefully some bonus good luck). Was it left there by a glacier? By a mud or rock slide? Eroded by persistent (and curiously targeted) wind? Gently put in place by a bored giant? I am guessing the glacier did it, but it is magnificent either way. No wonder people were drawn to this place, high up on the hill, with wide views and magical stones balanced by the gods. No wonder people have come here for strength and purpose. It was pretty perfect standing up there in the sunshine under a clear blue sky, pondering how far we had come since we left Porto.

The only other living things around me were the longhorn cattle, which really made it look and feel like I had stepped into a different time. Until I got back down to the camino and people in colourful clothing strode past without a word as I joined them on the short walk back to O Logoso.

As I have nothing else to show for my (rest) day, Nanci kindly let me add two of her photos of her walk as well, the split arrows pointing to Fisterra and Muxia respectively, and the beast we had been looking for the day before: Vákner him/itself! Apparently the statue is 5 meters tall! I also missed the first glimpse of the sea from the top of the hill, but was happy to have missed the steep knee-killing hill down to Cee. All in all I was pretty content with my choice of day.

Finally the Logoso landlord arrived as arranged and took me down to Cee, where I met Nanci. We had lunch with a lady she had walked with, and her husband, who like me hadn’t. Then we carried on out to lovely Corcubion, which is only around the bay, but looks much more picturesque. Our wonderful hostess showed us the communal spaces, among them a little sitting and dining room leading out to a terrace overlooking the sea … Our room was lovely, the beds were so comfortable we might as well have a nap straight away. Later we had a cold honesty-box beer on the terrace and just marvelled at the beautiful day and the privilege of being there, staring at the sea, in good company. The days seem to fly by so fast, and now the little adventure we had been looking forward to so long was coming to an end, but we still had the silence and the sea, and the promise of a lovely walk to the End of the World tomorrow.

Finding a place to have dinner wasn’t so easy, with many places not opening until late, and also most of them had exactly the same menu we had been seeing for weeks. In the end we wandered back into Cee, it’s not far when you have had a nap, and ended up in a nice, busy restaurant that served chicken wings, so we were happy!

Then we walked home again in the dark, following the glittering lights of Corcubion back to our room and our wonderfully comfortable beds. One day left – one walk left – to the End of the World.