Page 50 - DreamScapes Magazine | Spring/Summer 2023

WALK TO THE
End of the Earth
Pilgrims who walk the famous Camino de Santiago in northwest Spain extend their adventures to this dramatic coastline.
BY DARCY RHYNO
Last year, I hiked part of a new route that circumnavigates Prince Edward Island. The Island Walk or Camino de Isla has 32 segments, each walkable in a single day. Islander Bryson Guptill created this trail after walking the Camino de Santiago, the famous pilgrimage to the city of Santiago de Compostela in Spain. Its cathedral was built to hold the remains of Saint James, one of Christ’s apostles and the patron saint of Spain. After meeting Guptill and sampling The Island Walk, I wanted to see what inspired him to make Canada’s own version.
When I arrive in Santiago, I discover a bustling city filled with as many backpacking pilgrims as residents. Waves of road-weary walkers arrive in the sprawling plaza in front of the towering cathe- dral. Some fall to their knees, weeping. Others hug their fellow travellers and cheer. Yet, for many pilgrims, the cathedral is not the end of their journey.
The Camino to The End of the Earth
Some extend their pilgrimage to walk a seven-day loop (or day trip by car or bus) around Cape Finisterre and back. The extension is a way to share the experience of many millions of pilgrims before them whose religious journey was made all the more significant by visiting Finisterre (The End of the Earth) and the hike from there along the Costa da Morte (The Coast of Death).
PHOTOS: SHUTTERSTOCK/ARTEM EVDOKIMOV | SHUTTERSTOCK/MAXMAXIMOVPHOTOGRAPHY | DARCY RHYNO
50 DREAMSCAPES SPRING/SUMMER 2023