Cape Finisterre (or Cabo Finisterre locally) juts into the Atlantic from the northwest corner of the Iberian peninsula. In Roman times the cape was thought by some to be the end of the world, and it was named accordingly.
Madrone anchored in the beautiful bay sheltered by the cape, and a several mile walk from the town of Fisterra leads to the tip of the cape and its iconic lighthouse. With rock walls tumbling nearly vertically down to the breaking sea almost 800′ (250m) below, it’s easy to understand how the cape got it’s name.
Finisterre has a rich history, both terrestially and nautically. By land, it’s a popular finishing spot for the Way of St. James, the pilgrimage route to the shrine to the Apostle James in Santiago de Campostela. But people have been trekking to Finisterre since pre-Christian times, using it as a spot for worship as the setting sun dipped into the Atlantic.
And by sea, Finisterre is a natural choke point for shipping heading either north or south – it’s been a navigational mark for boats for as long as they’ve traveled this coast. The site of two pitched naval battles between Britain and France (in 1747 and again in 1805), it marks the southwestern edge of the often boisterous Bay of Biscay and the start of northern Spain’s Costa da Morte (Coast of Death).
