Cabo Fisterra

Fisterra was the end of the known world for the Romans and is still the end of the walk for pilgrims, who reach the lighthouse, sit on the rocks and watch the sun go down. That gives the place something no other cape has: a constant, unhurried human presence that a photographer can either use or step around.

The cape itself is a granite ridge dropping into the sea. The lighthouse and the km 0 marker are the obvious frames, but the better ones are on the rocks below and to the south, where the land breaks into slabs and boulders and the horizon is completely empty. The path down is rough and worth ten minutes.

Sunset is the whole point here, and in summer that means around ten in the evening — plan the drive back accordingly. The last half hour before the sun touches the water is when the granite turns gold and the crowd, such as it is, goes quiet.

The road out from A Coruña takes about an hour and a half; from Muxía it is forty minutes along the coast, so the two pair naturally into one session. Parking near the lighthouse is limited on summer evenings, the wind is constant, and burning clothes at the point, once a pilgrim tradition, is now banned.