Muxia, Galicia, Spain and Canary Islands
Friday, July 17, 2015

Muxia, Finisterra and the Galician Tour

We were excited about the day trip we had booked for the day with galiciantours. We had read great reviews about their 9-hour tour that will take us to the edge of the Atlantic Coast and the westernmost point of Spain. Our tour guide arrived promptly at 9:30 a.m. and we boarded the minivan and were soon on our way – out of Santiago and driving towards the coast. With us were two other couples – Dutch and Spanish and a gentleman from Germany. He was over 80 years old and had walked the camino 19 times!!! The Spanish couple (youngest in the group) had not walked the camino yet. The Dutch couple, like us, were walking the camino in segments.

We exchanged greetings and shared camino experiences. The drive was pleasant and the scenery was spectacular. We passed several picturesque fishing villages, cafes offering fresh seafood. Our driver/tour guide was extremely well informed, polite and considerate. Our first stop was the picturesque village of Ponte Maceira, a medieval village with its famous Gothic bridge and its mills. We walked around town, learned about the history of the village and visited the mills. Our next stop was Muxia, where we visited the sanctuary of our Lady of la Barca. The sanctuary is a popular destination for pilgrims. It fascinates and intrigues with its mix of pagan and religious traditions. The sanctuary is located right beside the ocean and close to it are the believed to be what are the remains of the boat (made of stone) in which Mother Mary came to help St. James convert the locals to Christianity. The region has strong Gaelic and Celtic roots and that's probably why converting the locals was difficult. The sail, the helm and the boat are near the sanctuary and are said to have healing powers. This is kilometer zero of the camino walk. Several pilgrims continue their pilgrimage to this point. Muxia also has the first lighthouse of the Costa da Morte.

We continued on to Fisterra or the end of the earth, as the Romans thought it to be. The foggy, craggy and bleak horizon definitely makes it look like the end of the earth! By now we were extremely hungry and were delighted to hear that our next stop was Meson Dona Theresa, a seaside restaurant that served fresh catch. The owner was a gregarious man who had relocated to Spain from New York after 9/11. He and his staff waited on us and we enjoyed delicious fried squid, octopus, cod, salmon, wine and desserts. Our last couple of stops were to see the Ezaro waterfall – the only river in southern Europe that cascades into the sea and to see the longest horreo (granary) in Galicia. Our group had bonded over the day and as we headed back to Santiago our hearts were heavy as we would have to say our goodbyes soon.

In Santiago, we met one last time with fellow caminos, had a couple of cocktails, exchanged phone numbers. We said our goodbyes in the Cathedral square!