Finisterre to Muxía
The walk to Muxía is actually part of a signed circular route from Oliveira to Finisterre to Muxía to Oliveira. This is the route from Finisterre to Muxía. The route from Oliveira to Finisterre can be found in Walking the Camino de Santiago.
route
From the Municipal albergue in Finisterre, retrace your route backwards on the camino up through town. Join the C-552 highway and walk alongside it to the high point where there is a cross and lookout with a view of Playa de Langosteira. Veer left staying on the C-522, pass the Hotel Arenal and take the next road left and up. It is marked by a mojon (cement bollard) with the blue shell motif (pointing skyward!) and Muxía-Finisterre written on it. If you look closely you will see a tiny yellow arrow indicating the direction to Muxía. You will follow this signage all the way to Muxía, sometimes with the little yellow arrow pointing to Finisterre as this route is signed both from Muxía to Finisterre and from Finisterre to Muxía.
Follow this road as it goes alongside the hill. You are walking parallel to the Playa de Langosteira which you see off in the distance. At a Y in the road stay right, passing through San Martiño de Duío and its cemetery and church. You will need to diligently look for mojones and faded yellow arrows along this route.
In about 2 km reach a T-junction in the hamlet of As Escaselas. Turn left and 300m later turn left again to walk alongside the highway. (Ignore the huge arrow directing you across the road as this is a different route via Vigo.) Walk along the highway passing through Hermedesuxo de Abaixo and O Bispo. At the bottom of the hill after O Bispo, at a 5 street intersection, veer right to take the road signed San Salvador. Pass an old stone cross and the hotel Rustico Dugium (tel. 981 740 780 www.finisterrae.com/dugium). After the last house in San Salavador (a one street hamlet), leave on a track that heads up into the woods. After about 1km keep left at a Y intersection, and 1km or so later walk into Rial. Walk through the few houses at Rial and cross the road to continue on a trail, staying at the same elevation and walking through woods once again. This trail soon joins the road and the houses of Buxan. Take the first left and walk on the road between 3 horreos. At the bus stop go right and up the road then shortly right again (shell on the side wall of the house) to walk down a paved road with woods on either side, passing a timber mill on the left. At this point you can hear the roar of the ocean and you leave the woods with a view of Playa de Rostro ahead and below.
When you reach the first houses of Suarriba turn left and go down the long hill to walk through Castrexe. (You will notice that written on the road is a 3 sided yellow arrow with 2 arrows labeled M (Muxía) and one labeled F (Finisterre). This suggests that you could also walk around the head of this valley to Padris rather than heading down to Castrexe, across the valley and then back up to Padris. Note that neither option gets you anywhere near Playa de Rostro though!).
Walk through Castrexe and turn right at the T-junction at the west end of the hamlet. 300m later turn left on to a track that takes you across the fields of the valley floor for about 1km. At the second paved road that you come to, turn right and walk up this road to Padris. Turn left at the T-junction at Padris and 150m later head left on to a track just before the two yellow houses. This track takes you back into the woods and after 1km shrinks down to a trail through the woods. At the Y keep right and climb gradually up. At the T-junction go right to follow a stone-lined track and open fields to your left and right. At the large Y intersection there is a mojon with a shell that points right to A Canosa and a yellow arrow that points left. Both routes lead to Lires:
- Following the yellow arrow that points left directs you to glorious beach views, the beach itself, a bar, and a winding road route to Lires along the river estuary. This route is about 2km longer.
- Following the mojon option go right and start walking gradually down. In 300m join a wide logging road to the right and head down to A Canosa. At the first house, turn right at the T-junction on to a paved road then soon after, go left down a steep narrow road to walk down and through the village. At the end of the village, before the lone white house, take the lane to the left and head in to the trees. At the Y intersection in 300m take the left trail. 400m later at another Y intersection go right and walk down towards a stream and towards the road. Don’t cross the stream but turn left and up a trail. 50m later go right to walk on a footpath between fields. The path curves right and down to the road and now you cross the stream. Turn left to walk on the road to the church. At the church turn right and walk up into Lires. (At the top of this road reach a 4 way intersection. To the right are 2 bars, the hotel, and more Casa Rurales (and the route if the river is too high). To the left is the continuation of the camino.
Lires ( bar, restaurant, Casa Rurales, hotels)
Café-Bar As Eiras has rooms 981 74 81 80 www.ruralaseiras.com
Casa Raul 981 74 81 56
Casa Lourido 981 74 83 48
Casa Divina 981 748 202
PR Casa Luz 981 74 89 24
Casa Jesus 981 74 81 58
Turn left at the 4-way intersection and walk up to the end of the road where the camino becomes a trail through the woods and down to the Rio do Castro. You will need to cross the river on giant stepping stones but depending on the water height and flow you may not be able to cross safely. Ask in Lires if the river is passable or walk the 200m to the river to take a look yourself. Note that the river is often impassable in spring. If you do cross by the giant stepping stones, do so wearing sturdy footwear, use a pole for stability, and undo the waist belt of your backpack so that if you should fall you aren’t carried down by its weight. If the river is not passable, follow route #2 below, that takes you via the Ponte Nova.
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If the river is passable, carefully cross over the large stepping stones and then veer left passing the single house of Vaosilveiro. At the Y intersections always go left and finally turn left on to a minor road. Follow it first through the trees and then into a valley and up to the houses of Frixe. At the top of the rise as you reach the first houses of Frixe at a T intersection, turn left. (bar/store and church if you go right and walk through town 500m down to the highway) At the last houses take the lane up and to the right and follow it until you arrive at the CP-5301 highway. Cross the highway at a mojon that says Muxía 12km.
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Route if river is impassable:
At the 4 way intersection at the top of Lires turn right heading to the 2 bars in town. Facing the As Eiras bar/hostal take the road to the left side heading east to Porcar. At Porcar (T intersection) turn left and north walking through the village. Follow the paved lane down and out of town. After 1 km at a T intersection turn right (even though you are turning away from the river!) to get to the CP-5201 highway. At the highway turn left to walk over the Ponte Nova and continue alongside the highway to the village of Frixe. (bar with small store inside) Past the bar reach the Iglesia de Santa Locaia de Frixe (12th Century).
You again have 2 options:- Keep straight on along the highway 1 km or so until you see a mojon on your right that says Muxía 12km. Turn right to continue the camino.
- Or you can turn left at the church to leave the highway and weave your way through the village to rejoin the camino coming from the river crossing. If you choose this option, turn left at the church and follow the road down into a valley and up to more houses and a fountain. Pass the fountain and take the next right and walk up along the top end of another small valley. From the left a road enters which is the camino route via the river crossing. Walk up to the last houses in Frixe and take the lane to the right. Follow it until you reach the highway. Cross the highway at the mojon that says Muxía 12km.
Whether you cross the river or detour by the bridge:
Leave highway CP-5301 at the mojon that says Muxía 12km and walk 1 km to arrive in Guisamonde. At the first building in the village leave the road to walk down a trail to the left and in 200m reach another road in the village. Turn right to walk on this road. At the intersection keep straight on and follow this minor road for 2km, initially up and through a forest and then alongside a hill with views of the valley below. Note that there are not any arrows or mojones in this stretch. After 2km pass an horreo and a house then pass a cross and a fountain on your right at the entrance to Morquintián. At the next 2 Y intersections go right and up. In 1km reach a T intersection at a larger highway.
There are two options to Muxía from here though the more obvious of the 2 mojones directs you to the right.
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ROUTE TO THE RIGHT to Muxía:
Turn right at the T intersection. After 500m turn left onto a minor sandy road and head up towards Mt Facho de Lourido. Once the road starts decending, keep straight on rather than going right, and continuing on the road that hugs the side of the mountain. At a sharp bend in the road go right then almost immediately left and walk down to Xurantes. Head into the village and at a T intersection turn left. Turn right at the next T intersection by the last houses in town and head down the paved road. Reach a larger road at a T intersection and either cross it and go down the trail heading to Playa de Lourido (Not well marked but a nice walk. Once at the beach you will have to get yourself back up to the highway into Muxía.) Or the better marked option is to turn right onto this paved road and then turn left onto the road which leads in to Muxía.
** It is still at least 2km alongside this highway before you reach the first houses in Muxía. You will pass the Playa de Lourido below on the left, and then the Sports Field for the town. From this point there is a sidewalk into town on the right hand side. Take the first street to the right once in town to go up to the Municipal Albergue of Muxía or continue straight on to reach town, the shops, bus stop, and church.
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ROUTE TO THE LEFT to Muxía: (this route is longer and mostly on paved road.)
At the T intersection turn left. In 60m turn right up a gravel road (marked by a camino shell on a mojon). Follow the gravel road up and then down to a paved road. Turn left to Martineto then shortly turn right to walk right through a house patio to reach the road on the other side of the house. Follow CP-5201, this paved road, down for 8 km or so passing through Martineto, Cuño, and Lourido. From Lourido you can see the ocean and Muxía out on the point. Once you pass through Lourido continue downhill on the road. At the bottom of the hill turn left along the road that heads 2 km in to Muxía. (or weave your way down the tracks in the hillside to Playa de Lourido then up to the road to walk in to Muxía.
See ** above to continue in to Muxía.
Muxía (municipal albergue, hotels, bars, money machine, groceries, pharmacy, camping, buses to Cee, Coruña, Santiago)
Albergue de Peregrinos, Rúa Enfesto, 22 (Municipal /Xunta 32 beds, kitchen)
Hotel Lorena 981 74 24 41
Pensión Plaza 981 75 04 52
Hostal la Cruz 981 74 20 84
Pensión Tira da Barca 981 74 23 23
Buses to Santiago, Coruña and Cee leave from Café Noche y Dia bar on the port waterfront side of town near the pier. (Muxía – Santiago leaves at 7:30 and 14:30) The Oficina de Turismo/Cultura on calle de la Barca issues a Muxíana (like a compostela) to those pilgrims who walk to Muxía.
Sanctuario de Nuestra Señora da Barca
From the town centre, the Sanctuario de Nuestra Señora da Barca is 2km away on the Punta da Barca. Take the calle de la Barca to reach it. There are three huge rocks on the point, said to be remains of the Virgin Mary’s ship. Legend has it that one of the apostles (possibly Santiago) was trying to Christianize the local inhabitants and was having no luck and was discouraged. The Virgin Mary appeared to the apostle to comfort him. The Celtic stones near the church are now said to be remains of the Virgin Mary's stone boat.
Pedra Dos Cadris (in the shape of a kidney): Those with complaints of lumbago, sciatica y other rheumatic pains are said to find relief if they can squeeze through the space between the two Cadris stones.
Pedra do Timón: Named for its resemblance to a rudder or steering wheel of a boat and thus also relates to the legend of the Virgin and her boat. Some say that to touch or tap the Timón produces happiness.
Pedra d’Abalar (the moving or rocking rock): It is said that if you can make the stone move, your wishes will come true but tradition says that the secret to moving the stone isn’t strength but rather innocence. It is also said that the stone moves only to advise of strong storms and dangers.
This is one of Galicia’s most famous pilgrimages. It has been held since the 14th century in this fishing village on the Costa de la Muerte coast, and unites fishermen’s devotion to the Virgin Mary and other pre-Christian traditions such as the worship of stones. The procession to the Virgen de la Barca Shrine and its mythical rocks attracts crowds of people every first Sunday after 8 September. On this day, as well as sampling the caldereta (fish stew), typical of the region, participants pretend to “dance” with the Abalar Stone — this means they try and move it to make their wishes come true. According to tradition, only the innocent and those free from sin can manage this. Another custom is that of passing underneath the Cadrís Stone, which is supposed to have curative powers.