Way of Fisterra-Muxía

After visiting the cathedral of Santiago, splits to the Way of Fisterra-Muxía from the Praza do Obradoiro, the most emblematic space of the city, that abandons , happening between the palace of Raxoi and the Hostal two Reis Catholic, ancient Real Hospital, by the missing door of Peregrino or of Trinidad.

After crossing in front of the baroque church of Saint Fructuoso and his façade oriented to the contemplation from the Obradoiro, by what finishes with four remarkable statues of the Virtues of the Prudence, Justice, Fortress and Templanza, the Way advances by small and typical streets, between which stands out the one of Hortas.

The following destination is the “carballeira” (robledal) of Saint Lourenzo, to which Rosalía de Castro devotes one of the poems of Follas Novas, referential work of the poetry of the 19th century. The pazo of Saint Lourenzo of Trasouto, ancient convent franciscano of mediaeval origin, stands out by his architectural group, the mediaeval church and the works of art renacentistas and baroque that saves in his interior. The claustro embellece with a singular garden of boj.

The river Sarela approximates by moments to the traced semiurbano of the Route. If we walk to the dusk and the day is despejado, from some initial points of this itinerary is possible to contemplate exceptional put of sun on the ancient city and the façade of the cathedral.

Already in the municipality of Love, the Way achieves the core of Augapesada, that conserves a small bridge of mediaeval origin, before initiating the ascensión to the high of Sea of Ovellas, from which contemplates in all his splendour the valley of To Maía.

We are in a zone that offers also interesting examples of religious architecture, like the baroque church of Trasmonte, and of traditional constructions, that have his culmination in the core of Put you Maceira. The houses, and the rests of some ancient mill restored, deliver to both banks of the river Tambre, communicated by the most significant bridge of all this way. It treats of a beautiful construction of finals of the 14th century, reconstructed in the XVIII, that had during big centuries importance in the communications between Santiago and the earths of the finisterre.

Just across the bridge opens for the caminante the region of To Barcala, of big dairy production and cárnica.

Negreira, capital of this region, is the main population –surpasses the two thousand inhabitants– that crosses the pilgrim before achieving the coast. The pazo of Chancela gives step to this location, in whose shield represents the bridge that with his destruction would have cut the step to the soldiers that pursued to the disciples of Santiago that escaped of the bequeathed Roman of Fisterra.

Negreira, villa of mediaeval origin to which alludes Ernest Hemingway in the novel By the one who bend the bells, has in the pazo of Or Cotón, mediaeval fortress restored in the 17th century, and in the contiguous chapel of Saint Mauro, his more characteristic monuments.

A small bridge on the river Barcala situates to the pilgrim to the exit of Negreira. The route goes back to coincide in diverse points, along this stretch, with the ancient real way to Fisterra. Like this they remember it to us places like Camiño Real and Portocamiño.

By moments, the distance visits zones of altiplano that allow wide perspectives on earths of the municipalities of Negreira and Mazaricos, this last already in the region of Xallas, known, especially, by his craftsmanship of cestería and his original feminine hats, realised in straw.

Another characteristic of this stretch is his popular architecture, that has survived partly in the rural cores, with modest but beautiful and varied examples and some group of hórreos –destined constructions to the conservation of the products of the field– of remarkable beauty, as, amongst other, the ones of the place of Maroñas, that also explains in his inmediaciones with the romance church of Santa Mariña.

One of the points of main interest paisajístico offers to the caminante in the estribaciones of the mountain Plough (556 m), from which contemplates part of the region of Terra of Xallas.

In the final part of this stretch the water is the big leading. The river Xallas and his banks do presents especially in Ponteolveira, whose bridge, built in the 16th century and reformed later, situates to the caminante in earths of the municipality of Dumbría. The route, that discurre next to the embalse of To Fervenza, on the Xallas, touches to his end when it achieves the place of Olveiroa, again with remarkable examples of the popular architecture of the zone.

To the exit of Hospital, an aldea that had a modest hospital for pilgrims today missing, the Way forks: it will be necessary to decide if it follows the route that carries to Fisterra or the one who drives to Muxía and to the sanctuary of To Boat.

If the traveller directs in the first place to Fisterra, the way will carry it to the inmediaciones of the sanctuary of To Nosa Lady give Neves (s. XVIII), with “his saint source” and a concurrida romería each 8 September, and to the also popular hermitage of San Pedro Martyr, with another source “milagrosa” for varied ailments. Already in the high of Or Cruceiro gives Armed (247 m), the caminante contemplates, for the first time, in the lejanía still, the cape Fisterra.

The cape is the symbol of the region of the same name, by which will travel in what it remains of way so much if we head to Fisterra as if we do it to Muxía. This region, given like few to all type of legends, has one of the coastal bands of main beauty of the Iberian Peninsula, in which they alternate the big and calm sandy areas with rugged rocky trainings and a sea bravo like few. The marisqueo, the fishing and the agriculture, with products artesanales of big quality, also contribute to do of the zone a paradise for the sight and the senses.

Cee, the first location of the region to which arrives the pilgrim, has a remarkable commercial activity stands out his market dominical and of services. The pazo of Or Cotón and the building decimonónico of the Foundation Fernando White are two of the symbols of the location, in which it also stands out the church of To Xunqueira, of cabecera Gothic.

Very next to Cee is the villa of Corcubión, that conserves an ancient helmet declared historical group-artistic, reflection to a large extent of the ancient importance of his port. The church of Saint Marcos, Gothic-sailor and neogótica, owe his name to the image of the master of the location, a work in wood Stroll of Corcubión, with Cee at the end Astillero of Cee policromada, of Italian origin, of finals of the 15th century. Corcubión Surrenders literate to the wealth marisquera of the zone celebrating the first Saturday of August of every year the  Party of the Clam.

The way arrives to Fisterra after bordear, during some two kilometres, the trainings dunares of the beautiful and extensive beach of Langosteira. Fisterra, location of recios sailor and fishermen, is tied to the tradition jacobea from his starts.

And the epicentre of this relation is the church of Santa María give Areas, of mediaeval origin, situated to  the outskirts of the location, way of the cape Fisterra. An arcade, that considers that it formed part of the missing mediaeval hospital of pilgrims, gives step to a temple in which it shines with own light the Saint Cristo of Fisterra, singular size of the 14th century that according to the legend appeared in the coast after being launched to the water by a ship during a storm. For many ancient pilgrims, the visit, after the peregrinación to Santiago, to which considered the most western of the representations of Cristo was an ideal form to culminate his trip.

Fisterra Celebrates each Saint Week the party of Santo Cristo, declared of National Tourist Interest. It treats of a representation of the life and death of Jesús that achieves his apogeo the Sunday of Pascua with his resurrection, dancing, like colophon, an ancient and singular dance (“to dance give areas”). The representation realise it actors no professional, neighbours of Fisterra.

In addition to the baroque chapel of Santo Cristo (1695), stands out in the temple of Santa María give Areas the renacentista of the Virgin of Carmen. The main chapel (14th century) saves an image pétrea of the Virgin María, of the 16th century. Also it venerates an image of Santiago with a ritual that remembers to the of the cathedral compostelana. Although the main cover is romance, in the outside of the temple predominates the Gothic sailor.

From the location of Fisterra, the pilgrim has to realise a last and short distance to arrive to the tip of the mythical cape Fisterra, that announces us the building of the ancient faro, rehabilitated for tourist uses. The spirit and the nature, the sea and the sky, the legend and the present give the hand in this western extreme of Europe in which the ancient believed to guess the end of the world known, perhaps definitively convinced when observing his magnificent put of sun.

It explains the tradition that the Virgin María recaló in a ship of stone in what today it is the sanctuary of To Boat, in Muxía, to give spirits to the apostle Santiago in his predication by the northwest of the Iberian Peninsula. Of here it splits the significance jacobea of this place and his inclusion in the routes jacobeas from the medievo.

The distance between Fisterra and To Boat is of 31 kilometres. The first and immediate appointment is Saint Martiño of Duio, in whose inmediaciones  would hide the ruins of the missing city of Dugium. According to the mediaeval tradition, here resided the bequeathed of Rome to the that the disciples of Santiago directed so that they authorised the sepultura in earth compostelana of the rests of the apostle.

The way advances between aldeas, fields of crop, forests and the presence of the sea, with beaches so agrestes like the one of Or Face, until the small estuary of Lires, where is possible to contemplate a remarkable variety of birds. In the route find singular samples of traditional rural architecture entremezcladas with remarkable churches, as the ones of romance origin of Santa Leocadia of Frixe and Santa María of Morquintián.

The last effort before Muxía represents it the rise to the high of Ace Aferroas (289 m), with his wide seen. The beach of Lourido is the antesala of this location, situated in some beautiful coastal surroundings. Founded in the 12th century, Muxía explodes of colour each month of July with the parties of Carmen and his showy and concurrida maritime procession. The location has in the fishing and the craftsmanship of the lace two of his more characteristic activities.

From Muxía, the sanctuary of To Nosa Lady gives Boat is to a step. To him it arrives bordeando the Mountain Bodice, by “the Camiño gives Pel” (Way of the Skin), like this designated because in his inmediaciones situated a source in which the pilgrims aseaban –a symbol of purification and respect at the end of the route– before going in in the sanctuary.

Hostels

Negreira
Building of new plant
Rúa Sponsorship s/n. Negreira
22 squares
3 squares for bicycles
Next hostel, to 33,2 km
(Olveiroa, Dumbría)

Olveiroa
Rehabilitation of a core
Of edificaciones traditional of the country*
Olveira, s/n. Dumbría
34 squares
Squares for bicycles
Next hostel,
To 30 km (Fisterra);
To 29 km (Muxía)

Fisterra
Rehabilitation of building*
Rúa Real, 2. Fisterra
18 squares
Squares for bicycles
Muxía
Building of new plant
Rúa Enfesto, 22. Muxía
32 (+ 32) squares

Hotels

Negreira
Hotel Tamara - 2 Stars
Av. Of Santiago, s/n
Telephone: 981885201
Web: http://www.hotel-tamara.com/
And-Mail: info@hotel-tamara.com

Olveiroa
Pension Ace Pías - 3 Stars
Telephone: 981741520

Fisterra
Hotel Rústico Insula Finisterrae - 2 Stars
C. To insula, 76
Web: http://www.insulafinisterrae.com/inicio.htm
And-mail: info@insulafinisterrae.com