CAMINO TO THE SEA - DAY 4: DUMBRíA to MUXíA

The walk from Dumbría to Muxia was lovely and mostly downhill towards the sea. This is not to say that there were hills, just little ones. In Dumbría we stayed in a lovely B&B run by a very kind woman. The accommodations were great other than the fact that the power went out in the building and we were without heating. It got a little chilly. We met some very nice people from Italy and Israel who stayed in the same place. This portion of the Camino was especially rural with little support by way of bathrooms or cafés. Here is some of what we saw and experienced...

We noticed that there are a lot of stands of eucalyptus trees in Galicia. We found out from one of our conversations that the trees were introduced into the area as part of a logging industry. Sadly, the trees grow quickly and spread profusely and have become something akin to a weed. There are efforts to reduce their spread but with minimal success.

One of the "pluses" of this section of the Camino is that the trail was very well groomed.

We walked through this little (I mean little one street town) where there was a wedding at the church. The one street was lined with cars and then up a perpendicular street. I think that the whole town and people from surrounding areas were there! Funny thing, when we passed the church all the women were inside the little church and all the men were outside waiting for who-knows-what! Beer? Party?

The views were breathtaking!

I know that I have this "thing" for hórreos, but I took this picture so that you would see that there are few places where plants will not grow. Notice the wall where a wild daisy was growing out the cracks in the wall.

Just over that ridge in the distance is the ocean!

Our first view of the ocean!!!

It felt like an eternity to get to the point where we were getting to touch the water. We followed the shoreline for a while then turned inland and then uphill...

At the top of the hill was this cruceiro and the Ermita de San Roque (below).

From here was a downhill to the final few kilometers to Muxia. And then, bang! There was Muxia, but not as close as we had expected.

After pausing for a lovely seafood lunch at a restaurant that had been suggested by our hostess in Dumbría, we continued on to the end of the peninsula. The walk to the far end of the peninsula follows a road/walkway with this view of crashing waves. This is picture is near high tide.

We soon saw the lighthouse...

and our destination near the Santuario da Virxa da Barca. This church sits as the farthest end of the peninsula and is near the "0 kilometer" marker.

The small marker is the "0 Kilometer" marker. The large structure has an interesting history. In 2002 an oil barge, the Prestige, sank in the harbor pouring 77,000 tons of fuel into the ocean. The accident was one of the most disastrous ecological events in the history of Spain. The impact of the oil leakage was significant covering close to 1245 miles of coastline that impacted the birds and marine life in the area.  Tourism, fishing, and plant life along the coast suffered significantly. In 2003, Alberto Bañuelos-Fournier was commissioned to create a memorial to all those who volunteered to clean up the coastline, putting their own health at risk as they cleaned up the oil slicks. Called "A Ferida" ("The Wound"). It is located at one of the most dangerous points along the Costa da Morte. 

After reaching the "0" point we checked into our hotel and then headed for a little beach. It was a beautiful spot where Jannette found her "zen" moment.

And then it was fun, fun, fun. I enjoyed watching her be so happy in a place that brings her joy.

It was fascinating to watch the seagulls fly by... It was so peaceful and satisfying to be have finally come to the end of 37 days of walking across Spain.

We went back to our hotel and got ready for the next day. We decided to spend Sunday here.