Camino de Muxía, Etapa 1 – Santiago de Compostela to Negreira, 21 kilometers

Unfinished Business

In the fall of 2022, I walked the Camino Francés from Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port to Santiago and planned to continue on to Finisterre, then up the coastline to Muxía, and finally to back to Santiago. I had made some very good friends along the French Way and decided it was more important to spend time with them than fulfill my arbitrary goal of Santiago-Finisterre-Muxía-Santiago. I nixed the plan for the social benefit, and it was a great choice.

In the spring of 2023, I walked the Camino Português from Lisbon to Santiago. I had worked into my schedule the loop from Santiago-Finisterre-Muxía-Santiago. I arrived in Santiago on schedule, fulfilled all my ritual requirements (Sangria, Laundry, Good Beer, Good Music) and set forth toward the coastline the following day. At the end of a great day walking to Negreira, I was enjoying a glass of Rioja and a bowl of lentejas. My phone rang, it was work, and I was put on “high alert” for a mission back in the US. Dang it. My first thought was to head back to Santiago and then Madrid to make sure I could travel quickly. Then I realized that I had not been summoned back to the States, just alerted to the possibility. I walked on – Lago, Cee, Finisterre. By the time I reached Finisterre, the mission seemed more likely, so I nixed the walk to Muxía up the coastline.

Long story short (too late), after finishing the short Camino Inglés, I had time to walk on. This time, I’d walk from Santiago to Muxía, and from Muxía down the coastline to Finisterre, thus closing the loop.

Leaving Santiago

Unlike the ways entering Santiago (a suburban slog), the way out of Santiago towards the coast is quick and easy, walk a couple of kilometers and the city is a distant memory. It didn’t take long to remind me that the walk to the coast is fantastic! If you’re wondering, the Ways to Finisterre and Muxía share the same path for the first couple of days.

The walk to Negreira is beautiful, rolling hills through farmland and little towns spaced just right. The only difficult part is just beyond Aguapesada, the path climbs a hill without relief for about two kilometers. This is probably made more difficult by the fact that both times I’ve stopped for lunch at the O Kilómetro 79 Bar, right at the base of this ascent. It’s hard to get the motor running after food and a beer…

Negreira Vibes

I arrived in Negreira mid-afternoon and found a nice albergue with available beds on the main street. I have fond memories of the last time I was here (except for the work call) – new friends, excellent lentejas, and a radically hospitable breakfast on the way out of town. It was a totally different vibe this time, and it had nothing to do with the town or the albergue. It was just a few people.

After settling into the albergue and taking care of my afternoon chores, I went out for food and drink. There was only one place open on the main street, not uncommon for us early diners. The place was crowded, and I took the last table on the sidewalk. It was next to three guys from the British Isles and a Dutch couple. I’ve spent well over a hundred days on the Camino and have encountered all kinds of people, but this group was the loudest, drunkest, most vulgar, most irreverent group I’ve been around. I’m not a prude, but these people were foul…

And so, the conundrum followed, do I ignore, try to correct, or engage in effort to change the tenor of the discourse? This evening, I chose to ignore, but it set off a long train of thought that consumed me all night long. That’s the inconvenience of the grace of the Camino, the path is open to everyone, and who knows how a life might be affected along the way. Who am I to say?

I straggled back to the albergue to turn in for the night. I was in the upper bunk; the lower bunk was now occupied. The occupant’s body odor wafted up from his bunk, wending through the bunk’s frame, and straight to my nose. I thought about how inconsiderate this guy’s hygiene habits were and how they would affect my beauty sleep. Then I considered the plank in my own eye*, I still had that little cough from Hospital de Bruma and every time I coughed (about once every 5 minutes), the whole bunk structure rattled and shook. He probably thought I was the most inconsiderate pilgrim in the history of pilgrimage. Miraculously, we were both able to get to sleep and make it to the morning.

*Wise words from Jesus – “Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. For you will be treated as you treat others. The standard you use in judging is the standard by which you will be judged.

“And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own? How can you think of saying to your friend, ‘Let me help you get rid of that speck in your eye,’ when you can’t see past the log in your own eye? 5 Hypocrite! First get rid of the log in your own eye; then you will see well enough to deal with the speck in your friend’s eye.” – Matthew 7.1-5