muxia
how do you approach a new place? especially one you reach with not the expectation, but the desire, that somehow things will clear up in your soul, that you will look out over the sea, be in the moment and know that everything will be alright? that it will come with contentment.
i take a wander. past a supermercado, unos nueces más para picar. and then off to visit la virxe da barca. along the coast, a mere kilometer further up the peninsula.
the santuario virgen de a barca is a place fundamentally tied to the cultural and spiritual history of muxía. for centuries, it has been a site of magical & religious worship and the promised reward for pilgrims completing the camino xacobeo to the sea.
i guess if not contentment, then peace is another term of what i seek. peace in my mind and soul. the walk and the surroundings are definitely peaceful.
there is an ancient legend attached to this place. it is said that this is where the virgin mary arrived by sea in a boat made of stone to offer encouragement to the weary apostle santiago. he must have been exhausted after a long hike, just as i am. i’m no apostle though, so no virgin mary for me, i’m afraid.
the physical remnants of her mythical boat are believed to be scattered along the shore as magical stones (the pedra de abalar - the rocking stone, the pedra de os cadrís - the kidney stone, the pedra dos namorados - the lovers' stone, and the pedra de o temón - the rudder stone), stones with healing properties. i tried it out yesterday (going under the kidney stone is supposed to heal your bones and joints) and can confirm that my back is fine today. however, i am not hiking today and hence there is no backpack waying me down. only my thoughts. i’ll try again today as i’m having a rest day. ah, and i just read, that you have to pass under the stone nine times. if you are agile enough for that, your joints will be fine!
the temple, earlier a celtic shrine, has been rebuilt several times throughout its history, most recently following a fire on christmas day in 2013. the flames destroyed the roof and the main altarpiece (now a replacement made of cloth, i think), leaving only the outer walls, benches, and confessional boxes standing. the atmosphere inside the church is amplified by its barrenness and simplicity.
the lookout above the sanctuary and above muxía provides magnificent views all around. after my wander around the place i conclude that i like it. i might return when next on a camino de santiago.
so, here at the edge of the world, at kilometer zero, can i let go of whatever it is that is keeping my soul en oscuridad? should i let go or is this an essential part of me?
just a thought - where on the various caminos have i left things behind? cruz de ferro in 2022? fisterra in 2022? santiago in 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026? i guess, i will end up scattered all over the place eventually, if i keep walking caminos.
can i leave here with the knowledge that the long walk has served its purpose, and that things will indeed be alright? i will ponder this question on the hike down the coast tomorrow, in fisterra again, and over the final hiking days back to santiago. i will walk on. the camino continues. then it finishes. and then it continues in berlin - el camino de la vida.
