To the End of the Road and Back…

Posted by litlfish18 on October 27, 2012 · Leave a Comment

A few weeks ago, my friend Wendy and I had the opportunity to go to Muxia with two of the pilgrims she met while walking a few days on the Camino. Muxia is one of the final destinations of the Camino for pilgrims who choose to finish at the coast instead of in Santiago. It is a quaint, fishing town with beaches and spectacular views of sun setting into the Atlantic. Though it was a spur of the moment trip, I took a little advice from my last post and just went with it. It was am amazing trip, although a short one. Farhad and Marie-Anne, were the two pilgrims who Wendy met while walking and it was great to get to know them better and hear about some of their stories and life. Farhad was born in India, grew up in Dubai, currently lives in NJ and holds a British passport. He also speaks at least 5 languages. Marie- Anne is French-Candian, her mom was raised in Galicia and her nanny was Mexican so she also speaks quite a few languages. Both of them have traveled a lot and come from very diverse backgrounds. We arrived in the afternoon and the hotel Farhad was staying at was full but the owner also had an apartment right next to it that we could use for the night. So for an unbelievable price, Wendy, Marie-Anne and myself stayed in a two bedroom apartment with a full kitchen, living room and balconies that over looked the town and harbor. We went for a walk and watched the sunset along with other pilgrims on the rocks at the end of the Camino. It was a pretty magical experience. One lady threw her walking stick (just wood not metal) into the ocean as a symbol of her journey’s completion. As we climbed back down the hill, we were also able to witness a fully moon rise over the ocean. At dinner, the owner of the hotel and restaurant told us more about the history of the town. In 2002 The Prestige sank off the coast of Muxia, spilling thousands of gallons of oil along the coastline. People from all over the world came to help with the cleanup. The town, who had been pretty closed off and wary of outsiders were very touched by this and in turn opened their doors to the volunteers (some who decided to stay and make it their home). I found the people of the town very pleasant and friendly. One guy even walked us all the way to the ATM we were looking for after the other lady helping us had to go. It was nice to be able to see a different part of Galicia and get out of Santiago (a big city comparatively). It’s amazing to see what God has in store for us if we are open and flexible. Everything just seemed to fall into place after making the decision to go 20 minutes before leaving. Getting to hangout and hear about their journey’s on the Camino just makes me that much more excited about why I am here and the ministry that God is putting in place.