The Costa da Morte

I love Muxia and stayed an extra two days to hike around the wild coast and climb the rocks. I moved to a different hostal that’s right on the main road through this town of more than 5,000 permanent residents. Here are pictures of Muxia, my memories and impressions.

I can hear and see the ocean from my window overlooking the sea, an unforgettable view and reminder of the power and natural rhythms of our ocean. It’s endless and while we would like to believe it’s predictable, its power is legend beyond human hands. Speaking of human hands, the beauty and integrity of both natural wonders and human intention are inspiration for writers, poets, photographers, artists and philosophers in this breathtaking wonder of Muxia. And aren’t we all the living and creative energy of at least one of the above.

To sit on a rock and listen to the sea is to be transformed. I am a believer in Nature as healer and savior in the philosophical sense. The Camino provides the time to discover, to be part of instead of apart.

Now on to the practicum of Camino Philosophy 201. Take a hike and explore Muxia. Alone or with a companion, you will fall in love again and again with our extraordinary planet. We do have so much to protect. My rock placed today at the sculpture, “The Wound” is my prayer for peace and equality for humanity. Too much to ask? I think not. It’s Hope and what we can work for every day. Click on this link for more about the sculptures and amazing A Barca, called the “stone altar by the sea.”

“In memory of the Prestigeoil tanker catastrophe, on a hill above the shrine we can see the sculpture called A Ferida (The Wound), made in 2003 by Alberto Bañuelos-Fournier, an artist from Burgos.”

I am fascinated by light and shadows. There is the light visible and the disappearing light, the shadows and sun and then the darkness. It is all poetry of our natural world. This morning we walked to the monument and the rocks in a light rain, right after sunrise, which was 8:30 a.m.

I decided to trace the boardwalk path I walked last year with my Camino amiga. It was a long trek for me from our retreat in Carantoña and when we arrived at the sandy beach and walkway, I told Darlene to go ahead. I was slow and slower! Today without a pack and a lot of rest, the path looks much different. It is perspective and light.

I met a new friend when walking back and we spent some of the next two days hiking, eating, sharing and processing the Camino. And a bonus, Bob Shea, a Pilgrim who walked the Camino Portuguese is a musician, writer and poet and has an amazing day job, story and poetry. How fortunate I have been on this journey. Imagine People to People, Poet to Poet.

One of the blessings of my Camino, the journey that has taken me in directions I didn’t know I needed to walk, is the possibility of meeting new Camino friends along the Way. Here in Muxia, I’ve met Pilgrims from the States and beyond our borders, close and far, far away, heard beautiful languages, some I understand, some not. But my reason for traveling when I wrote my first blog, BEYOND BORDERS, several years ago, has only been enhanced with my Camino life. I still look for and find the similarities and all we have in common, beyond our governments, our fences, walls, boundaries and maps. Human kindness and connection are everywhere.

I especially care about the children and the sound of children’s voices is always the music I want to hear. For our children, our grandchildren and our planet, let peace and kindness be a reality at home and Beyond Borders.

Everywhere I’ve traveled in Spain, on and off the Camino, I’ve watched children and families in social situations. Often, parents and children are together, late into the evening, the children at play, while Moms and Dads interact. I am a visitor and it is just my personal impression, but family and children seem to be highly valued in Spain. In the city of A Coruña, and other Spanish cities I’ve traveled, there were more playgrounds and plazas and walking /biking areas than I’ve seen and at the end of the day they were crowded with adults and children. The sound of children’s voices is music. And I love seeing kids with adults on the Camino. What a life-changing experience for both. Well, perhaps this edit to my post was a bit of a birdwalk, but it has Camino written all over it. Camino kindness, caring and joy.

Next stop is Santiago for a night, then a 5:00 a.m. train to Madrid and soon home. And I haven’t really been away. Wherever my feet take me is home.

Buen Camino, Amigos