El Camino Irlandais to Muxia Fisterra to Lires

El Camino Irlandais to Muxia 

Fisterra to Lires   

It was a late start to the day as al the early slots for breakfast were taken so I was schedule for 8.30am and luckily, I wasn't in a hurry as it was an easy 12.5 kilometres through farmland and forest with only one steep ascent.

There were way markers, the usual granite pylons but without the distance. The path was walked both ways so where the kilometres had been along El Camino Portuguese, it was either a sign saying A Fisterra or A Muxia.

The scenery is beautiful with many vistas on which to feast the eyes.

One drawback was that I thought that I might be walking the trail by myself and see no one else. Just ahead of my as I was leaving Fisterra, I could see more than twenty pilgrims, walking in ones, twos and threes. There were obviously a group and several had the same yellow T-shirts on but wearing rucksacks, I could only pick out a few of the first and last parts of the words. 

I passed several small groups until I had heard that they were speaking English with Irish accents. I caught up with David and Frankie from Dublin an Kilkenny and discovered their story.

They were walking for FocusIreland, a charity that is challenging homelessness and changing lives. They help families to keep their homes, single mums with children and homeless youths who have all faced homelessness through challenges not necessarily of their own making. They had started in Santiago de Compostela, with an aim to walk for a week via Finisterre to Muxia.

I wished them a Buen Camino and walked ahead. There was more stunning scenery, a few fields and peaceful forests that also provided shade against the strengthening sun as it climbed higher into the sky. I didn't see any other pilgrims walking in the same direction but I did see a few walking towards Santiago de Compostela.

I could hear the waves crashing against the coast as the trail was never far from the shore with several signs pointing to nearby beaches. I followed one track towards the shore and thought that there was a fish farm.

On closer inspection, it turned out to be a sewage treatment plant and the idea of a dip in the sea suddenly seemed less enticing. 

But the estuary was still pretty with views down the river from the last bridge out to sea.

Despite its beauty, it is still undeveloped with many sites that anywhere else would have been built over. There were plenty of fish in the water with fishermen trying their luck. I could see fish in the clear waters, see some of their dorsal fins as they swam near the surface and saw many at the surface gulping air. 

Cancelling the swimming idea wasn't such a loss when I reached the mouth of the estuary and saw the rip tides and cross currents. It wasn't a safe place to swim and the waves were quite strong.

A last look at the Atlantic rollers crashing onto the beach and it was time to return to the hotel.