guidebook or map to walk from Santiago to Finisterre/muxia?

[peregrinacheena]

Hi

I am walking from SJPDP to Santiago and have brierley's book, looking to continue to finisterre and muxia but don't have time to order one. Is the route clearly marked can I get by without one? If I do need one, anyone know if it can be picked up in santiago?

Thanks

 

[nellpilgrim]

Hi I can only speak for the section from SDC to Finisterre. It's well marked, is a really lovely section and you could certainly do without a guide. Remember you'll be 'Camino savvy' by the time you get to that part of your journey! The section between Hospital and Cee is a bit long and isolated but there is (was in 2008) a summer only albergue a little over half way and you could top up with water there even if you decide not to stay.
If you ask around when you get to SDC someone, either coming back from Finisterre or having decided not to walk there as originally planned, may have a spare copy of Brierleys guide. But don't worry every time we strayed off this route (even a little to find a spot to rest etc) we were often herded back onto the Camino by concerned elderly ladies and gentlemen who would come out of their houses or lean over their walls flapping and pointing with their arms and shouting 'Camino' .... I must admit at times I felt a little like an errant chicken :lol:
Have a great journey.
Nell

 

[Alan Pearce]

Hello
I walked from SdC to Muxia about 3 weeks ago. I had the Alison Raju guide, which is very detailed in it's directions. I did not need the book at all, as the way marking is so good.

buen camino

Alan

Be brave. Life is joyous.

 

[Pieces]

for a donation you can download the CSJ guide here, I personally find them better than the Brierly, much more to the point and, well just a lot better...

http://www.csj.org.uk/guides-online.htm

 

[mspath]

In Santiago the Galicia Tourist Office, Rúa do Vilar, 30-32 has a useful free multi-language listing of all the current facilities in every village found along the camino to Finisterre and Muxia. This also provides telephone numbers and bus schedules. Their staff is friendly and most helpful. Buen Camino!

 

[Deleted member 3000]

An excellent interactive map that lets you see the terrain:

http://www.elcaminosantiago.com/Camino- ... Google.htm

 

[peregrinacheena]

hi all

thanks for the responses, i am back home, walked from santiago to fisterra then to muxia with no guide except a print out listing the towns, albergues, bars and distance from the tourist office in santiago, didnt need a guide beyond that or prob can do without that but i was nice to know how many more kms to destination. The way was clearly marked, on the walk to muxia from fisterra the waymarkings are frequently for both going to muxia or coming from muxia to fisterra so be careful not to be confused by that. buen camino

 

[AlaskaMark]

Just completed the Camino Finisterre in August and found the route incredibly well marked. Easy to follow. We did it in three days but four would have been more comfortable. We were very glad that we did it after our Camino Ingles.

 

[Al the optimist]

I agree with peregrinacheena
I did the same and had no trouble (other than bed bugs - I had walked the bug free Ingles as planned and on the spur of the moment added the Finisterra without thinking of the possible consequences)

 

[micbook]

Hi all,

I'm realizing that this might be too late for the original post, but for future pilgrims wondering the same thing-
I walked Camino Portugues last summer followed by SDC - Finisterre - Muxia with no map or guidebook and had no trouble. The routes are well marked, and you can get a printout of several pages at the Galicia Tourist Center in SDC that gives you the main breakdowns in terms of distances and main villages/hostels.

Buen Camino!
Michal
--
https://michalrinkevich.wordpress.com/tag/camino-de-santiago/

 

[kmccue]

hi all

thanks for the responses, i am back home, walked from santiago to fisterra then to muxia with no guide except a print out listing the towns, albergues, bars and distance from the tourist office in santiago, didnt need a guide beyond that or prob can do without that but i was nice to know how many more kms to destination. The way was clearly marked, on the walk to muxia from fisterra the waymarkings are frequently for both going to muxia or coming from muxia to fisterra so be careful not to be confused by that. buen camino

 

[kmccue]

Muxia or Finisterre, if U can only do 1?

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Muxia or Finisterre, if U can only do 1?

I prefer Muxia, but more pilgrims go to Fisterra, so you may see familiar faces there. If you are returning on a bus, there are more buses from Fisterra.

 

[Felice]

In Santiago the Galicia Tourist Office, Rúa do Vilar, 30-32 has a useful free multi-language listing of all the current facilities in every village found along the camino to Finisterre and Muxia. This also provides telephone numbers and bus schedules. Their staff is friendly and most helpful. Buen Camino!

Can anyone tell me what times the Tourist Office is open? I'm arriving in Santiago in the late afternoon and would like to pick up the listing that day so that I can start walking early the next day.

 

[SYates]

Can anyone tell me what times the Tourist Office is open? I'm arriving in Santiago in the late afternoon and would like to pick up the listing that day so that I can start walking early the next day.

Here you go: http://www.santiagoturismo.com/servizos-basicos/17341
Buen Camino, SY

 

[Felice]

Here you go: http://www.santiagoturismo.com/servizos-basicos/17341
Buen Camino, SY

Brilliant. Many thanks.

 

[Thornley]

Muxia or Finisterre, if U can only do 1?

Muxia

 

[Felice]

When are you planning to walk to the "end of the world" @Felice ?

I arrive in Santiago on June 9th and plan to start walking to the end of the world and then beyond, the next day.

 

[Felice]

@Felice We begin ours at the end of July.

Do post your adventure to us all and which albergues you stay at if possible.

Ondo Ibili !

OK, so its nearly a month since I came back, but here goes....

I arrived in Santiago in the late afternoon, and stayed at Hospederia San Martin Pinario where I had reserved a single room. Lovely and simple, clean and tidy. When I checked in, the gentleman on reception looked at me and said, how unusual, we share the same birthdate. A nice start to my camino, I thought.
The walk to Negreira was pleasant and gentle enough for a first day. A couple of groups passed me, but not many people in total. I stayed at the Municipal Albergue which is up the hill on the other side of town. It's modern, clean and has NO BUNKBEDS - only single beds! Downside is that unless you self cater, which I don't, you have to walk back into town and back up again. I must have added 5 or 6 km as I did the trip twice. I ate at the Cafe Imperial, where the food is simple and traditional, but has far more flavour than normal. I'm sure there are other options if you want to eat at a more normal Spanish time.
Next day, it's quite a walk to the first cafe so be well stocked if you need food. Another nice walk but I only got to Santa Marina, where I stayed at Casa Pepe. The albergue is modern, clean and comfortable. The owners work really hard, getting breakfast at 7, serving food all day and evening meals for pilgrims whenever they ask.
I ended up the next day walking to Cee, a long stretch. My walking companion was only intending to go as far as Hospital, but the albergue there was full so we went the whole way. In Cee, I stayed at Albergue A Casa de Fonte. It has a very large single room with bunks around the edge so there is plenty of space. The bathrooms smell badly of drains, which is a shame as they are new. The owner, Guzman, is lovely. He has walked the Camino several times and wants to create a haven for pilgrims. I wish him well in his venture. I had originally gone on further to the Albergue camino Fisterra at the start of Corcubion. It had a fantastic view, but it looked as though there were about 20 beds, closely packed and with only 1 shower and toilet. As it was nearly full, I did not think the view was worth the crowding and turned back to Cee.

Due to the awful weather forecast for the day, I decided not to walk to Finisterre, but instead took a taxi to Dumbria and walked on to Muxia. Lovely walk, through eucalyptus plantations, shady lanes, lush countryside etc. There is a MASSIVE horreo at Ozon, with 22 pairs of legs! At Muxia, I stayed at the Albergue Bela Muxia, which again is modern, clean and well equipped. It is also rather large so I felt rather lost and anonymous surrounded by groups of chattering French, Italian and German pilgrims. I had a very expensive but delicous meal of longostinos at one cafe whose name I forget. I was packed with Spaniards, but I eat with a Dutch woman who also found the albergue too impersonal. It had rained when I went to the church on arrival, and it all felt very damp and dreary. But when I returned just before a dramatic sunset, it felt very different.

Foolishly, I tried to save some effort the next day by taking a short cut to get onto the path to Lires. I ended up at the start of Muxia, where I had come in the day before. Then I tried to cut across the peninsular and got soaked pushing through wet vegetation. Finally, I gave up and went back to the chapel, having done several unnecessary km. Not long after that, I made a mistake because I was following people a little ahead, rather than looking at the guide. I followed them across the sand dunes behind the beach, then up a track to the road. Realising I was wrong when I looked at my guide at the next village, I tried another short cut. This involved climbing to the top of the hill with the radio mast on it. Fortunately I met a cyclist who told me where to go next! I'm glad I did the detour as the view from the top was fantastic.
By the time I got to Lires at around 2, I had had enough. The albergue at As Eiras is modern and clean and good value. Food is good too, and a walk down to the sea is a must.

Another glorious sunny day to walk to Finisterre. I took the short detour around the coast at the beginning. As I was very short of cash, I had to walk all the way in to town to find a bank, otherwise I would probably have stayed at the Albergue do Mar, which is at the end of the long beach. It looked good. As it was, I met some people again who were staying at the Mar de Fora, so I went there. The place is perfectly OK but the bunks were modern and not very stable.

I was so glad that I had changed my plans. Two days earlier it had rained all day and all evening in Finisterre, whereas I had suffered only a couple of light showers in Muxia. For me, the sun was warm all afternoon when I visited both the Praia do Mar de Fora, where I paddled in the surf, and the much quieter sea of the Praia de Langosteira, which is a fabulous sandy beach, where I managed to pick up a tiny little Pecten shell to join my other small shell. The evening sunset at the Faro was beautiful, and I walked back across the headland rather than take the road. Next day it was back to Santiago and a day sightseeing before heading home again.

Some thoughts on my walk in no particular order:

- The camino is fairly well marked, but not as well as the Frances. There were several places where I needed to refer to my guide book. This is especially true at the very beginning where the first sign is several hundred metres, and several junctions, after the start.
- I used the Confraternity of St James guide, downloaded from the internet and printed it as an A5 booklet (that took some work!). I also had some sketch maps from the Spanish guide book we own.
- No problems with accommodation, but then it was June, not July, the holiday month.
- It is well worth breaking your walk at Lires now that there is a good albergue open.
- Several stretches are not well equipped with cafes. There's a little donativio stall outside someone's home half way between Lires and Finisterre, and that was so appreciated.
- In Negreira I met 2 men who were walking from Muxia back to Santiago. They said that they had made quite a number of mistakes because it was not always easy to know where to go. No doubt GPS and technology will change all that - if it has not already.
- The Mass in English at the cathedral in Santiago was much appreciated. I wish I had known that there was evening prayers there as well.
- Don't forget to call in at the cafe Tertulia at 7. Both times I went, there was someone there, though I did not meet Ivar, which I would have liked to have done, to say thanks personally for the good work that he does.

All in all, a good walk which I'm glad to have done. Not sure if I would have appreciated it so much had I done it straight after the Frances last year.

 

[Anniesantiago]

You won't need a guidebook, there will be so many people you can follow and excellent waymarking.
However, if you WANT to pick up Brierley's book to Finisterre, I believe I've seen it in the Pilgrim Shop in Pamplona and I'm sure you can find it in Santiago.

 

[Felice]

You won't need a guidebook, there will be so many people you can follow and excellent waymarking.
However, if you WANT to pick up Brierley's book to Finisterre, I believe I've seen it in the Pilgrim Shop in Pamplona and I'm sure you can find it in Santiago.

Agreed that you don't need a guidebook, but I like a framework for my walk. I want to know what to expect and roughly where I am each day, so I like a guidebook. As I said, I used the Confraternity of St James guidebook. Also used info from Forwalk site on albergues etc (http://santiago.forwalk.org/en/?ref=logo). Certainly would not bother with Brierley's book.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Agreed that you don't need a guidebook, but I like a framework for my walk. I want to know what to expect and roughly where I am each day, so I like a guidebook. As I said, I used the Confraternity of St James guidebook. Also used info from Forwalk site on albergues etc (http://santiago.forwalk.org/en/?ref=logo). Certainly would not bother with Brierley's book.

Well, ok!
I guess I misunderstood your question.
I thought you asked if you could get by without a guidebook.

I thought Brierley's guidebook was great, myself.
But I don't require much guidance.
To each his/her own I guess.

(plus I didn't read the entire thread. My bad.)

 

[Felice]

Thanks a lot for the info. Some of the places you mention we had planned to stay there. The walk down to the beach at Lires is also included in our plan.

Btw did you walk across the stones at Lires or did you use that horrible new bridge?

Thanks once again.

Ondo Ibili !

Used the bridge. Actually, the stones would be very difficult now - one of them has moved and it would take a bit of a jump to reach its neighbour.




Any idea what the industrial set up is half way down to the sea? Fish farm or sewage works?!!! The seagulls like whatever is coming out of the outflow, and the fish in the estuary are HUGE and very numerous.

 

[whariwharangi]

Hi

I am walking from SJPDP to Santiago and have brierley's book, looking to continue to finisterre and muxia but don't have time to order one. Is the route clearly marked can I get by without one? If I do need one, anyone know if it can be picked up in santiago?

Thanks

I bought one (Brierleys) in a bookstore in the market near the cathedral in Santiago.

 

[Albertagirl]

There is a MASSIVE horreo at Ozon, with 22 pairs of legs!

My imagination was working overtime on this one, until I found a definition of "horreo" on Wickepedia.

 

[Felice]

My imagination was working overtime on this one, until I found a definition of "horreo" on Wickepedia.

Ooops, sorry.....
Does the reality disappoint?



It was impossible to photograph from above. I wished that I had taken a photo from the other side of the valley when I first spotted it.

 

[domigee]

You can find all the info about the Camino Finisterre to Muxia in this website. It's a short walk so you can either get a tour or do it by yourself, there's plenty of pilgrims in this way.

The OP posted in 2011 , I guess he/she found her way by now
But very useful link, thank you.

 

[Thornley]

I agree with peregrinacheena
I did the same and had no trouble (other than bed bugs - I had walked the bug free Ingles as planned and on the spur of the moment added the Finisterra without thinking of the possible consequences)

Should have turned right to Dumbria Al then to Bella Muxia which is in the 5 best alberques we have encountered

 

[domigee]

You won't need a guidebook, there will be so many people you can follow and excellent waymarking.
However, if you WANT to pick up Brierley's book to Finisterre, I believe I've seen it in the Pilgrim Shop in Pamplona and I'm sure you can find it in Santiago.

I bought that Brierley guide in the Tourist Office in Santiago. Didn't have to use it
I was the only one walking then (Aug.2012) but it was well waymarked.