Muxia

After an 18-mile walk, we cruised into Muxía yesterday afternoon. Muxía is a small fishing village on the western Spanish coast, called the Costa da Morte or Coast of Death because of the dangerous rocky shore. In 2002, the Prestige oil tanker spilled 17.8 million gallons of heavy fuel oil offshore, polluting thousands of km of coastline and devastating the local fishing industry.

At the end of town is the Church of the Virgin of the Boat, a rocky shore, and a monument commemorating the Prestige spill. Local lore says the Virgin Mary came to this place in a stone boat to encourage St. James, who was having little success in converting the Spaniards to Christianity. Later, after James was beheaded in Jerusalem, his remains were brought back in Galicia by boat.

On Christmas Day 2013, lightning struck the little church, causing extensive fire damage. When I visited in 2016, the walls of the sanctuary were bare. We attended Mass this evening; you can see the difference in the photos below.Read more