Muxia

The clouds hang low at the north-western end of Spain. Galicians in traditional costume play the bagpipes at the fourth village festival in four days. I eat mussels in the pleasantly cool rain. If it weren’t for the funny language here, which is exactly halfway between Spanish and Portuguese, this would be Scotland: old stone churches above the rocky coast and lots of greenery around the small fishing village of Muxia.

The end of the Way of St James, Santiago de Compostela, is just around the corner. I am the only kite pilgrim in my hostel. Everyone else is a hike pilgrim. With up to 800 kilometres in their legs, they still haven’t had enough in Santiago di Compostela – and are still doing a little 120-kilometre aftermath to the end of the world in Fisterra.

The nearest kitespot is Os Muiños, 8 kilometres away, a beautiful 300-metre-wide sandy beach in the middle of nowhere between brown cliffs and green forests. The wind is usually fully onshore from the north-east, stronger than at the other spots in the area. Today, unfortunately, it’s only blowing at a meagre 15 knots all day, almost ten knots short of the good forecast. The location makes up for the lack of wind magic.

A small stall with pot-smoking brothers sells good bocadillos. Wild camping is allowed on the beach. There are a maximum of eight kiters on the water – but that means the bay is already closed. There is a 100 metre wide swimming area on the beach marked with buoys, and it is quite well used today. Getting through the swimmers into the open water is quite difficult in the weak onshore wind. There has already been some trouble, and the locals ask for consideration.

On the right-hand side as seen from the beach, a few small cliffs create a surprisingly large windward eddy – watch out! Otherwise, everything is safe at this spot: some scrub on the beach, two clearly visible rocks in the water and a standing area of approx. 30 metres.