Muxía and Camariñas: The Stone Boat, the Lace and the Serpent

At Muxía the sanctuary of the Virxe da Barca stands on the rocks at the edge of the sea, where legend says the Virgin came in a stone boat to comfort Saint James and left its pieces as the strangely shaped rocks in front of the church — the Pedra de Abalar among them. The present church dates from 1716–19, pilgrims have long extended the Camino to it, and a fire on Christmas Day 2013 destroyed its baroque altarpiece. Nearby stands A Ferida, the wound, a sculpture for the Prestige oil spill of 2002. North, past Camariñas — known internationally for its bobbin lace — the Cabo Vilán lighthouse was first lit on 15 January 1896, the oldest electric lighthouse in Spain. On 10 November 1890 the Royal Navy's HMS Serpent ran aground on the cape in a storm; 173 of her 176 crew died, and they are buried where they washed ashore, in the English Cemetery.