Stage Olveiroa to Negreira

At 33 kilometres, this is the longest stage of the Camino a Finisterre y Muxía, although its predominantly downhill profile —from the three hundred metres of Olveiroa to the one hundred and twenty of Negreira— makes it easier going than the distance suggests. Walked in the Olveiroa-Negreira direction it means the return towards Santiago, and it is usual to tackle it with the feeling of closing the circle.

The way out of Olveiroa drops through meadows to Ponte Olveira, where the path crosses the river Xallas. It is one of the few notable features of the route and marks the passage from the district of Fisterra to that of Xallas. From there the route alternates dirt tracks with stretches of quiet minor road.

The middle section crosses Santa Mariña and a succession of smaller hamlets as far as Vilaserío. It is the area with fewest services of the whole day, and it is worth bearing that in mind when setting out: between Ponte Olveira and Vilaserío there are few places to refill water or eat. The landscape is that of the farming Galicia of the interior, with meadows enclosed by stone walls, maize fields and stands of eucalyptus.

Past Vilaserío the path continues through Zas and steadily loses height towards the Tambre valley. The last kilometres run through oak woods and villages that are ever closer to one another, a sign that the scattered rural world of the Costa da Morte is being left behind and that you are entering Santiago's sphere of influence.

Negreira welcomes the pilgrim with the widest range of services since Santiago: places to stay, shops and restaurants concentrated in a compact town centre. On the way out of the town, already in the next stage, the pazo do Cotón and the medieval bridge of Ponte Maceira await, one of the most photographed sights on the Camino.