Belorado to Villafranca Montes de Oca
Reminded of the importance of communication, we passed a cave hermitage on our way to a town closely related to the Game of the Goose.
Tag: Spain
Nájera to Santo Domingo de la Calzada
To get to Santo Domingo de la Calzada, we have 21 kms ahead of us so it’s time for an early start. Out the door at 06.30 AM and straight into a climb as we wound past the cave monastery and onward through a rock cutting. A bright yellow arrow …
Navarrete to Nájera
We started out from Navarrete with its ancient pilgrim hospital, past Roland’s Hut, the site of a David and Goliath battle between Christians and Moslems, and on to Nájera where a bird and a vision decided the fate of a battle, and a French abbot gave us the first Western translation of the Koran to build better understanding between two great faiths.
Navarrete from Logroño
The council has upgraded the path to Navarrete out of Logroño. I really liked the anamorphic shadows of pilgrims and cyclists painted on the walls of the underpass beneath the road. We passed through the university grounds as we headed out from the city. A shrine stood at the entrance …
Logroño — Time for a Rest Day
Self-care on the Camino is important, and we were both definitely feeling the physical strain. Besides, we needed to stock up on a couple of items and Logroño is a decent-sized town. We went in search of a bag in order to lighten our load. The Pyrenees crossing, and the …
Sansol and Torres del Rio to Logroño
Our journey has taken us today from Sansol, with its Templar-inspired church, past an ancient farmer’s humble storm shelter. Then to the tomb of the illegitimate son of a Pope. Cesare Borgia rose to become a military General who won back Viana for the Navarrese. We marveled at the technical skills and artistry in the churches. And how those artworks, thinly gilded, have inspired people through the ages to reach for something greater than themselves.
Estella to Villamayor de Montjardin
We set off towards Villmayor de Montjardin to a forecast of 16°C on a generally good track with some fairly steep hills (some refer to these as ‘undulations’, I prefer the term ‘hill’). There were some great views across the valley, and soon we were approaching the 100km mark – …
Cirauqui to Estella
The day dawned bright for our journey onward to Estella “Next there is Estella, which is fertile in good bread, excellent wine, meat, and fish, and full of all sorts of felicity” ~ Codex Calixtinus We departed our hostel before sunrise and headed down the hill as the first rays of …
Uterga to Cirauqui via Puente la Reina
Cirauqui beckoned. The day dawned with perfect weather and a well-made track. We met a French pilgrim from Toulouse, and we all chatted in English. He was a young guy but very interested in people’s stories, and he was really enjoying the Camino. The guy told us he was finishing …