Walking the Camino de Santiago
The monastic church of Santa María la Real in Nájera contains one of my favourite depictions of Saint James. It is located at one of the side altars. While it is broadly similar to others of the region, there’s just something about the expression on the saint’s face that delights me. His expression seems to simultaneously be one of sorrow […]
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The royal Navarran pantheon in the crypt of Santa María la Real in Nájera was originally a cave. Legend has it that in 1044, King García Sánchez III was chasing a hawk when he found this cave. Enshrined within was this statue of the Virgin with Child. The King founded a church here the next year. Date: 09 April 2013Place: […]
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Over the past few days, Francine and I have been hiking with our friend Callie out near Leavenworth in the Alpine Lakes Wilderness. We hiked 16 kilometers over rough ground at altitude on two back-to-back days. It’s been awhile since I’ve hiked 32km! Needless to say, this has had an enormous effect on our “virtual Camino“. In fact, we almost […]
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The crypt of the kings and queens of Navarra at Santa María la Real is like something from Tolkien’s works. Their stone sarcophagi are laid out in rows, and you can see the changing fashions of dress through centuries. I took many photos, but it was impossible to do justice to the place. I’ll be away from my computer for […]
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The crypt of the kings and queens of Navarra at Santa María la Real is like something from Tolkien’s works. Their stone sarcophagi are laid out in rows, and you can see the changing fashions of dress through centuries. I took many photos, but it was impossible to do justice to the place. Date: 09 April 2013Place: Nájera (La Rioja, […]
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Here I am with what I presume to be one of the dead kings of Navarra who are entombed here at Santa María la Real in Nájera. Or more probably one of the abbots. I was impressed enough with the cloister area of this medieval royal monastery and pantheon; little did I know that the true wonders were in the […]
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Although I took many photos of the delightful monastic cloister at Santa María la Real in Nájera, for some reason all of them were blurry. This is, I think, the best. If you look closely at the statues along both sides, you will see that many are headless. As a bonus (by way of apologizing for the lack of posting […]
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In the old town center of Nájera, we come to the grand monastery of Santa María la Real. It was established by King García Sánchez III of Navarra in 1052 as the place of burial of the Kings and Queens of Navarra. After his death in 1054, the monastery and royal pantheon was granted to the monks of Cluny by […]
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Some people have accused me of only posting the prettiest photos of our Caminos. Well, there’s certainly some truth in that, but I like to think that I also feature the ugly and odd. So for the folks who like those photos, here’s Eamon standing in front of a closed, or possibly abandoned, bar. No second breakfast there, I’m afraid. […]
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The Camino’s entrance into the town of Nájera may not be the prettiest, but the locals sure are welcoming. “Pilgrims: in Nájera you’re a Najeran.” We walked the 10km from Ventosa by 9:30am, and now we were looking for second breakfast. In the old center of the town we would find that, and so very much more. Date: 09 April […]
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