Walking the Camino de Santiago
On our way out of Torres del Río, we ran into a flock of chickens. They seemed indifferent to us, as have most animals on the Camino. Except barking dogs. Always some of those. Not here, though. Them’s chickens. Northern Spain, where the Camino runs, is mostly rural, and there are a lot of animals here: sheep, cows, goats, horses, […]
» Read more
Although it’s difficult to tell except at the highest magnification, this is a photo of a dog sticking it’s nose under the corner of a door. It clearly wants to get out and into the fresh air. Seems appropriate for today. Date: 07 April 2013Place: Torres del Río (Navarra, Spain) Maps!
» Read more
For those following closely, this 12th century octagonal church in Torres del Río may remind you of Santa María de Eunate. Indeed, both are reportedly Templar churches, though there is maddeningly little evidence to support this long-held tradition. Someday, I hope to go inside. On both occasions I’ve been through here it was locked up tight, and the person who […]
» Read more
From the hill town of Sansol, it’s just one hill over to the hill town of Torres del Río, seen here from Sansol. There’s a river between them, but it really does seem like you could just string a long bridge from one town to the next. Date: 07 April 2013Place: Sansol (Navarra, Spain) Maps!
» Read more
Solely based on the coat of arms above this shabby door, this was once the grand house of some noble family. These days, like much of rural Spain, it’s a bit run down and in need of some love and care. As I mentioned yesterday, many of the older buildings here are constructed on this lovely red limestone. Date: 07 […]
» Read more
And we’re back! These arms are found on the side of an imposing, if rather plain, stone building in the hill town of Sansol. They are the arms of the Melgar family, and the building has the rather grand name of Palacio Melgar. Although it’s made of the same red sandstone one finds all over Navarra, for some reason in […]
» Read more
You may have noticed that I’ve not been posting our “Camino Photo of the Day” recently. There’s a story behind that. We’ve been in South Lake Tahoe in Nevada. Oh, not for any vacation – well, not really. We were there to complete our training as hospitaleros. But I’m getting slightly ahead of myself. Prologue: Virginia City We arrived at […]
» Read more
The kilometers flew by, and before we knew it, we were at the town of Sansol. It’s 9:30am, and we’re all feeling strong. Might be time for second breakfast! Date: 07 April 2013Place: approaching Sansol (Navarra, Spain) Maps!
» Read more
Our morning began with what I called in my journal “a delightfully easy 7km to Sansol”. It was long and flat farm and pasture land, with some rolling hills just to keep it all interesting. The sky was clear and the air was cool. Occasionally in the distance beyond the hills, we would catch glimpses of snow-covered mountains to the […]
» Read more
A portion of our Camino family poses outside the Albergue la Fuenta Casa de Austria, as we make ready for our long day. From left to right: Charlie from the UK, Ali from UK (and France), Cliff from Massachusetts, Petra from Bavaria, Eamon from New Zealand, and Kristof from Bruges. It’s about 8 in the morning. As a warning, the […]
» Read more