Author: Thom

The Iglesia de San Esteban de Zabaldika is a spiritual gem. The walls are thick – it was built to withstand raids by the Moors – and its interior is smaller than you might expect. Eamon and I walked around the small space, taking dozens of photos, before stopping a bit to pray before this rustic, but beautiful, altarpiece. Twelve […]

The grounds around the Iglesia de San Esteban de Zabaldika were full of wild daisies, and a pilgrim had left their pack and sticks by the entrance to the church. I spent a moment frolicking amongst the wildflowers before heading in myself. Date: 03 April 2013Place: Zabaldika (Navarra, Spain) Maps! On the way from Zubiri to Pamplona.

First of all, apologies for not posting yesterday. After fighting an impending migraine most of the afternoon, I finally lost the fight. Not feeling great today, but much better than last evening. Here, we finally crest the hill and spy the Iglesia de San Esteban de Zabaldika. This hilltop Romanesque church dates from the 13th century, and it really hasn’t much […]

The path up to Zabaldika is a narrow, steep trail up the side of a hill. You can’t really see what’s on the top until you’re pretty much there. Since we really had no idea what was up there, I at least was feeling like maybe taking this detour wasn’t such a great idea. In 2016, I couldn’t get Francine […]

One of the first lessons I learned on the Camino was “take every detour”. This was the moment of decision, the moment when Eamon and I took our first detour from the main route of the Camino. While the rest of our little family pressed ahead, we decided to see what Zabaldika was. Of course, on the maps, it’s Zabaldica. […]

Along the Camino are many monuments to fallen pilgrims. This marks the place where Rosanna di Verona ended her Camino in 2006. Requiescat in pace, Peregrina. Date: 03 April 2013Place: between Irotz and Zabaldica (Navarra, Spain) Maps! On the way from Zubiri to Pamplona.

Our breakfast in Irotz was late enough – 11am – that following my café con leche, I had more of a lunch. It was my first Spanish chorizo, warmed up and on bread. It was amazing, what with all of the juices from the chorizo soaking into the bread, and now I’m hungry just thinking about it. Anyway, this is […]

Finally had our breakfast in the village of Irotz (or, Iroz if you trust the Castilian maps) at about 11am. I took the time to update my journal, as you can see. It’s funny to look at the same book more than six years later. I’m using my journal to help write the posts that go with these photos, and […]

I have absolutely no idea what these ruins were in their former life. They are located on a gravel road in a wooded area, with nothing nearby but the occasional house or homestead. In fact, there’s a lovely, well-kept house directly across the road from this site. Whatever this building may once have been, it’s pretty clear that it’s become […]

Carlos and Eamon cross the bridge over the Río Arga into the village of Zuriáin. We’ve already crossed this river once today, and we’ll cross it twice more before the day is over. As the Camino becomes more popular again – and more lucrative for the locals – reconstruction and construction abounds. We will see this again and again as […]