Author: Thom

I‘m not sure what possessed me to take this photo of a well and irrigation system in La Rioja. They are ubiquitous throughout the eastern parts of La Rioja and throughout Castilla, and they are not small – that’s my hiking pole you see leaning against it for scale. The reason I’m posting it is this: in a week or […]

As I indicated in a previous post, most of the distance signs of the Camino seem to be pure guesswork – though at least a few are just maliciously wrong. On the road from Nájera to Azofra, you will see these particular signs very kilometer or so. Three years ago, they were brand new, and at the time we swore […]

The immediate path of the Camino out of Nájera is through a narrow gorge of the same red stone that you see in the nearby cliffs. When we walked, vultures circled overhead. Nothing creepy about that. Occasionally, the gauntlet widens briefly into the vineyards for which La Rioja is famous, as you see here. Dark clouds loomed, and we were […]

Although the royal monastery of Santa María la Real was clearly built as a fortress, there are a few bits of art built into the walls, such as these Papal arms set high into the outer wall. (The bonus photo at the end of the post shows just how high into the wall this is!) Presumably, this art dates to […]

Santa María la Real is a fortified monastery in the town of Nájera, founded by King García Sánchez III of Navarre in 1052. It is here that many of the early kings and queens of Navarra are entombed in a royal crypt that feels like it might be in Middle Earth or Narnia. It was one of my favourite sites […]

This is, I think, the closest we venture to the cliffs in Nájera. As you can see, not all of the Camino is picturesque and medieval. Or even baroque. Spain is, after all, a modern country with modern issues – which include graffiti, crumbling walls, and trash and recycling pickup. Date: 08 April 2016 Place: Nájera (La Rioja, Spain) Here’s […]

Sometimes when the Camino winds through a town, it really winds through a town. It wanders down narrow alleys, through arches and doorways, under buildings, and through hidden parks and courtyards surrounded by homes. Here, we are somewhere in Nájera. Somewhere off to our left, cliffs loom. Date: 08 April 2016 Place: Nájera (La Rioja, Spain) Here’s a pair of […]

The town of Nájera is located in the valley of the Rio Najerilla, which the bridge right in front of us here crosses. Just beyond, the Camino takes a sharp left turn at the foot of the cliffs that loom over this part of town. They are remarkably vertical, and the buildings are built right up to their edge. Date: […]