Category: Liminal Space

As I wandered through Pamplona that afternoon, I chanced upon la Basílica de San Ignacio de Loyola. This church was built on the spot where the saint was hit by a cannonball. Most of the entrances were locked up, but one open door led me to a chapel of Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. I sat there some time in prayer before […]

After wandering around Pamplona a bit (and taking many inadequate cityscape photos), we finally found the albergue that Carlos recommended. We had actually walked past it at one point, wandered around the block, and came back here. You would think that with the big pilgrim’s shell hanging by the door, we wouldn’t have been able to miss it, but we […]

After the drawbridge gate, we come to the second gate. And like a magical door into another world, from the parklike area outside the walls we are suddenly within the old city of Pamplona. A moment of wonder! This was one of the first big “aha!” moments of the Camino, and I treasure it. Date: 03 April 2013Place: Pamplona (Navarra, […]

This is a view backwards through the first of the gates into the city of Pamplona. I was fascinated by the mechanism of the sixteenth century drawbridge, and also somewhat unnerved by cars driving through the gate and over the bridge. I mean, I’m sure they’ve done the appropriate maintenance on it. Surely. Date: 03 April 2013Place: Pamplona (Navarra, Spain)

Although I first spotted them here, this sort of topiary technique is found throughout the larger urban areas of Northern Spain. The branches of the trees are literally grafted together, forming an arch or tunnel. I imagine that these are quite spectacular when the leaves have returned later in the spring. I’ve looked in vain for the name of this […]

This is the entrance to the Romanesque basílica de Trinidad de Arre, a grand church that dates to the first half of the 13th century. Unfortunately, the church itself was closed, so we couldn’t go in and look around. Three years later, Francine and I were finally able to visit – and take some photos! Date: 03 April 2013Place: Trinidad […]

This is a view of the bell tower of the Iglesia de San Esteban de Zabaldika looking back at the entrance. The narrow stair is easily defensible, and windows in the tower look out over the valley in every direction. This thing was a fortress when it was built. Now, you can see the decay everywhere, from the stonework to […]

The villages here are a mix of old and new (or restored) construction. This building may have once been a barn, though it is now being used as a residence. Is this door still in use? The debris around the base would suggest not. The building itself, however, is clearly occupied and well kept. Date: 03 April 2013Place: Ilárraz (Navarra, […]

From field and forest, the Camino emerges onto an asphalt and concrete path running a few meters off of the busy N-135 highway. Eventually, we arrive at the next village, variously called Viscarret, Biskarreta, or Viscarret-Guerendiain, depending on whether your native language is Spanish, Basque, or Bureaucracy. Once in the village, the Camino runs down what was probably once the […]

In the course of this series, as, indeed, throughout the last series, there are going to be a lot of photos of doors. Doors and windows and thresholds fascinate me, for they are powerful symbols and signs of moving from one place or state to another. The Camino itself is an almost sacramental sign of this. This door leads to […]