Pilgrims on the Way

Although it’s one of the largest churches in Navarra, Santa María de Los Arcos is squeezed into a tiny plaza fronted with shops, bars, and restaurants. It’s so crowded in that it’s difficult to get a decent photo of the church. We have arrived towards the end of the Spanish siesta, so the café tables in the plaza are empty. […]

The three hour stretch between Villamayor de Monjardín and Los Arcos is an excercise in patience. The vast majority of the land is kilometer after kilometer of vineyards on gently rolling hills. As you crest or come around each hill, before you lays more of the same to the horizon. Although the land is peaceful and idyllic, it seems endless; […]

I’ve mentioned the ubiquitous zombie hands coming out of the ground before – and here’s a closeup! These are, of course, grape vines pruned back for winter. In just a few weeks, we’ll see these start to bud and eventually vine out. But for now, they’re fascinating and just plain creepy. Date: 06 April 2013Place: between Villamayor de Monjardín and […]

One of the many things I love about the Camino, more than other places I’ve walked or hiked, is the occasional Roman or Medieval or later ruins that just randomly show up. We passed this about one in the afternoon. At the time, we were not expecting to see ruins, and we had no idea what they were. The site […]

Once we had left the snow far behind, Eamon, Charlie, Petra, and I followed the Camino as it wound its way through seemingly endless kilometers of vineyards, with the occasional stand of short olive trees to liven things up. Much of the afternoon passed in these gently rolling hills, the source of the fantastic vino tinto we’d been drinking each […]

Our maps indicated that this structure was called “Corral del Santo”, which means exactly what you think it does. Absolutely no idea who the saint in question is, other than the facts that she’s female and carrying some sort of basket and other unidentifiable item. I could find little information on this site, which appears to be mostly used as […]

Eamon and I climb back down the hill and follow the Camino into the countryside, where it runs alongside a highway known as the Autovía Santiago de Compostela or, more prosaically, the A-12. The highway was built over the old Camino road, requiring that a new Camino path be cut. At the bottom of the hill, Petra and Charlie are […]

Yesterday I mentioned the model of San Andrés church to be found inside San Andrés church. Well, here it is! Compare and contrast. Date: 06 April 2013Place: Villamayor de Monjardín (Navarra, Spain) Map!