Author: Thom

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!

In the absence of any readily identifiable café, Eamon and I took refuge from the weather in this little village church. Although we’d been walking with Charlie and Petra, we’d lost them a couple of kilometers back. The church was built in the 12th century, though it had obviously had some work done in the subsequent centuries. The interior featured […]

We’re very nearly to the hilltop village of Villamayor de Monjardín. The snow flurries continue, as does the wind and cold. It’s lunchtime, and Eamon and I are looking forward to stopping in basically any place with food and warmth. Or really, food or warmth. Date: 06 April 2013Place: approaching Villamayor de Monjardín (Navarra, Spain) Map!

Eamon and I walked up past snow-dusted vineyards and the village of Azqueta, before the Camino headed up into the snowy hills. I didn’t take very many photos during the morning, and those I did take are uniformly grey and snowy. At about noon, we approached the covered medieval fountain sometimes called Fuente de los Moros, just before the village […]

The morning was cold and windy, and the snow returned on and off. Fortunately, as you can see, most of it was in the highlands and not so much in the lowlands. Unfortunately, the Camino was taking us up into the hills. It’s about 10:30 in the morning. Date: 06 April 2013Place: between Irache and Azqueta (Navarra, Spain) Map!

Looking far chipper than I did, Eamon takes his cup of wine from the fountain at Irache. Bodega Irache maintains a webcam with a live feed at the fountain, and Eamon telephoned some friends in New Zealand to watch him live. In this photo, you can also see the little-used spigot for water. Of old, the nearby monastery maintained the […]