Walking the Camino de Santiago
We walked on through garden and vineyard and wide open fields and even past a walled cemetery before catching a sudden flash – a shining city on a hill. This proved to be the village of Cirauqui, a place confined to a single hill and crowned with its fortress-like Iglesia de San Román. It’s about 10:30 in the morning, and […]
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Just a quick look back at the small town/large village of Mañeru. There’s nothing particularly unique about this place – it’s like a dozen other Navarran villages we’ve passed through. I am curious, though, why it was built right on the farmland rather than on the defensive hill behind it. Perhaps this indicates a later settlement? Date: 05 April 2013Place: […]
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This is the parish church, one of four in Mañeru, is la Iglesia de San Pedro de Mañeru. The Pope depicted in stone above the entrance is, in fact, Saint Peter himself. What I find most curious is the shadowy sundial. I wonder if the clock on the bell tower displaced it from its sunnier and more logical placement. Date: […]
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I just love old, rusting agricultural equipment like this. I once photographed a series of truly bizarre rusting 19th century tractors in Eastern Washington, and I certainly got the same vibe from this. Since it was set out next to a bodega cooperative, I presume it’s for crushing grapes for wine. Date: 05 April 2013 Place: Mañeru (Navarra, Spain) Map! […]
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Beyond the river, the Camino follows the N-111 highway towards Estella. This is our destination today, only 19km from Puente la Reina. Although we’re following the modern road, it follows the medieval one, so everything comes full circle. And for our New Year photo, we have perhaps a symbolic “new road” reaching into the distance towards our destination. Date: 05 […]
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This bridge over the Río Arga lends its name to the town: Puente la Reina, the Queen’s Bridge. But which queen? The most common story is that it is named for Queen Muniadona, wife of King Sancho III of Navarra. She reportedly ordered the construction of the bridge for the use of pilgrims. However, other stories credit Queen Estefania, wife of King García Sánchez III. […]
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This rather dramatic archway leads out of town and over the bridge for which the town is named: the Bridge of the Queen. For me, this is one of the great, magical images of the Camino, as it practically demands that you follow the yellow arrow and see where the Way will lead you. I believe that this was once […]
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These damaged statues fascinated me, and I took some closeup photos. Here’s the Pope from above the false door. I’ve no idea who he might be, and I’m curious as to how the damage was done. It’s pretty clearly deliberate, and I think there are some marks that are obviously bullet holes on the surrounding putti, and possibly the Pope’s […]
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Complimenting yesterday’s “not a door“, here we come to the actual door next door. As with the mysterious Pope statue, all of these statues are damaged in a way that indicates (to me at least) that somebody was taking pot-shots at them at some point. Who are these statues meant to represent? Well the church across the street is dedicated […]
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As we walk down the narrow streets of Puente la Reina, with Calle de Crucifijo rapidly transitioning into Calle Major, the Camino passes the church of Santiago y San Pedro on the right. On the left, directly across from it, is a building that I suppose was once a parish office or monastery or rectory. What it is now, I […]
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