Walking the Camino de Santiago
This photo is looking down the long nave of the ruined church of San Pedro in Viana. This will give you some little idea of the scale of the place. With no roof and very little in the way of an interior, the ruined walls of the church are like the bleached bones of some primordial beast rising from the […]
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The ruins of the Iglesia San Pedro are right in the city center of Viana. This church was reduced to its present ruined state during the Carlist Wars. Otherwise, it would be an important early Gothic building from the thirteenth century. There’s something haunting about this place, and we took a lot of photos here. I’ll try to limit myself […]
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We stayed here for our night in Viana. Well, technically, we stayed above this place (in room 14), and we only ate and drank here. I kind of love that their logo is an Ecclesial coat of arms. They are, I think, those of a Cardinal, but I’m sure somebody will correct me. Date: 06 April 2016 Place: Viana (Navarra, […]
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True story: César Borgia was originally entombed in the Church of Santa María de Viana in 1507, but twenty years later he was disinterred at the orders of the Bishop of Calahorra, who was incensed that such a notorious sinner was buried in sacred ground. His tomb was demolished and César Borgia was re-buried in unconsecrated ground, where his body […]
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Here’s Francine on her phone, taking advantage of our unlimited data plan to look for a room for the night in Viana. Behind her is the magnificent Iglesia de Santa María de Viana. We had originally planned to stay in an albergue, but we thought that perhaps the time had come to take a proper room for the night. Date: […]
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This is the entrance – the portal – to Viana’s magnificent Iglesia de Santa María. A good thing to post, perhaps, for today’s Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary! The church itself stands on a raised platform in the town’s main plaza. Three years ago, they wouldn’t let me in. This time, I would prevail! Date: […]
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Here is the Camino’s entrance into the major town of Viana, where the infamous César Borgia is buried. They seem quite proud of it. In his later years, César Borgia was reduced to being a mercenary captain in the various Spanish wars. Here’s how Wikipedia recounts his death: He recaptured Viana, Navarre, then in the hands of forces loyal to […]
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There’s a section of the Camino approaching Viana that runs right next to the N-111 highway. As we were walking this portion, a car drove by and honked. We waved back. This is not that unusual in Navarra, where the people like to greet and encourage pilgrims. What happened next, though, was a little unusual. The car crossed the median, […]
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I‘ve mentioned the zombie hand vines before. Here’s a good look at them. Why do they cut them back so much? Dunno. I found the whole thing quite fascinating. On our previous Camino, one local famously told me, “these might not be the vines the Romans planted… but they’re their children”. Date: 06 April 2016 Place: Just past Ruinas de […]
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These tiny ruins – farmhouses? Way stations? Bodegas? Dot the top of a ridge looking down into the valley to our left, which is filled with grain fields and vineyards. The further down from the Pyrenees you go, the more vineyards you see. Our winding path through the hills and vales will take us through many of them over the […]
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