Author: Thom

Here’s a small reminder, if you needed any, that Navarra is a deeply Catholic country. We spotted this image of the Sacred Heart of Jesus on a house in the village of Lorca just before we ducked into the local bodega for lunch. Here’s a closeup of the image. Date: 04 April 2016 Place: Lorca (Navarra, Spain) Map of our […]

Somewhat past Cirauqui but before Lorca, we come (I believe) to the infamous Río Salado. This bridge, while it appears medieval, is actually of modern construction. As you can see, it’s in quite a bit better shape than the last one! Here we see Katy, Emilio, and Francine crossing the bridge. Date: 04 April 2016 Place: crossing the Río Salado […]

Just a little past Cirauqui, the Camino travels over what was once an ancient Roman arched bridge. Large parts of the structure appear to be missing. I mean, it’s still technically a bridge, but you’ve got a slippery challenge to get down to it, and an equally slippery stair (with gigantic steps!) on the other side. In the rain, this […]

And here we are, soggy pilgrims all, walking through the streets of the hill town of Cirauqui. I love the narrow little streets, which open out into plazas in front of shops or bars or churches – or sometimes all three. Date: 04 April 2016 Place: Cirauqui (Navarra, Spain) Map of our location!

All along the Camino – some regions more than others – you will see historical markers and signs in a variety of languages. Rarely, however, do you see one that celebrates the infamy of a site quite as well as this one in Cirauqui. I think that might be why I like it so much. Date: 04 April 2016 Place: […]

There’s a lot going on in this photo. You can see “where the sidewalk ends“. You can see the new, totally out of place apartment blocks built just outside of town. And you can see the fact that the folks who built this town on the hill managed to cover the entire hill. Them’s some steep streets! And if you […]

Well, a hill town, at any rate. This is the Camino’s approach to the town of Cirauqui (or Zirauki in Basque, because… z). The way winds through hilly vineyards. It was a most pleasant walk despite the rain. I find gravel paths the easiest to walk on – not as hard on the feet as pavement or asphalt or stone, […]

We had our second breakfast in the village of Mañeru. Here’s a photo of what my Pilgrim Passport looked like then. To stay in albergues, pilgrims are required to carry one of these passports, and to receive your compostela in Santiago, you are required to have at least two stamps per day. My motto, of course, was “gotta collect ’em […]

We didn’t get far before we put on our ponchos, once again becoming the infamous strawberry troll! We popped into a convent church for a bit – the Iglesia y Convento de Sancti Spiritus – but it was so dark inside that my photos were fairly rubbish. Instead, here’s a photo of Francine putting a brave face on an uphill […]