Walking the Camino de Santiago
For those following closely, this 12th century octagonal church in Torres del Río may remind you of Santa María de Eunate. Indeed, both are reportedly Templar churches, though there is maddeningly little evidence to support this long-held tradition. Someday, I hope to go inside. On both occasions I’ve been through here it was locked up tight, and the person who […]
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From the hill town of Sansol, it’s just one hill over to the hill town of Torres del Río, seen here from Sansol. There’s a river between them, but it really does seem like you could just string a long bridge from one town to the next. Date: 07 April 2013Place: Sansol (Navarra, Spain) Maps!
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Solely based on the coat of arms above this shabby door, this was once the grand house of some noble family. These days, like much of rural Spain, it’s a bit run down and in need of some love and care. As I mentioned yesterday, many of the older buildings here are constructed on this lovely red limestone. Date: 07 […]
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And we’re back! These arms are found on the side of an imposing, if rather plain, stone building in the hill town of Sansol. They are the arms of the Melgar family, and the building has the rather grand name of Palacio Melgar. Although it’s made of the same red sandstone one finds all over Navarra, for some reason in […]
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The kilometers flew by, and before we knew it, we were at the town of Sansol. It’s 9:30am, and we’re all feeling strong. Might be time for second breakfast! Date: 07 April 2013Place: approaching Sansol (Navarra, Spain) Maps!
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Our morning began with what I called in my journal “a delightfully easy 7km to Sansol”. It was long and flat farm and pasture land, with some rolling hills just to keep it all interesting. The sky was clear and the air was cool. Occasionally in the distance beyond the hills, we would catch glimpses of snow-covered mountains to the […]
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A portion of our Camino family poses outside the Albergue la Fuenta Casa de Austria, as we make ready for our long day. From left to right: Charlie from the UK, Ali from UK (and France), Cliff from Massachusetts, Petra from Bavaria, Eamon from New Zealand, and Kristof from Bruges. It’s about 8 in the morning. As a warning, the […]
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Petra and Claus enjoy a laugh over a breakfast of solid brown bread and strong German coffee in one of my favourite albergues, the charming Albergue la Fuenta Casa de Austria. Our plan today is to walk almost 30km, to the city of Logroño, so we need all the fortification we can get! Not a great photo in terms of […]
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After church, we headed back to our albergue. Los Arcos has no small number of well-regarded albergues. Yet, both times I’ve been through, this is where I’ve ended up. This is the cozy and wonderful Albergue la Fuenta Casa de Austria. There’s a charming, if tiny, courtyard just past those doors. There’s a fireplace in the common room, and breakfast […]
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In the cloisters behind the Iglesia de Santa María de Los Arcos we find life-sized floats, stored for Holy Week. Many Spanish towns and villages have processions through the streets and even between towns during the days leading up to Easter. The men who maintain and carry these floats are members of confraternities, which are sometimes centuries old. I’ve heard […]
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