Pilgrims on the Way

For the next couple of hours until Viana, the Camino wound over and around hill and dale. And through it all, the wind howled, making what otherwise might have been a very pleasant walk into something altogether more challenging. Date: 07 April 2013Place: between Torres del Río and Viana (Navarra, Spain) Maps!

Shortly after we passed a marker indicating that we were 7.4km out of Viana, Patrick and I ran into Kristof. Or, rather, we passed Kristof who was clearly doing the smart thing and taking a short nap. This was the first time on the Camino I regretted not taking an inflatable pillow. Date: 07 April 2013Place: between Torres del Río […]

Past fields and pastures, past cemeteries and hermitages, past farmsteads and ruins, I walked with Patrick that morning. We talked about why we were on the Camino, about our painful pasts, our hopes for the future, and the last wish of his dying wife. Patrick’s time on the Camino was short, but he would return in subsequent years to finally […]

After leaving Torres del Río, we were treated to a gorgeous view across the green fields and the snow-covered mountains beyond to the north. In my journal, I characterized this stretch as a beautiful and easy walk. Date: 07 April 2013Place: between Torres del Río and Viana (Navarra, Spain) Maps!

On our way out of Torres del Río, we ran into a flock of chickens. They seemed indifferent to us, as have most animals on the Camino. Except barking dogs. Always some of those. Not here, though. Them’s chickens. Northern Spain, where the Camino runs, is mostly rural, and there are a lot of animals here: sheep, cows, goats, horses, […]

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 […]

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!

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 […]