Haloranch

There are three great pilgrimages in Europe ending in Jerusalem, Rome and the cathedral in Santiago de Compostela in north-western Spain. Since the tenth century, pilgrims have made their way to Santiago via a network of trails known as the Camino de Santiago to revere the bones of the apostle St James, which are entombed in a silver casket in the cathedral. The number of pilgrims peaked in the 11th and 12th centuries when an astonishing half a million people per year are thought to have made the pilgrimage. There was a steady decline in the ensuing centuries and, by the middle of the 20th century, only a few hardy souls made the trip. Since then there has been a renaissance and currently more than 70,000 Compostela , the certificate recognizing the completion of the Camino, are issued annually by the authorities in Santiago. In holy years, a year when St. James day (July 25) falls on a Sunday, this number more than doubles. The last holy year was in 2004 when more than 180,000 pilgrim...

It started with the usual lengthy and cramped flight to London. The line-up at immigration and passport control was huge. It took almost two hours to go through the process followed by an eight-hour wait until my next flight, so I decided to step out of character and practise patience – one of my objectives of the walk! Later I learned that several international flights had landed almost concurrently and that this was a bank holiday weekend with the corresponding impact on resources. The flight to Toulouse left an hour late and I was concerned the delay would mean I’d miss the last shuttle to my hotel at 11 PM. Fortunately the flight made up some time and I had all of ten minutes to spare. I found a shuttle but wasn’t sure if it was the right one. The shuttle driver did his best to ignore my feeble attempts to converse in French but a tall and slim black lady in front of me helped me and confirmed it was the right shuttle. She worked in London and was on her way home for the long wee...

This was the first time I had travelled on a train in many years. It’s such a civilized way to travel. However, the civility was interrupted part way to Bayonne when a very belligerent man got on the train. He was extremely loud and proceeded to insult a number of other passengers. I made sure to avoid eye contact as he walked down the aisle. A couple of men spoke to him, to no effect. At one point he insulted the girlfriend of a young man and I thought, “Oh oh. All hell is going to break loose”. Luckily, cooler heads prevailed and all the passengers in our compartment were clearly pleased if not relieved when he got off the train at Lourdes.....a blessing! Clearly the spiritual nature of the Camino pilgrimage was already starting to take effect. The short trip of 1:15 hours from Bayonne to St. Jean-Pied-de-Port was spectacular as the tracks followed the ever-climbing narrow canyon of the River Nive, which was in flood after five days of heavy rain. Photo 181: River Nive, still in ...

I had been warned about roncadores (snorers) in the albergues and my first experience was true to form. Snoring commenced immediately upon going to bed; first solos, then duets and eventually the full orchestra....but not in harmony. I barely slept six hours. Thereafter I always had my earplugs installed or close by! It’s only a brief walk from the albergue to the point of decision on the first day: Take the easier valley route or go over the much more difficult pass on the Route Napoleon? Photo 182: The Basque language bears no resemblance to Spanish. For example, Orreaga is the Basque name for Roncevaux. Although there had already been five days of rain and it remained foggy and drizzly as I started my Camino, I decided to take the pass. My rationale was the fog might lift higher up on the pass. Besides, I’ve always had an interest in Napoleon and I would forever regret not having taken the “high road”. In retrospect I was glad I took the pass but several times during the 20+ kilo...

It rained heavily overnight and was still drizzling as Janos and I prepared to leave the albergue at twilight. There wasn’t much choice about leaving in the drizzle as the hospitaleros (hostel wardens) had turned the lights on at six and no one was encouraged to linger. As the sun came up, the weather gradually got better and eventually it became quite hot. The steep 400 metre descent to Zubiri aggravated the pain in my right knee; I was glad I had brought an elastic knee bandage. Larrasuana is a lovely village with some 200-300 residents. The grand houses that line the main street were built in the 15th and 16th century. Photo 213: view looking down the main street in Larrasuana The mayor and his wife run the albergue. Photo 214: the albergue is located inside City Hall, making it really easy for the Mayor and his wife to keep an eye on the peregrinos Close by the albergue was the local fronton , (a two-sided building with a roof where the Basque sport of pelota (similar to jai la...

Janos and I decided that we would continue walking together. I’m not sure what drove this decision - he hardly knew any English and I don’t speak a word of Hungarian. But we had “talked” using a bit of English, sign language, and pen and paper, and genuinely enjoyed being together. Best of all, neither one of us was too interested in talking while walking. The scenery from Larrasuana to Pamplona is spectacular. Mountain views, pine forests, dramatic trails following the river Arga, graceful manor houses, and typical three-story houses where the ground floors are for livestock, the first floor for people, and the top storey reserved for pigeons, abound. Photo 218: The tiny town in the distance is Trinidad de Arre. Photo 221: Rio Arga at Trinidad de Arre. We stopped for lunch of pan (bread) and chorizo (spicy sausage) that we had bought at a mercado (grocery store) in Trinidad de Arre. Photo 222: enjoying a hearty and well-deserved footlong ‘baguette’ stuffed with meats, similar to...

From Cizur Menor it was a long, two-hour, almost-continuous climb to the modern windmills of Alto de Perdon. The top of the ridge was decorated with a cast iron pilgrim silhouette statue. Photo 244: The ridge and pilgrim silhouette at Alta de Peron. In the distance you can see white windmills. The view from the ridge was stunning in both directions. To the west we could see the steep loose rock descent into the more arid wine growing region of La Rioja: to the east we could see Pamplona and the Pyrenees Mountains. Photo 243:Pyrenees Mountains to the east. Photo 245: The trail and view to the west. During the rest of the day we walked past groves of almond and olive trees and fields of asparagus, corn and grape vines. At Muruzabal we decide to take the alternate (but longer) route to Puente la Reina (Queen’s Bridge), so we could view the stunning church at Eunate attributed to the Knights Templar. Its octagonal shape is typical of the Knights Templar who often built churches in this ...

Early the next morning the full moon lit our way as we walked on the best-preserved Roman road in Spain. A short distance from where the Camino enters Estella we reached the memorial to a Canadian pilgrim, Mary Kimpton , who was tragically killed in 2002 when she was struck by a car that veered off the highway. Click on her name for more details. Photo 275: Memorial to Mary Kimpton. This was the fourth modern pilgrim memorial that I had passed since starting the Camino. Unfortunately there would be more. At Irache we enjoyed the free wine for peregrinos that flows from a tap built into the wall of a “bodega” (winery). There are two taps, one that delivers red wine and the other, water. We had our share but, in a rare display of self-discipline, decided not to fill our water bottles with wine as we still had a long way to walk. Photo 279: Decisions, decisions! Wine or water? The path to Villamayor de Monjardin is scenic and as usual, it’s a long uphill slog to this little town locate...

This is a beautiful part of Spain. Throughout the day there were numerous small climbs and descents interspersed with small towns and villages (Los Arcos, Sansol, Torres del Rio) where we could stop to rest or have a meal. Photo 290: Iglesia de Santa Maria at Los Arcos. We saw more and more vineyards as we gradually transitioned from the Basque region of Navarra to the famous wine-growing region of Rioja. Photo 296: Looking west to Rioja, the premiere wine region in Spain. This is near the heights at Torres de Rio and you can see the vinyards spreading through the valley. The weather was perfect for walking - a cool morning which gradually turned comfortably warmer under cloudy conditions. Viana had a lovely albergue with a kitchen and dining area, but we chose to have dinner a local restaurant where they served an excellent menu de peregrino, including a good Rioja wine.

It was still dark when we left Viana at 6:35 am, walking into a brisk headwind and arriving in Logrono within a couple of hours. We toured the baroque, Iglesia de Santa Maria la Redonda, which is filled with images of the saint. As we left Logrono we bought cheese, chorizo and still-warm croissants, and then found a park in which to enjoy our breakfast. We had planned to tour the church in Navarette, but instead I ended up chasing after a couple of British men, one of whom had forgotten his staff outside the church. It took me a couple of kilometres to catch them. They were grateful and I felt like a good Samaritan. There were some interesting and original directional markers on this section of the Camino. Photo 307: Camino marker on the outskirts of Logrono. Photo 310: First city (Logrono) where the markers were embedded in the street. Photo 311: Logrono sculpture. We arrived in Ventosa in the early afternoon and found a great private albergue. Photo 317: Albergue at Ventosa. This ...