Cala Agulla Live Cam

Between Somport and the town of Jaca, the Pilgrims' Way more or less follows today's N-330 road. About 0,5 mi. (1 km.) from the border checkpoint lay Santa Cristina. That is in fact the point where the Way and the road converge and from where both continue through Candanchú and Canfranc as far as Castiello de Jaca. Very soon entered Jaca, one of the main stages on the Way. The first building that catches the traveller's eye is the magnificent fortress which was built by order of Felipe II in the 16c. On the left amidst the medieval area of the town rises the cathedral, a key building of Spanish Romanesque. Before leaving the cathedral, the traveller should memorize a decorative geometric design -chequered patterns- that he will find all along the Way. The Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art deserves to be visited in detail.

Nine kilometres (6 mi.) from Jaca along the regional road C-134, the traveller comes to the brach road leading to Santa Cruz de la Serós. Upon arriving at Santa Cruz de la Serós, there is the small Church of San Caprasio on the left, a plain hermetic building of the earliest Romanesque. A little further on stands the Church of Santa María, an example of the same art, but of a more advanced stage.

Between the two churches, a road branches off which climbs towards San Juan de la Peña along a valley partly hemmed in by impressive rock walls. The monastery which is literally embedded in an enormus rock is one of the unavoidable visits on the Aragonese Way. Although its construction reaches from Visigothic art to the Renaissance, the church and cloister are two magnificent examples of medieval architecture impossible to imitate because the church is partially hewn out of the rock while the cloister is entirely covered by the rock. Back on the Pamplona road, the Way continues along the River Aragón as far as the Yesa Reservoir. Berdún lies on the right. It is the last Aragonese village, high on top of a hill, and is a good example of medieval town in development. Very suddenly the scenery turns more rugged and the eroded slopes around the reservoir stand out.

The next stage of the Way is marked by the Monastery of Leyre which is reached after a 4 km detour (2,5 mi.). In this monastery Gregorian Chant can be enjoyed.

Beyond the Aragón river, Sangüesa is reached very soon, while the Castle of Javier appears on the left. Sangüesa, about eight kilometres (5 mi.) from the road, has one of the best Romanesque portals along the Way. The southern façade of Santa María la Real is a motley composition with a splendid series of images full of symbolic meaning. The Church of Santiago (of the 12c and 13c) has an outstanding Gothic figure of the apostle as well as tow kneeling pilgrims. Before leaving Sangüesa, one should also visit the Royal Palace and the one of the Duke of Granada, a good example of civil Gothic.

A 5 km. (3 mi.) regional road connects Sangüesa with the N-240. Once there, the Way used to cross the River Irati and entered La Foz de Lumbier. The road continues towards Pamplona, but one should make a stop at Monreal, where the second stage of the Jaca Way came to an end. Between here and Puente la Reina there is still one interesing visit left to the traveller: the Church of Eunate.

Eunate is one of the three funeral churches along the Pilgrims' Way to Santiago. Shortly before Puente la Reina, Obanos has numerous reminders of the Middle Ages.

From Roncesvalles to Puente la Reina

The other first stage of the Way to Santiago more or less follows the C-135 which connects the border at Arnéguy with Pamplona and the N-111, on which one continues as far as Puente la Reina.

The first visit takes us to Valcarlos, the scene of the beautiful legends in the Chanson de Roland. lts name is reminiscent of Charlemagne. After about twenty kilometres (12,5 mi.) beyond the Ibañeta Pass the inn of Roncesvalles or Roncevaux is reached. The building was founded in the first half of the 12c. To that period belongs the Chapel of El Espíritu Santo, while the Chapel of Santiago dates from the 13c. Both are situated at the exit of the inn complex. The Collegiate Church was one of the first examples of Gothic art in Spain.

Pamplona requires a visit in depth. It is one of those towns where the old part was enlarged by the area inhabited by colonizing Franks. It used to have four hospitals for Santiago pilgrims, and in general it may be said that the whole town developed in answer to the needs of the Way. Apart from the Gothic cathedral, one should visit the Church of San Cernín, which has a figure of St James and the one of Santo Domingo.

From there onwards, the Way used to run somewhat parallel to the N-111, passing through Cizur Menor, Zariquiegui and Muruzábal before reaching Obanos. Near the Hermitage of San Salvador, the paths from Somport and from Roncesvaux converged.

Puente la Reina takes its name from the bridge built by order of Doña Mayor in the 11c to make the crossing easier for the pilgrims. The Church of Santiago (with a beautiful carving of the apostle dressed as a pilgrim) and the one of El Crucifijo as well as the whole town in general -as a perfect example of the towns and villages on the Way- deserve an unhurried visit. The Pilgrims' Bridge on the way out is one of the best examples of medieval engineering still to be found.

From Puente la Reina to Santo Domingo de la Calzada

Shortly after crossing the Arga, the Pilgrims' Way led towards Cirauqui, very near today's road to Estella. Cirauqui still has quite a number of objects reminiscent of the pilgrimage in its Church of San Román.

In Lorca and Villafuerta, some vestiges of the pilgrimage are still preserved in the churches and the hospital of Lorca and in the Hermitage of San Miguel in the latter village. After another five kilometres (3 mi.) we are already in Estella. Although in the 11c, a small village called Lizarra existed, there, it may be said that today's town was born as a direct result of the pilgrimage since it was King Sancho Ramírez who decided that the village should become a prosperous borough with the name Estella, probably in honour of the star (Span. estrella) that had indicated St James's sepulchre. Apart from the palace of the kings of Navarre the traveller should also visit the Churches of San Pedro de Lizarra, San Pedro de la Rúa, El Santo Sepulcro, San Miguel, Santa María Jus del Castillo and San Juan as well as the Hermitage of Rocamador and of el Puy, both of which are connected with the worship of St James in France.

The journey continues along the N-111 in the direction of Logroño. The monastery of lrache and the dilapidated Castle of San Esteban at Villamayor de Monjardín are also reminders of the best times of the pilgrimages. About 20km (13 mi.) from Estella lies Los Arcos, a village that grew up on both sides of the Way. Torres del Río is the next stop. This village has an interesting funeral church with an octagonal ground plan. The church was built by the Order of the Holy Sepulchre.

Viana is now very close. lts general layout is also a consequence of the Way. The Church of Santa María with its splendid Renaissance portal, the ruins of the one of San Pedro and the lovely façades with their coats of arms deserve an attentive visit.

La Rioja is already within a stone's throw. After about 10 km. (6,25 mi.) the traveller will come to the old bridge of the times of the pilgrimages which gives access to Logroño, a town whose old section still retains the atmosphere of a medieval borough. The streets called Rúa Vieja and Calle Mayor were the ones used by the pilgrims on their way through the town after paying a visit to the Churches of Santiago el Real, Santa María del Palacio, San Bartolomé and the Cathedral of Santa María la Redonda, a beautiful Gothic church with two Baroque towers.

Although not on the Way itseif, it should be remembered that Clavijo is only 17 km (11 mi.) away. This is the place where Ramiro I of Asturias defeated Abd al-Rahman II, native of Córdoba, on May 23rd, 844, with the crucial help -according to the legend- of James, the «Slayer of Moors».

The N-120 continues to follow the Pilgrims's Way to Santiago. After leaving Logroño, the pilgrims took the road to Fuenmayor or else chose the direction of Entrena, ie, they reached Navarrete along two routes that were slightly longer than the road today. Upon leaving, the traveller will come across the portal of the hospital he passed earlier (ie, before entering the village). lt marks the cemetery of Navarrete.

Nájera became a stage on the Way in 1030 when Sancho el Grande (the Great) decided to divert the itinerary of the pilgrims. García IV, his son, ordered the Monastery of Santa María built as well as a hostelry, which definitively made Nájera a town of the pilgrimage. The Way crossed the Najarillo and turned left in order to pass in front of Santa María la Real, a magnificent Gothic church built at the beginning of the 15c on the site of an earlier one. The cloister and Doña Blanca's sepulchre, the one of Diego López de Haro, the Pantheon of the Kings and the choir are masterpieces of their time.

The traveller should again be reminded at this point that he is relatively close to the two sanctuaries of San Millán de la Cogolla which had really nothing to do with the pilgrimages but were of great importance in medieval Christian Spain. Beyond Nájera, the Way went straight towards Azofra, a village with a hospital and church where Santiago pilgrims were buried.

Shortly after Azofra, the Way coincides with the road leading to Santo Domingo de la Calzada. This is one of the most important stages on the Pilgrim's Way to Santiago. lt crossed the village from one end to the other. Santo Domingo (ie, St Dominic) was a monk who spent a large part of his life building the bridge across the Oca with his own hands as well as the road which connects his village with Redecilla to make the passage easier for those who wanted to visit the sanctuary. One of the most wideley told legends along the Way is the one about a miracle attributed to the saint about three hundred years after his death. It seems that a young man en route to Compostela with his parents rejected the favours of a serving wench at the inn where he stayed. In order to be revenged, the girl hid a silver cup in his luggage and accused him of theft. The judge condemned the innocent young man to the gallows, while his parents continued on their visit to the saint's tomb. On their return they stopped before the gallows and discovered that their son was alive and in good health. They immediately went to tell the governor whom they found on the point of sitting down at table to have a well-cooked cock and hen for lunch. He vented his unbelief by exclaiming that if the young man were really alive those two bids would begin to cackle on his plate. And that is what in fact happened: en Santo Domingo de la Calzada cantó la gallina después de asada (ie, rendered freely: at Santo Domingo de la Calzada, the hen hadn't died, because it cackled after having been fried). Since then a white-feathered cock and hen are kept in the cathedral as a reminder of the miracle.

The cathedral is a splendid building that was begun in the middle of the 12c and finished in Gothic times. Among other valuable works of art, the mausoleum of the saint and a main altarpiece or retable should be studied without haste. The hostelry founded by Santo Domingo was rebuilt in the 14c and recently turned into a Parador.