I am late posting today. We got caught in a rainstorm and windy (not super serious, but irritating) and it made for a rough last few miles. Just got to the hotel and collapsed. Here is what we did and saw...
In the last post I promised to tell you about one of the most beautiful bridges along the Camino. It is the Queen's Bridge (Puente la Reina). Located on the Camino as you leave the city (also known in Basque as Gares) the bridge links the two sides of the Arga River that separate the city. It is not exactly known who the queen was who commissioned the bridge. Some historians point to Queen Muniadona de Castilla, the wife of King Sancho el Mayor of Navarra or Queen Estefanía, the wife of King García of Néjera. What we do know is that the bridge was built sometime during the 11th century in order to accommodate the increase flow of goods over the Arga River and later to respond to the needs of pilgrims moving through the area. It is in Gares (Puente la Reina) that the Camino from Jaca (Spain) joins with the French trail.
I have this fascination with bridges. Symbolically they represent the idea of transition; leaving behind one thing while looking forward to another. The Puente la Reina has at its apex a point (located over the center arch) where one can see a line that seems to divide the bridge into two parts. We crossed over several bridges on the way to Estella and then contemplated a fifth:
A Roman bridge and footpath that comes down from Cirauqui
The medieval bridge of Dorrondoa
Medieval bridge over the Río Salado
The bridge at Villatuerta
And finally, the Puente de la Cárcel (the Prison Bridge) located in Estella
It is fascinating to contemplate their construction and to consider that they have stood in place for hundreds of years. It really calls into question the notion held by some that they weren't as advanced as we are. How many of our buildings have stood for as long as these bridges?
The landscape along the way continues to delight the eye and touch the soul.
Just beyond Villatuerta is the Ermita de San Miguel Arcángel located on what is called the Cuesta del Moro (Moor's Hill). Built in the 10th century (most likely between 971 and 979) at the time of Sancho II of Navarra. The old Benedictine monastery (no longer standing) was donated to Leire in 1062 by King Sancho of Peñalen. Pilgrims often walk the short distance to the church to leave messages, blessings, confessions of faith, and notes of encouragement to other pilgrims. It is a lovely and peaceful place for meditation and rest.
After arriving in Estella, eating some lunch, and getting cleaned up we headed to the Iglesia de San Pedro de la Rua. This is a beautiful church that sits high above the street (as you can tell from the long staircase) just below the medieval castle. Sadly, it was closed!
Happily, we took the elevator that is located behind the church to a place where we could peek in over the wall into the beautiful cloister. Today only two of the four sides of the cloister exist. In the 16th century a rockslide from the hill above the church destroyed part of the cloister.
Despite our disappointment at not getting into the church and cloister, we noticed this building across the street and investigated. Today it is a museum. It was once monastery, a palace, and a prison from which (in 1936; the beginning of the Spanish Civil War) the city's mayor and others where taken and shot.
What is particularly interesting to a pilgrim is the capital (on the left side of the building) that depicts the battle between Roland and Ferregut (the Moor) who could only be killed if a spear or sword penetrated his belly button. More significantly, perhaps, is the dialogue that takes place between the two prior to the battle when Roland and Ferragut talk about the nature of God from their different points of view (Chronicle of the Psuedo-Turpin).
As you leave Estella to continue along the Camino de Santiago you go through the Puerta de Castilla...
This was once the last portal through which pilgrims left Estella behind and headed into the countryside. A little gem can be seen a few hundred feet from this gate, the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de Rocamador from the 12th century. As Jannette and I walked past this little Romanesque church we considered how interesting it was that outside the walls of the city, in open countryside at the time, would be this last bastion of Christianity; perhaps a place for one last prayer before moving along the less populated lands that separated Estella from Los Arcos.
(the belltower would have been a much later addition. You can see how the upper pinnacle of the roof was cut away to make room for the tower)
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