We ate breakfast at Hostal Villa de Navarrete (3€ each): 2 “Texas toast”-like tostadas with marmalade, 2 orange juice, MT coffee. We departed Navarrete at 9:15 am.
On the way out of town, we passed the cemetery with a splendidly carved 12th-century gateway relocated from the ruins of the hospice of San Juan de Acre on the eastern outskirts.
The classification of the portal is somewhat problematic. It has always been said that it is Romanesque, although some books call it Gothic. In any case, the first traces of Gothic art appear from around 1150, and the portal is from 1185. Thus it could be early Gothic. Since transitions between styles were gradual, it could have traces of both. One of the capitals (at the top of the gate) depicts the battle between Roldán and Ferragut (see further notes on August 24).
9:35 AM – Navarrete: Don at cemetery on way out of town with gateway relocated from San Juan de Acre.
9:45 AM – Navarrete: cemetery gateway relocated from San Juan de Acre. At top is capital of Roldán and Ferragut.
9:45 AM – Navarrete: cemetery gateway (cropped to show capital of Roldán and Ferragut closer up.
12:54 PM – Navarrete: photo of capital of Roldán and Ferragut from sign at Poyo de Roldán (cropped).
10:40 AM – Near Ventosa: roadside cross (crucero) with scallop shells below cross.
A crucero (cruceiro in Galician) is a religious monument consisting of a cross (usually of stone) on a pillar located in a public place, mainly crossroads (cruces de caminos), courts of churches, high places, or on the tip of granaries (hórreos), or places where there formerly existed a cult of pagan nature. The cross sometimes has Christ crucified on its front face and an image of the Virgin Mary or some saint on the back side. This is one of the most characteristic monuments of Portugal and Galicia (where they are called cruzeiros and cruceiros, respectively), but can also be found in the coast of Cantábria or in Castilla y Leon or in other parts of Spain (with diverse characteristics and names). It is also possible to find cruceros in Ireland, French Bretaña, and England, especially in religious sites. (See further notes on September 3.)
We arrived in Ventosa (pop 150) around 11:20.
The village of Ventosa had a pilgrim hospital dating to 1162. Its 16th-century Gothic church is dedicated to San Saturnino (also called Cernin), a Roman missionary in the Iberian Peninsula martyred by pagans around 257 AD. The tower was added in the 17th century.
There we took a water break and talked with other pilgrims near some biking event that had a street blocked off.
10:58 AM – Ventosa: remnants of biking event on street leading up to church.
11:34 AM – After Ventosa: rocky climb to Alto de San Antón.
11:38 AM – After Ventosa: view over vineyards toward Nájera.
11:45 AM – Alto de San Antón: view toward Nájera, straight ahead (Tricio to left; larger town Huércanos to right.
11:45 AM (Paint) – Alto de San Antón: view toward Nájera, straight ahead (Tricio to left; larger town Huércanos to right); barely visible in the foreground just to the right of Nájera is the Poyo de Roldán (see red circle).
11:45 AM – Alto de San Antón: Poyo de Roldán with black radio mast on top (extreme telephoto, 360 mm).
11"56 AM – After Alto de San Antón: MT on path by vineyard with other pilgrims ahead (the black tower on Poyo de Roldán is barely visible at where the path meets the horizon.
12:11 PM - Near Poyo de Roldán: MT on path approaching Poyo de Roldán (mobile snack van is barely visible before that hill); Nájera past the hill on the left.
12:11 PM - Near Poyo de Roldán: MT on path approaching Poyo de Roldán with its radio masts (mobile snack van is clearly visible before that hill).
We stopped at a mobile snack van near Poyo de Roldán 12:20-12:40. MT paid 3€ for 2 orange juice and a small can of “Acietunas Verdes Rellena de Anchoas” (green olives stuffed with anchovies).
12:19 PM - Near Poyo de Roldán: MT with other pilgrims at snack trailer.
12:28 PM - Near Poyo de Roldán: can of olives stuffed with anchovies, banana. water bottles, and half an apple.
12:19 PM - Near Poyo de Roldán: view of Poyo de Roldán from just past the snack trailer.
We stopped at the Poyo de Roldán (height of Roland), near the town of Alesón, to see historical marker signs about the battle between Charlemagne’s nephew Roldán (Roland) and the giant Ferragut.
12:52 PM - Near Poyo de Roldán: beehive-shaped stone hut—a restored old chozo-guardaviñas (circular hut that served as a refuge for farmers and used by vineyard guards to watch over crops).
12:53 PM - Near Poyo de Roldán: historical marker and beehive-shaped hut.
12:53 PM - Near Poyo de Roldán: historical marker sign for “Alesón, escenario de leyendas jabobeas” [Alesón, Scene of Jacobean Legends].
12:53 PM - Near Poyo de Roldán: historical marker detail – English version of the legend of the battle between Roldán and Ferragut (first part, cropped from 0356):
“The fight between Roldan and Ferragut
“Near the town of Nájera, at the place of Alesón, stands the scene of one of the first and most extended legends of the Road to Santiago. That is the fight between the knight Roldan and the giant Ferragut. The spot in Alesón where the event took place is still known as Poyo Roldán (Roldan’s Hill). It’s also the place there an enormous treasure is said to be hidden buried, as payment from the people of Alesón to Rodán’s [sic!] French captains. Another reference to this legend is found in two chapitels in the village of Navarrete.”
Below that, in Spanish only, is the note: “El chozo de este área imita a las construcciones tradicionalmente vinculadas a la vici que en la region se denominan guardsviñas. Se trata de un chozo de nueva planta realizado para el área de descanso.” [The hut in this area imitates the constructions traditionally linked to the vineyards, which in the region are called guardaviñas. It is a hut newly built for the rest area.]
According to www.esgtella.com.es (a website sponsored by the Government of Navarra): After the conquest of Monjaridín, Charlemagne was told that there was a giant called Ferragut in Najera who was almost 7 meters tall, of the lineage of Goliath, and accompanied by 20,000 Turks from Syria, sent by the Emir of Babylon to fight him. Arriving at Najera, Charlemagne sent first one, then two, then 20 of his best men to fight the giant, unsuccessfully, before he gave Roldán permission to go.
12:54 PM - Near Poyo de Roldán: historical marker detail – English version of the legend of the battle between Roldán and Ferragut (continued):
“The pilgrim and the giant
“The legend says that Roldán and his knights lodged at Alesón when they were in the way to Santiago. Early in the morning they descended from the pass and headed for the hill’s watchtower. From here, the French leader saw Najera’s castle. The lord of the castle was a Syrian giant called Ferragut who was nine feet tall, and had a nose span of length [Spanish: un palmo de nariz (a palm span of a nose)] and strength of four men. The giant challenged the Frenchman to combat and Roldán accepted.
“The combat
“The fight took place in the esplanade between Najera’s castle and Aleson’s watchtower. After hours of battle between the two fighters on horseback, Roldan and Ferragut agreed [to] a truce. The giant told him that he had a great courage and offered him to finish the combat, but Roldan rejected the offer.
“Death of the giant
“The battle continued two days with its nights. The giant fell over Roldan trapping him under his over two hundred kilos of weight. He then thought that Ferragut’s only vulnerable part was his navel. He arduously unsheathed his dagger and plugged [stuck; Spanish: clavar = to stick (a dagger)] it into him killing him. This is the way the Arabs left Nájera and how Roldan gained his fame for being the best warrior of Christianity.”
12:54 PM - Near Poyo de Roldán: historical marker detail – “Cruz que corona la portada del cementario de Navarrete” [cross that crowns the gateway of the cemetery of Navarrete].
12:54 PM - Near Poyo de Roldán: historical marker detail – “Capitel de la Calle de la Cruz en Navarrete” [capital of the La Cruz street in Navarrete].
Notes on August 23 explain reasons to think that the combatants on the capital in Calle La Cruz in Navarrete are not actually Roldán and Ferragut. However, another capital, in the 12th-century Palacio de los Reyes de Navarra (Palace of the Kings of Navarra) in Estella, definitely depicts this battle. Although we did not take time to visit that palace when we stopped in Estella on August 19, a description of that capital is relevant here. According to www.estella.com.es, the three faces of the capital provide the story of the battle: it begins with the advance of Ferragut to the battlefield; it continues with the fight on horseback and then on foot and ends with the death of the giant.
Estella-Lizarra – Palacio de los Reyes de Navarra – capital of Roldán and
Ferragut (commons.wikimedia.org).
According to www.estella.com.es, the left side of the capital [seen in this view] shows a knight [Ferragut] with chain mail coat and hood, with extra covering for his mouth and neck, and a round shield decorated with an 8-pointed star [commonly seen in Muslim mosques] and a rose in the center, going to the place of combat. In his left hand, he holds a lance with banner. The
inscription barely visible at the top of capital reads: “PHERA-GUT-MARTINVS-ME-FECIT-ROLLAN
DE LOGRO-NIO” (confirming that the combatants are Roldán and Ferragut and that
the sculptor was named Martín). The words “de Logronio” under “Rollan” at the top probably do not refer the birthplace of the sculptor (Martín de Logroño) but rather to the city where Roldán was encamped.
Also according to www.estella.com.es, the front side of the capital shows Ferragut at the left, his body protected by a coat of chainmail and a chain mail hood with face and neck protection, from which hangs a veil. The lance of Roldán (straight between them) hits him in the navel, and the giant teeters backward with the shield on his left arm still fastened by a strap around his neck but falling on his horse, indicating that the rider is falling. Roldán, however, appears upright and in balance, protected by chain mail and cap, carrying a Norman shield with a cross engraved on it. Ferragut’s lance (at top) arches and breaks when hitting Roldán’s shield. Between the two characters, in the background, Ferragut is seen lying on the ground and beheaded.
Also according to www.estella.com.es, the right side of the capital shows Roldán and Ferragut fighting on foot. Ferragut, with chain mail coat but without the headdress and face protection, shows very curly hair. With his mouth open, his body arches to strike Roldán with a club. Roldán wears the same clothes and Norman shield as on the front of the capital and is trying to nail the Saracen in the chest with his sword.
Near Nájera, we passed a concrete wall with a poem. The original Spanish text was by Eugenio Garibay Baños (initials E.G.B.), pastor of Nájera. However, pilgrims first come to the German version.
1:20 PM – Near Nájera: German version of poem on wall:
Staub, Schlamm, Sonne und Regen,
das ist der Weg nach Santiago.
Tausende von Pilgern
und mehr als tausend Jahre.
Wer ruft dich? Pilger
Welch` geheime Macht lockt dich an?
Weder ist es der Sternenhimmel,
noch sind es die großen Kathedralen.
Weder die Tapferkeit Navarras,
noch der Rioja-Wein,
nicht die Meeressfrüchte Galizens,
und auch nicht die Felder Kastiliens.
Pilger, wer ruft dich?
Welch` geheime Macht lockt dich an?
Weder sind es die Leute unterwegs,
noch sind es die unendlichen Traditionen.
Weder Kultur und Geschichte,
noch der Hahn Sto. Domingos,
nicht der Palast von Gaudi,
und auch nicht das Schloß Ponferradas.
All` dies sehe ich im Vorbeigehen,
und dies zu sehen, ist Genuß,
doch die Stimme, die mich ruft,
fühle ich viel tiefer in mir.
Die Kraft, die mich voran treibt.
Die Macht, die mich anlockt,
auch ich kann sie mir nicht erklären.
Dies kann allein nur Er dort oben! (E.G.B.)
1:21 PM – Near Nájera: Spanish version of poem on wall, with yellow arrows and phone number for taxi.
To the right of the German was the original Spanish version:
Polvo, barro, sol y lluvia
Es Camino de Santiago.
Millares de peregrinos
y mas de un millar de años.
Peregrino ¿Quién te llama?
¿Qué fuerza oculta te atrae?
Ni el campo de las Estrellas
Ni las grandes catedrales.
No es la bravura navarra,
Ni el vino de los riojanos,
Ni los mariscos gallegos,
Ni los campos castellanos.
Peregrino ¿Quién te llama?
¿Qué fuerza oculta te atrae?
Ni las gentes del Camino,
Ni las costumbres rurales.
No es la historia, ni la cultura,
Ni el gallo de la Calzada
Ni el palacio de Gaudi
Ni el Castillo de Ponferrada.
Todo lo veo al pasar,
Y es un gozo verlo todo.
Mas la voz que a mí me llama
La siento más hondo.
La fuerza que a mí me empuja,
La fuerza que a mí me atrae,
No sé explicarla ni yo.
¡Solo el de Arriba lo sabe! E.G.B.
[English translation:
Dust, mud, sun and rain
is the Camino de Santiago.
Thousands of pilgrims
and more than a thousand years.
Pilgrim, who calls you?
What hidden force attracts you?
Neither the field of the stars
nor the grand cathedrals.
It is not bravery of Navarra,
nor the wine of Rioja
nor the Galician seafood,
nor the Castilian fields.
Pilgrim, who calls you?
What hidden force attracts you?
Neither the people of the Camino
nor the rural customs.
It is not the history nor the culture,
nor the Rooster of La Calzada,
nor the Palace of Gaudí,
nor the Castle of Ponferrada.
I see it all as I pass by,
and it is a joy to see it all,
but the voice that calls me
I feel much more deeply still.
The force that pushes me,
The force that attracts me,
cannot be explained nor can I.
Only He from Above knows it! E.G.B.]
1:22 PM Near Nájera: MT looking at the German poem (left) with Spanish version at right.
1:38 PM Near Nájera: Don on path, about to enter town.
We arrived in the outskirts of Nájera (pop 7,000) at 1:45.
Nájera is a small historic town in the Rioja Alta region. The area, previously inhabited by ancient Celtic and Basque tribes, attracted the Romans, who built the town of Tritium here. The current name is of Arabic origin (Naxara meaning “town between the rocks”) from when the area was under Muslim rule. When the Arabs occupied the village in the 8th century, they were impressed by the high hills that protected it. In 923, the town was recaptured by Ordoño II of Galicia and León for his ally, Sancho I Gracés, King of Navarra. Just one year later, in 924, the Muslims looted and destroyed Pamplona, forcing the king to move the court of Navarra to Nájera. In the 11th century, King Sancho III modified the Camino route so that Nájera became an important stop for passing pilgrims. It was the capital of the Kingdom of Navarra in the 11th and 12th centuries. It was the capital of Navarra and La Rioja until 1076, when La Rioja became part of Castile.
We found Hotel Duques de Nájera (3-star), which was not closed as Internet had said. They wanted 65€ for a double room without breakfast (an extra 7€ each). Then we looked for Hostal Ciudad de Nájera, but found it next to an albergue (which MT didn’t like). So we went back to Hotel Duques de Najera, checked in, and got sellos.
5:41 PM – Nájera: Hotel Duques de Nájera exterior (our room, No. 103, was the one without white curtain on the 1st [US 2nd] floor right).
6:25 PM – Nájera: Hotel Duques de Nájera – our bathroom.
6;25 PM – Nájera: Hotel Duques de Nájera – spacious tile floor of our bathroom, which was literally as big as our whole private room in Albergue de Nájera last year.
6:39 PM – Nájera: Hotel Duques de Nájera – view out our window through flowers on balcony.
2:38 PM – Nájera: Hotel Duques de Nájera – our room No. 103; MT had just accidentally pulled down the white curtain accidentally while trying to draw it.
2:39 PM – Nájera: Hotel Duques de Nájera – view of our room from by window.
At the hotel, we ate a late lunch with grocery buys: bread, lite cheese, yogurt, apple and peach (3€+ total).
We went out to look for churches and restaurants. We found Mesón “El Buen Yantar” with a 9€ pilgrim menu and the found Iglesia de la Santa Cruz, which Don had decided could be the one where we got the special sello last year.
The Real Parroquia de la Santa Cruz parish was founded in 1052, originally in a chapel inside the Monasterio de Santa María la Real, until its separation in 1230. The present church was built in the late 16th and early 17th century (1553-1611).
Unfortunately, on Sunday afternoon, the church was locked, but we saw 5 priests (in black but mostly with clerical collars off) having beers at a table outside a nearby bar in Plaza de la Cruz. Don thought he recognized the white-haired one as the one who did our sello after mass last year. MT asked, and he said yes and went into the sacristy to get his stamp and colored pens. While he was gone, two Dutch ladies asked us about the mass (like us, they had been told at their hotel that there was a 7 pm mass here, but the sign on the door said that was only Monday through Saturday). So the priest kindly did sellos for the Dutch ladies, then us, and then for an Italian man who came along. The sello read: “Real Parroquia de la Santa Cruz Nájera.” He also gave everyone a prayer card and a miraculous medal. MT gave the priest 2€ and said it was for another beer.
4:40 PM – Nájera: Plaza de la Cruz – priest with sello (seated), MT, Dutch ladies, Italian man, and another priest (who was giving him a good-natured hard time about paying for beers) ; closed door of Iglesia de Santa Cruz in background..
4:40 PM – Nájera: Plaza de la Cruz – priest with sello, MT, Dutch ladies, and other priests.
Nájera: Plaza de la Cruz – parts of credencial pages with special sellos (Scanned).
4:42 PM – Nájera: Plaza de la Cruz – Santa Cruz church, Italian man, priest with sello, MT, Dutch ladies, and other priests.
4:42 PM – Nájera: Santa Cruz church with stork nest (the priest added storks to his sello); closed entrance at right: Italian man, Dutch ladies, and MT in bottom right corner at table with priests.
We went on to the fortress-like Monasterio Santa María la Real. Both the priest from Santa Cruz and the hotel clerk said there was an 8 pm mass there. At the main entrance, there was a window charging admission for the church, cloister, and Royal Pantheon. (Since we had toured the monastery and the Royal Pantheon with its famous Virgin statue in 2013, we did not buy tickets this time.) The lady at the ticket counter told us mass would be in the capilla (chapel) around the corner at 8 pm, but we decided not to go, since we had already been to a mass Saturday evening. (We had only looked for a mass on Sunday evening because of the priest with the special sello.)
The first construction on the site of Monasterio Santa María la Real dates back to the 11th century, beside a sandstone cliff where the King of Navarra is said to have found a statue of the Virgin in a cave while hunting there in 1032. (Until the construction of the church’s main altarpiece, the original image was kept in the cave beneath the church; now a 13th-century Gothic carving of the Virgin can be seen there.) The King ordered the monumental complex to be built as an episcopal see, family vault, and monastery originally for monks of the Order of San Isidoro practicing the Visigothic rite. (The see was transferred to Calahorra in 1079, at which time the monastery was given to the influential Cluniac order.) The original Romanesque church with Mozarabic influences was consecrated in 1052; the walls were high for defensive needs, and the buttresses functioned as bastions. The current church dates from was built between 1422 and 1453; a Baroque façade was added between 1621 and 1625. It includes the Royal Pantheon of the Kings of Navarra and later Castile and León; more they 30 royal family members are buried there. It also houses the mausoleum of the Dukes of Nájera. As the popularity of the Camino de Santiago waned, so did the fortunes of the monastery. In the early 19th century, it suffered attacks and looting by both French troops and guerrillas during the War of Independence. In 1835, during the anti-clerical reforms of Juan Álvarez Mendizábal, the monks had to abandon the monastic complex, which was then vandalized and suffered extensive damage. The building was then used as a warehouse, school, and barracks, until it was declared a National Artistic Historical Monument in 1889. The fortunes of the monastery further revived with the arrival of Franciscans in 1895.
Juan Álvarez Mendizábal (1790-1853) was appointed Minister of the Treasury in 1835, during a delicate economic situation due to the military expenses of the First Carlist War. His political program included the immediate end of the Carlist War and the Desmortización Eclesiástica de Mendizábal (“Ecclesiastical Confiscations of Mendizábal”). The Desmortización was a set of decrees that resulted in the expropriation and privatization of monastic properties in Spain from 1835 to 1837. The government wished to use the land to encourage the enterprises of the small land-owning middle class, since much of the land was thought to be underused by the monastic orders. The government, which refused to compensate the Church for the properties, saw this as a source of income. Finally, wealthy noble and other families took advantage of the legislation to increase their holdings. Ultimately the Desmortización led to the vacating of most of the ancient monasteries of Spain.
5:04 PM – Nájera: Monasterio Santa María la Real and boys sitting on a wall with sign that said not to climb on it.
5:04 PM – Nájera: sign “Prohibo subir a los muros y jugar en el cesped” [Prohibited to climb the walls and to play on the lawn]; children on the wall; Monasterio Santa María la Real.
Then we walked to the Plaza España, where the guidebook said there were many restaurants and bars with pilgrim menus, but we decided to stick with the Mesón “El Buen Yantar,” for which a girl had passed out flyers on the Camino trail before Nájera [yantar = to eat (lunch)].
In the plaza, we met a young Italian man and his mother; they had been in Santo Domingo but came back to get the bottoms of his zip-off pants. Then we went back to Hotel Duques de Nájera to rest.
At 7 pm, we went to Asador-Restaurante Mesón “El Buen Yantar” for the 9€ pilgrim menu (which was the same as the regular 13€ menu): 1st course: 2 spaghetti with tomato sauce; 2nd course: MT grilled trout/Don pimiento relleno (stuffed pepper) with salad vice patatas fritas; dessert: MT coffee ice cream/Don chocolate cake; water, bread, and red wine (no label). (Last year we were told that vineyard bodegas have a quota for how much wine they can sell annually with their label on it, but they can also sell more, without labels, primarily to restaurants. So this was probably a good Rioja wine.)
7:01 PM – Nájera: Mesón “El Buen Yantar” with Iglesia Santa Cruz down street in background; we ate at one of the outside tables.
7:02 PM – Nájera: Mesón “El Buen Yantar” with menu boards and MT; the 9€ menú peregrino was apparently the same as the 13€ menú del día; there was also a menú especial for 45€.
7:20 PM – Nájera: Mesón “El Buen Yantar” – MT with no-label wine.
7:39 PM – Nájera: Mesón “El Buen Yantar” – Don and MT with wine and bread.
8:12 PM – Nájera: Mesón “El Buen Yantar” – Don’s pimiento relleno (stuffed pepper).
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