Our Camino Aragonés -- June 2015

[peregrina2000]

I don't think it's necessary to do a minutia-laden description since you can get plenty of information on the web. Mundicamino, gronze, and the Eroski site all have a lot of detail. But since I'm compiling all my gps tracks, my journal notes, and my blog, I may as well just do another day by day. Maybe it will encourage some of you to sample this beautiful and varied walk.

Day 1 -- Somport to Canfranc Estación (8 km)

LTfit and I came over to the Aragonés via San Juan de la Peña and the Camino Aragonés. My description of the previous days from Montserrat to San Juan and down to the Aragonés at Santa Cilia is here.

We arrived at Santa Cilia at around 10 in the morning, having left our albergue in Botaya around 6 am and gone up to San Juan again. Because of our previous day's visit we were able to just walk by. Our plan was to backtrack to the Spanish border at Puerto de Somport, so we could walk all of the Camino Aragonés, at least all that is on the Spanish side of the border. There was no bus till late afternoon, and the thought of an entire day spent sitting in the small (though very friendly) town of Santa Cilia had no appeal. So we stuck our thumbs out on the highway, trying to hitch a ride. No luck, but we did give up after only about 5 minutes. We then walked off the highway onto the connector road between the town and the highway, and just flagged down the first car going by. It's amazing what the difference in speed will do. People who see you and are going slow will frequently stop (I have flagged down rides on different caminos this way, in Lugo to get to Santa Eulalia, on the Vadiniense to get back to Potes from the monastery, etc.). This was no exception. The first car to pass promptly stopped and invited us into the car. He was only going as far as Jaca, but volunteered to take us the additional 30 some kms up to Somport. Camino angel!!!!!



There is an albergue in Somport, which also has a bar/restaurant down below, but nothing else. All was closed when we arrived around noon. So we decided to start out from the pass and head down to Canfranc Estación, which would take a nice chunk out of the next day's walk to Jaca. We took a long rest on a bench, just soaking in the incredible mountain beauty, and then we headed off, on a steady descent to Canfranc Estación. After just having struggled with the horrible, steep, rocky descent from San Juan to Santa Cruz de la Serós, this was a piece of cake. The weather was beautiful, the views were incredible, and we arrived in Canfranc with plenty of time to shower and wash before finding a place to eat lunch.



There are two albergues in Canfranc Estación. The first one you come to (Albergue Pepe Grillo) is not as highly recommended as the second one (Albergue Río Aragón), but the second one was closed. We spent the night in Pepe Grillo and it was just fine, has a nice bar on the first floor and the owners are quite friendly. I think our room had three bunk beds, and it wasn't at all crowded.

Canfranc Estación is an enormous train station that was opened in the early 1900s and was envisioned as the main route to France. An accident on the French side ruined the tracks, and the French decided not to rebuild, in the 1970s. That left this white elephant station with no purpose in life, other than a few little local trains, which still are running. Adif operates tours of the big building, which is otherwise closed, but we missed the afternoon tour because we were stuffing our bellies. We did, however, have plenty of time to wander around the station and peek through a few windows. I would love to go back and take the tour. There are many plaques recounting pieces of the station's history, and one of the most interesting tidbits was the discovery, about 15 years ago, of a stash of papers. Apparently, a French taxi driver who loves old trains, found a way into the station (the owner of a store nearby said that as kids, they loved going into the station and playing around, all highly prohibited of course). He discovered a huge pile of papers that indicated that Franco had used the station during WWII to facilitate Germany's "export" of huge amounts of stolen gold. On the return trip, raw materials for materiel were sent back to Germany. These papers have been the source of a couple of books, El Oro de Canfranc and Canfranc el Mito, both of which I would have bought but for the fact that I was walking.


In any event, if you are lucky enough to take the tour, let us know what you saw and how it was. And let me also say by way of encouragement that the marking is excellent and we navigated this camino with no guide, just an occasional reference to the online sources. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[KinkyOne]

That's simply great, Laurie!!!

 

[marjude]

Hi Laurie, Thanks for the info and photos. I'm arriving in Spain on 4th April next year and plan to start walking the Aragones about the 7th April and i'm hoping there will be some other Pilgrims walking at the same time.

Buen Camino Judy.

 

[wayan]

I was at Canfranc Estación on 25th September. There was a celebration that night where there were a few speeches then lights and images were played all over the station. The moon came up over the mountains behind the station near the end of the light show. Magic.

 

[peregrina2000]

Day 2 -- Canfranc Estación to Jaca (24 km)

We were soon out of the mountains, but the walk to Jaca is very pretty. Somewhere in between Canfranc pueblo and Villanua (the next two towns after Canfranc Estación), many pilgrims meet a huge herd of goats heading out in the early morning. LT posted a picture on her facebook page, and Sil wrote that she had encountered the same goats (identifiable by their brand and their horns) years earlier.



After Villanua, the Camino turns right and crosses a bridge, and then stays on the side of the highway (on a safe path) for a while. Very sunny and not so fun, being next to the road. On my way out of Villanua, I met two women out for a walk who told me there was a nicer river path that merged back with the Camino in Castiello de Jaca. I stayed on the Camino, but it would be worth some searching to find out about this alternative.



Castiello de Jaca is a very prettified and renovated old town. Lots of beautiful stone houses. There has obviously been some serious money spent on the infrastructure, since there are plaques all over, nice paved paths through town, fountains, etc. There is a private albergue off to the right a few hundred meters before you enter town, so if you are not interested in staying in the city of Jaca (about 8 km from Castiello de Jaca), this would be an alternative.

In Jaca, the municipal albergue does not open till late in the afternoon, I believe it was 4 pm. We opted for the private alternative, Casa Mamré, since we arrived so early. Clean sheets, towels, good drying area outside on a balcony. 11 € each for a room with two beds, bath in the hallway. I think the municipal albergue charges 9 or 10, but am not sure. In any event, for a few euros more, it was a good choice.

Jaca was in fiestas when we arrived. We arrived at the end of the religious procession. Everything was of course closed, so my hopes to buy some new socks, a new spork, and to visit the church museum were dashed. And yet there sitting prominently outside the cathedral, was a billboard announcing that according to Le Monde, the church museum was one of the best places to see romanesque in the world.

We decided to try the vegetarian restaurant that had been recommended to us, the Tetería, very close to the bus station. Slowest service ever. One guy, who was cook and server, and we were the third of three tables. We essentially had to wait till the other two tables were done before we got our meals. I remember that LT asked something about how long it would take, and the guy brought us a bowl of olives. Not exactly what we had in mind, but nice. Since we really had nowhere to go, we just sat it out and the food was actually pretty good. He was very apologetic at the end and told us that usually he didn't do the whole operation by himself.

The historic center is nicely preserved and had a great ambiente, due to the fiestas no doubt. But my bet is that it is a lively casco antiguo even on regular days. For us, the main things open were the bars, restaurants, and an occasional store. We visited the albergue and saw that the hospitalera is actually a municipal employee who spends her workday sitting at the computer to check in pilgrims (I think there were three or four there that day). She was perfectly polite, but had absolutely no connection with the Camino and didn't exactly give off a "camino vibe."

We also made it out to the fortress (one of those Vauban star-shaped forts), where reindeer now graze in the meadow between the walls and the entrances.

We knew there would be concerts playing all night so we made the decision to close the windows and use earplugs, which meant a less than ideal night of sleep. But on balance, we knew we were oh so lucky to be walking this beautiful Camino. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[peregrina2000]

How to Visit San Juan de la Peña from the Camino Aragónes

For anyone who has not come to the Aragonés via the Camino Catalán as LT and I did, it is on the stage from Jaca that you'll have to decide whether to take the detour to San Juan de la Peña. In my opinion, it is a truly amazing place, well worth a visit. There are ways to work a visit in, and forum members have written about it, so a general search would be helpful, probably. Maps on mundicamino and eroski will help explain the options as well. But the two main options, I think, are the following: (1) taking a tour from Jaca for a day, which means essentially having a rest day and spending two nights in Jaca (I think Annie wrote about this option and it seems reasonably priced and like a good idea if you have the time); (2) walking from Jaca to the turnoff for the monastery and going through Santa Cruz de la Serós (15 very manageable kms from Jaca), leaving backpacks at the hostal and walking up to the monastery, and then back down to spend the night in Santa Cruz, a very cute little hamlet with its own two romanesque churches of note. This is what a couple we met in Arrés did. It was a very long day, but they said it was totally worth it.

Getting from Santa Cruz up to the monastery of San Juan de la Peña and back either involves walking alongside the road (7 km each way) OR taking the Camino route, which is on a very steep rocky path, 3.5 km between Santa Cruz and San Juan. If you know your elevation gains, there is a 360 m elevation gain over a little more than 2 kms. Not sure what degree of an incline that is, but I can tell you from having walked it, it is very steep. If you go, make sure to also visit the Balcón de los Pirineos, a lookout point with amazing views.



There may of course be other ways to do the visit from the Camino Aragonés, so if you have suggestions, let us know! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[wayan]

A bus leaves the bus station in Jaca at 0930 and goes up to the Monasterios. The cost is 15€ which includes entry to both the old and new monasterios. It is possible to get out at the old monasterio on the way up or go all the way up to new monasterio. The bus travels between the two monasterios at regular intervals or there is a path to take down to the old monasterio. I think the bus heads back to Jaca around 1900. The bus also carries some of the workers for the monasterios. The track down to Santa Cruz starts across the road from the old monasterio and goes up a way before heading steeply down. And yes the views are great on the way down.

Wayne

 

[peregrina2000]

Day 3 -- Jaca to Arrés (25 km)

Oh what a very nice day, with a very wonderful destination. The albergue in Arrés should not be missed, it's a small donativo albergue in a pretty little town on a hill, with two volunteer hospitaleros, communal meals, tours of the church and the castle tower, and a show-stopping sunset from a picnic table vantage point up top.

The 15 km from Jaca back to Santa Cilia de Jaca were almost all off road. The camino was either to the right of the highway, near the river, or up on the hillside to the left of the highway. I was expecting something right next to the road, so this was a very pleasant surprise. Bar and albergue in Sata Cilia, and we met several walkers in a group who had stayed in a pensión connected, we think, with the bar in town. There is also a highly regarded panadería, with a wood-burning oven, so we bought a piece that had sprinkled sugar on it, and filled up on plain white carbs. Oh well, we had to try it!



Next came about 7 km to Puente la Reina de Jaca (different from the Puente la Reina near Pamplona). The Camino does not enter this town, so you will add a bit of distance if you cross the bridge to go into a store or find a place for a meal or a drink. Shortly after Puente la Reina, there's a turnoff onto a well marked and well worn (and not rocky!!!) footpath, which goes about 3 km at a very nice steady but fairly gentle ascent, through scrub forest, sometimes with nice views of the plains below. Arrés is a pretty little town on the top of a hill. When the albergue first opened, it was one of a very few inhabited buildings. Then the Aragonés government apparently offered the ruined houses to people for free. There were two conditions attached: you had to do the renovations in an historically appropriate way; and you had to live in the house. It seems to me as an outsider looking at this, that it was spectacularly successful. The town is beautifully restored, even has a bar and pensión in it, and though it's not a hub of activity, there is life there.



The albergue is one of those iconic Camino places, you can't miss it. Stop here even if you would otherwise walk further, you won't regret it. Two bedrooms, total of 16 spaces (8 bunks). There were 6 pilgrims and two hospitaleros who could have written the book on how to be a hospitalero. A South African man and a Spanish woman, total strangers several days earlier, had created a wonderful ambiente. Caring, funny, supportive, good cooks, they were great. We got an afternoon tour of the town, which meant the hospitaleros had the keys to the little church and to the reconstructed castle tower. Wonderful dinner, and the piece de resistance was sitting all together outside looking down over the plains and watching as the sunset. Great day, great evening, we were overflowing with gratitude and total contentment.

 

[annakappa]

We took that 09.30 bus up to the old monastery and then, officially started walking our Camino from there, back down this very, very steep and rough path. The old monastery is amazing and, for me, probably the most worthwhile place I have ever visited on all my Camino's.
I also enjoyed visiting the museum attached to the Cathedral in Jaca.
I loved the Camino Aragonés. The views over to the Pyrenees are beautiful and, until joining up with the CF in Puente de la Reina, it was a delight to walk. Then one gets the same feeling as the long distance walkers do when they reach Sarría........hordes of Pilgrims!

 

[peregrina2000]

We took that 09.30 bus up to the old monastery and then, officially started walking our Camino from there, back down this very, very steep and rough path. The old monastery is amazing and, for me, probably the most worthwhile place I have ever visited on all my Camino's.
I also enjoyed visiting the museum attached to the Cathedral in Jaca.
I loved the Camino Aragonés. The views over to the Pyrenees are beautiful and, until joining up with the CF in Puente de la Reina, it was a delight to walk. Then one gets the same feeling as the long distance walkers do when they reach Sarría........hordes of Pilgrims!

Anna, that's another good option -- sleep in Jaca, take the bus up to the monastery, visit the monastery, and then walk down -- did you walk to Santa Cilia from there or stay in Santa Cruz de la Serós? (or maybe even even some other place I'm not thinking of).

 

[Anniesantiago]

We also walked down to Santa Cilia from the Monastery.
A gorgeous walk in spring, with waving wheatfields full of bright red poppies.
Just stunning!

 

[annakappa]

Anna, that's another good option -- sleep in Jaca, take the bus up to the monastery, visit the monastery, and then walk down -- did you walk to Santa Cilia from there or stay in Santa Cruz de la Serós? (or maybe even even some other place I'm not thinking of).

No, Laurie, we walked as far as Arrés. Arrived at about 7 pm and got the last two beds! I just managed to catch up with the tour if the church.

 

[peregrina2000]

No, Laurie, we walked as far as Arrés. Arrived at about 7 pm and got the last two beds! I just managed to catch up with the tour if the church.

Wow, that's a long day with a very late start. But I would walk long and late to stay at Arres too! Laurie

 

[Deleted member 3000]

I'm arriving in Spain on 4th April next year and plan to start walking the Aragones about the 7th April and i'm hoping there will be some other Pilgrims walking at the same time.

That is pretty early in the season to expect very many fellow pilgrims! Check gronze.com for the albergues that will be open. Buen camino!

 

[Castilian]

I loved the Camino Aragonés. The views over to the Pyrenees are beautiful and, until joining up with the CF in Puente de la Reina, it was a delight to walk. Then one gets the same feeling as the long distance walkers do when they reach Sarría........hordes of Pilgrims!

If after walking the camino aragonés you want to avoid the crowds of the francés on your way to Santiago de Compostela, you can leave the camino aragonés in Otano, walk to Pamplona (track can be found online) and continue on the viejo camino (aka camino olvidado; the branch from Pamplona meets the branch from Bilbao in Aguilar de Campoo) till Columbrianos. Once in Columbrianos, you might be even more uninterested in joining the Francés so to walk to Ponferrada and continue on the camino de invierno seems a good idea.

 

[peregrina2000]

Day 4 -- Arrés to Ruesta (28 km)

Straight and simple, this day has only one place where you could possibly have doubts. At one point before the first town of Artieda, there is a sign on the road pointing straight ahead with the indication "puente." The camino arrows go off road and avoids the pavement. I am assuming the puente (bridge) option stays on the road. Artieda is a pretty little hill town with an albergue and a restaurant. The hospitalero runs it on a concession from the municipality and it looks like it would be a very nice stop. The nice young hospitalero told us he is having trouble making ends meet this year because traffic is way down. This is not the first we had heard of this. Since he doesn't have any other employment options at the moment he's sticking with the albergue but he was not hugely optimistic. For a short stage from Arrés, this would be a good option, because the town is quite pretty.



But we carried on to Ruesta, which was about 10 km from Artieda. 6 of those km were out in the sun, but the last 4 were more or less in the shade as we were now meandering close to the edge of the Yesa reservoir. When I was in this area in 1995, there were huge protests against the Yesa reservoir (unsuccessful) and now there are more protests in opposition to its proposed expansion. The expansion will submerge some of the Camino route. We heard some of the townspeople's stories about the taking of their farming lands. In some cases, the government left the town standing but condemned all the agricultural lands farmed by the people living in the town, thus making their lives impossible. There is a lot of public opposition to this dam, fueled by the popular sentiment that they are submerging Aragonés lands in order to give water to Madrid.



Ruesta is one of the totally abandoned towns next to the reservoir. It has an albergue, which was built by the CGT (anarchist syndicate) and is now run via a concession to a private party. The hospitalero/concessionaire, coincidentally, is the son of one of the CGT members who built the albergue. There is some sort of museum here but it wasn't open.


It was 24 € for bed, breakfast, and lunch and the food was quite good (thanks due, we believe, to the hospitalero's German sweetie). We had hours of down time, since the entire town was gated off -- everything in danger of falling down. I learned a lot about Spain's pretty controversial "Ley de la Memoria" and just generally had some nice conversation. A forest ranger came down to eat at the albergue and added her perspective to the discussion -- she was quite proud that Aragón still spent the money to keep forest rangers on patrol throughout the monte while Catalunya in her opinion had made unwise budget cuts.
Breakfast was served early, nothing special but fine, all in all this is another very nice stop on the Camino Aragonés, where there were six pilgrims and four people working to serve us! Buen camino, Laurie

 

[Anniesantiago]

I loved Ruesta and found the food to be very good the night I stayed. There were (for campers) people camping out in the field right after the ruins before you got onto the forested road.

 

[peregrina2000]

I loved Ruesta and found the food to be very good the night I stayed. There were (for campers) people camping out in the field right after the ruins before you got onto the forested road.

I agree with you about the food. The poor town, though. The entire town is gated off because everything is in danger of collapse. The albergue and the restaurants may soon be the only buildings left standing.

 

[Marc S.]

Thanks Laurie, this brings back great memories to last April when I walked the Aragones. As I did not visit San Juan de la Pena, I plan to walk again soon.

In addition to some points made above:

After Villanua, the Camino turns right and crosses a bridge, and then stays on the side of the highway (on a safe path) for a while. Very sunny and not so fun, being next to the road. On my way out of Villanua, I met two women out for a walk who told me there was a nicer river path that merged back with the Camino in Castiello de Jaca. I stayed on the Camino, but it would be worth some searching to find out about this alternative.

I walked on the river path. I guess that you took right when entering Villanua. To take the river path, go through the village and turn left (after having passed the church) when leaving the village. The path is marked by red & white markers and very well marked.

I stayed in the Artieda albergue and it is a lovely place indeed: small rooms with great beds and showers & the bar serves very good food. I asked if I could eat there at night, which I could, and then it turned out they had to especially open the bar for me (as it would have been closed otherwise) - which I felt a bit embarassed about... Sad to read they are struggling to keep the place running.

I walked in the first week of April. All albergues were open. I think they just can do with a little more pilgrims to keep the whole thing going.

 

[peregrina2000]

I was at Canfranc Estación on 25th September. There was a celebration that night where there were a few speeches then lights and images were played all over the station. The moon came up over the mountains behind the station near the end of the light show. Magic.

Hi, Wayne, Just wondering if you got a chance to take the tour through the train station. I've been wondering what we missed! Thanks, Laurie

 

[Deleted member 3000]

The Estacion lobby restoration will not be done until 2018, but there are tours by reservation:

SCHEDULE October 2015
Wednesday and Thursday 16: 45h
Friday 12:30 and 16: 45h
Saturday 11: 00h and 12: 30h / 16: 45h and 18: 00h
Sunday 11: 00h and 12: 30h

IMPORTANT NOTE

Price: 3 €. Gratuities to children under 10 years. Arrive 10 minutes before the visit to the station with the entry. If the entry is not removed 30 minutes before the visit the reservation is canceled. These schedules or duration of the visit may be modified by improvement works in the lobby. It will be communicated in advance.

A film festival has been held in the lobby!!

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks for posting the tour times of the Canfranc train station, falcon -- if anyone goes, please report back!

 

[peregrina2000]

Day 5 -- Ruesta to Sangüesa -- 24 km

Good walk, pretty, not hard. The first 6 or 7 kms are on a forest track, and then a few up and down to the nice town of Undués de Lerda. Just like Artieda the day before, it is a small town on a hill, prettified with some nice renovations, and it has a small albergue with a café restaurante. The rest of the way to Ruesta was on nice ag tracks in the fields, very sunny.



We thought the albergue in Sangüesa was very nice and clean. Washing machine 2€, good drying patio. Clean bathrooms and a nice sleeping room upstairs with a lot of beds and some bunks. We learned the next day (from a hospitalero down the road) that the albergue was closing to fumigate because it had bedbugs. We were kind of irritated that the hospitalera had let us stay there (there were four of us) knowing that there were bed bugs, but we escaped unscathed. It just goes to show that, as everyone says, the level of cleanliness has nothing to do with bedbugs. This place was extremely clean, spotless in fact.

We ate at the restaurant in front of the Iglesia de Santiago, a good menú del día. As it was Sunday, not much to do, so we spent several hours that afternoon sitting with a local, an unemployed young man who has been unemployed for years and sees no chance that things will get better for him. Very sad -- he lives with his mom, applies for jobs, gets some euros somewhere to pay for his cigarettes, and doesn't have much to do otherwise. He told many stories, but the one that sticks with me is that there was an opening for someone to do grass maintenance and yard work for the city. The job went to someone with a masters in agricultural economics.

Sangüesa has a lovely romanesque church, the facade is really something. The town itself has a few nice streets, but I wouldn't exactly call it a "happening" place.


Buen camino, Laurie

 

[peregrina2000]

Day 6 -- Sangïesa to Monreal (28-9)

We left Sangüesa early, lovely early morning light and much cooler temps than we would have later in the day. I know there's a group of people who hate walking early but for me it is the best time of the day. In summer 6 am is my preferred departure time -- and today's walk was especially pretty early in the morning.



The first 18 km are all off road, and it was so nice that they were all far from highways. Lots of pine forest, all in all a lovely walk. Then in Izco (a small, fairly sleepy, declining little town) we had a coffee stop at the albergue, learned about the bed bugs in Sangüesa (grrrr, she should have told us), and then walked on.



The last 10 km to Monreal consisted of about 8 km of wide open, hot, and often paved (ugh) agricultural roads/tracks. After the last town before Monreal, named Salinas de Ibargoiti (no services), we thankfully got out of the sun and into another pine forest. Just great.


We found the albergue (and saw our first Basque signs -- we were out of Aragón and in Navarra), a two story building close to the top of the town. Bedroom upstairs, kitchen, bath and seating area downstairs. Just fine. We made the VERY BAD decision to eat in the bar up the steps and near the church. It was by far the worst meal I had last summer, and it is up there with the few other memorable almost inedible meals. The little shop and bar in the "lower town" makes meals and I am sure they are better than what we ate. Another forum member (very polite and not gloating a bit over his good fortune and my bad luck) told me that he had one of the best meals ever in the Casa Rural in Monreal. Information on that place is here: http://www.etxartenea.com/en/ Double rooms seem to be around 50 and I don't know what the meals cost, but if you read the blog entry, you'll see that the author was a very happy camper eating in the Casa Rural. http://charldurand.blogspot.co.za/2015_08_01_archive.html

So, just one more short day to Puente la Reina, and then into Pamplona, hard to believe another segment of my 2015 camino was coming to an end. Buen camino, Laurie

 

[peregrina2000]

Day 7 -- Monreal to Puente la Reina (33 km)

Great walk. The first 14 or so to Tiebas are all on a hillside up and down, probably way more kms than the highway you could see off to the right, but way nicer. It goes through some little hamlets, but no services. There is a municipal albergue in Tiebas (with a coffee machine), and the owner will let pilgrims stay there a couple of days. This is a particularly nice option during San Fermín, when places to stay in Pamplona are in very short supply and very expensive. Tiebas is about 14 km outside of Pamplona and well served by buses. So if you are itching to see the bulls run, consider walking the Aragonés to coincide with the fiestas. Once in Tiebas you can spend a couple of nights there while you go in to Pamplona to enjoy.



From Tiebas, it's very flat, sunny but well marked and pleasant, going through a couple of towns, some of which have bars and groceries. From Tiebas to Eunate is about 15 km, and it was a beautiful day when we walked in from the east, but we were sorely disappointed to find that the church was closed, even though it wasn't a Monday, and even though it was within the "opening hours" displayed at the gate. Drats. I had been in the church before, but LT had not, and we were really hoping for a chance to sit and enjoy it. When we talked to the staff in the tourist office in Puente la Reina, they were very apologetic but told us this was something totally beyond their control. The church is owned by the Church, the same entity that closed the albergue, and they are not as geared to tourists as perhaps a government-owned monument might be. In any event, I hope that future pilgrims are able to get inside this little octagonal gem.



From Eunate, we headed on to Óbanos, where we merged with the Camino Francés coming down from the Alto de Perdón and heading to Puente la Reina. We felt like observers more than participants, but we were soon in Puente la Reina, getting information on the buses to Pamplona. So ends another Camino.

 

[oursonpolaire]

When I stayed in Monreal in 2009, there was no dinner but they sent me up to the social centre where I had a basic but edible dinner, being the only person who was not part of the football club who was eating. The Entxarnea is a lovely and comfortable place and I am pleased to hear that they offer dinner. They got up at the crack of dawn (by Spanish standards) to make me a very nice breakfast. At that time, the church was being renovated and the evening village mass was in a meeting room in the rectory.

 

[Deleted member 3000]

Thanks for posting the tour times of the Canfranc train station

The tour is not like the "old days" when you could wander the old cars with their cat population!

 

[Castilian]

We found the albergue (and saw our first Basque signs -- we were out of Aragón and in Navarra

Yes, you were in Navarre but you didn't enter in Navarre that day. You entered in Navarre the day before being Sangüesa the first Navarrese town on the camino aragonés.

 

[marjude]

I'm even more excited about walking the Aragones after reading this thread and looking at Laurie's photos again, thanks all.

Buen Camino Judy.

 

[lovingkindness]

lovely...

 

[MuireM]

Really want to do this Camino!

 

[MuireM]

It looks so beautiful, great information Perigrina!

 

[Kanga]

@peregrina2000 stop posting those gorgeous photos! Too many choices.

 

[peregrina2000]

Thanks to the forum member who alerted me to the fact that the former website of Casa Mamré in Jaca (which I posted earlier) had become a sex site. I have found what I think is the new site, and it seems that it is still in business. See my post #5 above.

So glad that there are forum members heading to this gorgeous camino, especially now with all the new places! It is one of those Caminos that just feels like a camino from the very start!

I am still sorry that I didn’t get to the museum in Jaca.

We arrived on a holiday and barely got into the cathedral, But oh how I would love to see that museum — if any forum members go, I’d love to hear if you thought it was as great as some of the reviews say it is.

 

[Vacajoe]

@peregrina2000 stop posting those gorgeous photos! Too many choices.

Thanks to the forum member who alerted me to the fact that the former website of Casa Mamré in Jaca (which I posted earlier) had become a sex site.

Hey, exactly what kind of photos were being posted?!?!?

The church museum in Jaca is definitely worth a visit as it contains an extensive collection of frescoes transferred from abandoned churches in the surrounding areas. It’s really one-of-a-kind.

 

[oursonpolaire]

Yes the diocesan museum in Jaca, as they say in the Michelin, is vaut le voyage. It is an exceptional collection of late mediaeval church art and gives you a feeling of the rough and vigorous life of the area and how the people and the artisans viewed devotional subjects. If you've gone to Jaca and not seen it, then go back.

 

[AlanSykes]

If you've gone to Jaca and not seen it, then go back.

Totally agree