We went into the cloister to see some of the original 12th century French architecture. The first thing you notice are rejas, ironwork fashioned from the chains of Christian prisoners liberated after being captured in a 1212 battle.

Next were the three kings

This is the dining hall for monks and pilgrims.

Each of the roof supports had a different design such as this

This is the Tympanum of the death of the Virgin from the 14th century. The doorway under is is called la Puerta Preciosa. It leads to the Roman ruins on which the cathedral was built.

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Susan and I attended Mass this morning and then spent over an hour in the Catedral. I have never seen such a place. The Mass was in Spanish with what seemed to be the new responses. The homily was under a minute, something unheard of in the States.

Here are some of the chapels and the central altar.

Detail of above.

This is the renaissance choir behind the main altar. It is difficult to photograph due to the ironwork surrounding the altar.

Here is St Antonio Abad and his iconic pig from chapel one,

and the Pieta from chapel 2

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We will be referencing sites in “The Pilgrimage Road to Santiago” by David Gitlitz and Linda Kay Davidson. The references will appear as PRS 21-1 meaning item one in chapter 21 of the book (in this case the Pamplona Cathedral).

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We are at the Hotel Europa in Pamplona after very few hours of sleep. From our room we could hear construction but were so tired we slept anyway. It is an adventure to do laundry on a European hotel! Today and tomorrow we are turistas here. The pilgrimage starts Friday when we become peregrinos.

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Thanks to Anna for getting us here including a literal last minute trip to REi.

Iberia actually served meals on the plane.

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Only a few days left before the pilgrimage. It was nice that the Good Friday prayers asked for safe return of pilgrims.

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We will leave Maine on 2 April and fly from Boston to Madrid and on to Pamplona, arriving 3 April in the morning. We will stay a few days at the Hotel Europa to get over jet lag and then start our Camino to Santiago de Compostela.

Posted from Kennebunk, Maine, United States.