Travels through History – Northern Spain

This book is a travelogue about the cities of northern Spain.

I travelled to

1 Pamplona

There’s more to this city than just the running of the bulls. Pamplona is the capital of the Navarre region. In the city, most of the signs are in Spanish and Basque. Pamplona is called Iruna in the Basque language. The city is named after Pompey, the Roman General, who was part of the First Triumvirate (60–53 BC). This was an informal alliance between himself and two other prominent Roman politicians: Gaius Julius Caesar and Marcus Licinius Crassus, at the end of the Roman Republic.

Pamplona is an important stop for pilgrims on the Camino de Santiago. I saw scallop shells on pavements all over the city, showing the route to follow to Santiago. A large scallop shell was used as a sign on the exterior wall of a building to indicate this was a hostel where pilgrims could bed down for the night at a favourable rate. 

Roncesvalles is just over 30 miles away from Pamplona. Legend has it that here in 778 the Basque tribes defeated the armies of Charlemagne and killed Roland, commander of Charlemagne’s rearguard. This event features in the epic 11th-century poem Chanson de Roland (Song of Roland) and today’s Basques still revere their forefathers for this battle. Camino pilgrims give thanks at the famous monastery in Roncesvalles for a successful crossing of the Pyrenees, one of the hardest parts of the Camino.

2 Burgos – The cathedral is top of most people’s list of priorities. The western front is spectacular and the twin spires can be seen from most of the old town. The cathedral has recently undergone a long period of cleaning and it shimmers in the sunshine. The carvings are all delicate and finely done. 

I visited the interior around 1pm because I figured that most tourists would be eating lunch at this time, however I hadn’t taken into account the fact domestic tourists wouldn’t start to eat lunch until at least 2pm, as Spaniards eat a lot later than north Europeans and North Americans. The cathedral was busy, but the edifice is so vast that the numbers soon drop off as you move further into the depths of the cloisters. 

The central dome exhibits Moorish influences and is supported by four piers that fan out into buttresses that reminded me of the Plateresque style similar to silver filigree. There’s a multitude of carvings to admire. 

In the floor of the cathedral, right under the dome is a slab of pink-veined marble, the last resting place of El Cid and his wife Jimena. El Cid is the national hero of Spain and his story is worth knowing.

3. San Sebastian -In Spain’s Basque country it is important to know a few words of the Basque language especially in the city of San Sebastian. This hotbed of Basque nationalism is called Donostia locally and there are other words visitors should become acquainted with. The most important is pintxos.  In the Basque Country there are no tapas bars—instead there are pintxos bars, but the idea is the same. 

People in The Basque Country eat a lot later than most tourists are used to and one reason why is that the locals visit a pintxos bar first—so it is a great idea for visitors to eat a few pintxos too, to bridge the gap to the later eating time.  The problem in San Sebastian is eating just a ‘few’ pintxos—these bite-sized delights are so tasty and varied that some visitors, me included, can eat them all evening. 

Pintxos bars also serve wine and sherry, so if you have a seat at the bar then there is no real need to move all night. So it was at the A Fuego Negro in San Sebastian’s old town—this is a famous pintxos bar in the Casco Viejo, appearing in most guidebooks, and it always looks busy. This might be because it is midway between the 18th Century Basilica de Santa Maria and the Museo San Telmo, two popular tourist destinations.

Valladolid,

Segovia,

Leon,

Gijon,

Oviedo,

Santiago de Compostela,

Pontevedra,

A Coruna,

Vigo

on board the fast, modern trains of the Spanish railways.

I describe the history of these places along with the sights seen plus some food and drink options available to all.

There are extra stories about two pilgrimages of my own – to see the modern architecture of Santiago Calatrava in Valencia and to watch Lionel Messi play football in Barcelona.