Stage 3: PAMPLONA to PUENTE LA REINA (15.85 miles)

Today's prompt:

Leaving Pamplona you will ascend the Alto del Perdón. At the top you will be amazed by the monstrous windmills (what would Don Quixote have thought!) and engaged by the monument to pilgrims. Slightly beyond the summit you will find a Civil War monument, dedicated just a few years ago to the memory of local citizens who were executed in 1936 as the Spanish Civil War began. Why is the mountain called the "alto del perdón?" What does it mean to for-give (per-donar)? How might this special kind of giving inform your Camino?

Wow! What a day. The Alto del Perdón was quite the experience. Climbing it wasn't so bad, but coming down was an ordeal. It was a long 16 miles and it got hotter than we had expected. The question above asks us to reflect on what it means to forgive. I think that the physical task of climbing the mountain and then descending might be compared to the challenge it is for us to, at times, forgive others for some offense. Yet when we reach the pinnacle and have a broader view of our surroundings, we find it necessary to realize our own shortcomings and the need for equal amounts of mercy and tenderness. The descent might be comparable to the challenges of overcoming our pride and humbling ourselves to the degree that the forgiveness that we need to show must be with full intent and purpose. To forgive is not easy and the process of forgiving may open up other challenges (like those big rocks on the path), but in the end we realize that the effort brings rewards and when we look back at where we were, the offense that we perceived coming from another was in reality insignificant meriting far less attention and complaint than we had thought necessary at the time. To forgive is to come to terms with our own weaknesses.

Here are some scenes from along the trail:

We stopped for a rest in this small village (Zariquiegui) where there was this lovely romanesque church (Iglesia de San Andrés) from the second half of the 12 century. We went inside to get our "compostela" passport stamped and met this wonderful lady. When she learned that our students had songs to sing she invited them to perform. We stood there with her, also singing along, and sang "Jesus the Very Thought of Thee" in Spanish. She was so happy!

Zariquiegui

The path to the Alto de Perdón (The Place of Forgiveness).

Looking back from the trail to the Alto de Perdón at Pamplona in the distance.

The rocky path to the top of the mountain where you find....

Windmills!

At the top and to the side is this touching memorial to all those from the surrounding towns who were executed by the Franco regime in 1936 (the beginning of the Spanish Civil War). The center pillar reads that those who died will not be forgotten.