The Ham Nomads

13 Jan 2015. <ES> Pamplona —

As we were waking up this cold and frosty morning, we heard a donkey braying from up on the hill, welcoming a gentleman who was driving his donkey cart up towards it. Delightful. How Spanish can you get?

Today we went in to explore Pamplona. We took the bus in from Berriozar. As you approach the city, you realise the size of its city walls that protected the inhabitants over the centuries. The bus took us right into the heart of town. From there, we wandered the streets, making our way slowly towards the Tourist Information Office. We walked along wide avenues with lots of traffic. From the size of these streets, we were wondering where the narrow streets might be where they have the Encierro (the Running of the Bulls).

Making our way towards where we thought the Tourist Office was, we passed a magnificent statue, the Monument to the Encierro, which captures an instant of the running mozos being pursued by the bulls — it shows how the mozos carry rolled-up newspapers to help defend themselves.

We then went into Plaza del Castillo, the large square in the centre of town. The architecture around it is fascinating!

And the pigeons love bathing in the fountain in the centre. Interestingly, it was here that the bullfights were held from 1385 through to 1844, when a permanent bullring was built.

We then went down a narrow street, round past the City Hall with its fabulous late-Baroque-neo-Classical façade, to the Tourist Office, where we finally got a map and discovered where we were! By the way, the City Hall main balcony is where they fire the rocket that signals the start of the festivities of San Fermin, and it's also where the "Pobre de mi" ("Poor me") lament brings the whole thing to a close.

We then walked through the narrow streets (yes, the ones of the running of the bulls) up towards the Catedral de Santa María la Real de Pamplona. This cathedral is virtually hidden behind the houses and tenements of Pamplona, but when you get inside it is mind-blowing. The building itself, on a cold day, was warm and inviting. The columns forming the aisles were not only sculpted, but were subtly coloured. Round the aisles, in the lateral chapels, are huge retables, all gold-leafed, some polychromed, dating from 1500 to 1685. Towards the front of the nave is the tomb of Charles III of Navarre and his wife, which forms the top of a royal crypt in which are entombed many Navarrese royals. Above the high altar is Royal Saint Mary, a Romanesque woodcarved silverplated sculpture.

We went out into the cloister, which is amazing — it's 13th century French Gothic, with tall arches forming the wall between the arcade and the central lawn area. The door leading back into the cathedral has an amazing polychromed bas-relief above it, and the obligatory over-the-top statue of Mary beside it.

From the cloister, you gain access to the museum, via a door beside the so-called "Precious Door" which once led into the ancient canons' dormitory and which has carvings depicting the Virgin Mary's life. The museum itself is a surprise in a cathedral setting — it documents the prehistory of the site, back to the 7th century BC, and then the Graeco-Roman temple, and then the various buildings which ultimately became this cathedral.

One room has a wall with 28 niches, each containing a statue of the Virgin and Child from a different period in the cathedral's history. The museum is well set up, well documented, and a delight to explore. The exhibition is entitled "Occidens", signifying the West of the modern age, and just as you leave it you pass through a room with facing mirrors, producing an infinite reflection, and the inscription "Occidens no es una exposición, es una reflexión" — 'Occidens is not an exhibition, it's a reflection'.

From the cathedral, we wandered down to the other main religious site in the town — La Plaza de Toros (the bullring). This place is closed at the moment, but you can get an idea of the size of it all. We looked up towards Estafeta, the street the bulls run down, and down the ramp into the bulls' entrance to the ring. You can just imagine it in full flight!

We then started wandering back through the town towards our bus stop and the trip back to Berriozar and the van. A fascinating day, and one we will long remember.

Distance driven — today, 11 miles ( 18 km ); to date, 10,886 miles ( 17,520 km )