The Santa María Cathedral of Vitoria-Gasteiz is located at the top of the hill on which the…read moreoriginal Vitoria Gasteiz was built and occupies the area bounded by its first walled enclosure. The church, which dates from the thirteenth century, is based on a Latin cross floor plan and it has four rectangular chapels. The octagonal tower, with its bell tower that dates from the 16th-17th centuries, enables any paying visitor to enjoy a unique panorama of the city. The reconstruction of this old church is now being partly funded by all the visitors that pay an entrance fee to see the church and/or get a guided tour of this large landmark.

The Cathedral of Santa Maria is well known and has a lot of history to it. This Cathedral was the…read moremuse for one of Ken Follet's books which was interesting. Note that you can only enter the cathedral if you have signed up in advance for a tour. The tour was great but it was in Spanish. ;-)

Some say that there is is nothing between Panes and Potes, except the road and the stream…read morealongside. There is also very little room for any towns or even houses. So the expression in Spanish, when you want to convey the meaning that something is empty or desolate, you say "como entre Panes y Potes" (like between Panes and Potes). Yet here was the Iglesia de Santa María de Lebeña. Gayle was ready to go home after a long day in the Picos de Europa and I was all for taking in one more sight. So we stopped, although it was getting late in the afternoon and I didn't want to drive all that windy road in the dark. The Church is set against a superb backdrop of massive rock. Founded in the 10th Century, its interior is Mozarabic, with horseshoe arches on a rectangular ground plan. It's a wonderfully simple and inspirational space with a pretty and contemplative green zone around it. Gayle was pleased that we stopped, but for the day there would be nothing more to visit between Panes and Potes.

Almost 11 years after our first visit, Gayle and I returned to the Monasterio de Santo Toribio de…read moreLiebana, as part of our visit to nearby Potes and Fuente De. The Chapel containing the largest fragment of the True Cross was closed, but we had a nice view through the locked gates and around the Church. We also visited the gift shop, viewed displays in an indoor courtyard, and were only briefly tempted to walk through the open door into the Monastery itself. As we had recently finished the Camino Ingles, we took special note of the Camino Lebaniego. This is a relatively short (but with a lot of elevation) spur off the Camino del Norte from Santander to this Monastery. It was (and is) fairly common for major pilgrimage routes to have detours to specific holy places. As such, the Lebaniego Way first appeared in the 8th century to worship the Lignum Crucis (True Cross). The Lebaniego Way has its own 'Credencial' (pilgrim passport) called the La Lebaniega. When finished, there are 2 choices: go back to Santandar and continue on the Northern Route or take the Vadiniense Way (which intersects with the Lebaniego way and is one of the hardest Caminos) to the French Route. Another Camino spur example is the mountainous Camino San Salvador that branches off the French Camino (at Leon) to reach the Cathedral in Oviedo (which is near the Camino Primitivo Way). It's all fascinating stuff, which has Gayle and I still exploring options for the next Camino that we thought we weren't going to take.