It was about 9 o’clock when we left Barcelona Sants station, and it took us about 5 hours to get to Puente la Reina, the first town on the pilgrimage route on the Spanish side.
The pilgrimage route of Santiago de Compostela starts from the French side. From the French side, the pilgrimage crosses the Pyrenees Mountains, and you have to choose between the Ipañeta Pass and the Sonporto Pass.
The two routes meet at Puente La Reina.
Initially, we wanted to go to the « Ibañeta Pass » to start our pilgrimage journey, but it seemed that we would not have enough time because of the distance from Barcelona, so we decided to use this confluence point « Puente la Reina » as our starting point.
Puente la Reina is the meeting point of the two, but the town is very small, with a population of about 2,800. It’s a little larger than a beautiful village in France.
By the way, Puente la Reina means « Queen’s Bridge ». The name of the town is said to be derived from this Romanesque bridge over the Arga River that flows nearby.
At the entrance of the town, there is a building of the office of the pilgrimage route like this. There are almost always such offices in the towns where the pilgrimage routes are based.
You can get a stamp to keep a record of your pilgrimage, and there are rest stops and other information about the journey. There are also places where you can use the Internet.
If you come by car, it will be in the form of parking in one of the streets around the old town. There is not much space, but I think that it is not difficult to park so much because it is a country town.
After parking the car, we went to the old town. Let’s walk along the main street of the old town.
Of course, this is part of the « pilgrimage route », and pilgrims from the Middle Ages to the present day walked here.
You’ll see pilgrims here and there, as well as people from the town.
Pilgrimage to the Holy Land, of course, there is a church at each base.
I felt that there were more experienced Catholics in this area than in other Western churches.
By the way, you can see this mark everywhere in the city.
It’s a sight that makes you feel like you’re on a pilgrimage route.
The pilgrimage route is basically a journey on foot, but you can also see many people on bicycles.
This person is from Le Puy, isn’t he?
I also stayed there about a week ago.
Le Puy-en-Velay World Heritage Site: The pilgrimage route of Santiago de Compostela in France ? 2012 Spain and France
