Typical view of the forest
Walking the steep descent to Santo Domingo de Silas
Modern art at the monastery
My cozy and comfy little niche in the albergue
The first quarter of the walk today was along the Rio Arandilla, mostly farmland in this increasingly narrow valley as the path went higher. At Huerta de Rey, the path left the valley and the rest of the day was in pine forests, some of them being actively logged, with more than a few logging trucks on the road. The path was generally uphill all day, but the slopes were mostly such that they did not require stopping to catch one's breath. Unfortunately, just after my stop at the halfway point in the recreation area, I wasted half an hour trying to find the GPS track of the trail. I finally realized that the GPS track was the longer bicycle alternative, not the walking trail. I returned to the recreation area, started on the walking trail as marked by yellow arrows and had no further problems finding my way to Santo Domingo de Silas. 25 km/15 miles today.
Due to my getting lost, I arrived at the Benedictine monastery just after their 1:30 afternoon closure. No problem as I walked over to the Plaza Mayor for an indifferent and overpriced midday meal. This is a tourist town and priced accordingly. And I didn't know which of the 5 restaurants were better than another. Back at the monastery at 4:30, one of the monks walked me to their albergue across the street. It has got to be the nicest one of this camino! They will have have vespers sung in Gregorian chant at 7 pm, so I don't want to miss that.
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