Quintanarraya to Santo Domingo de Silos, 26 km

Not many signs leaving town so I would say it really is essential to have a track downloaded. I use Maps.me to follow a trail and Wikiloc to record. 

7 km into the first town – Huerta del Rey – almost entirely on good flat track. All services here but sadly almost entirely closed. We persevere and find an open bar amongst probably 15 closed ones. And at 08:30 absolutely no shops open – not even a bakery. 

As it happens the bar that we find serves an excellent jamon bocadillo, in fact two, one to eat now and one to take away. 

On leaving town Nina discovers a riverside walk which is delightful but very short lived. There are some fabulous sculptures up on the cliff faces, in addition to the ubiquitous black bull. 

We cover 7.5 km on a road with no shoulder and regular huge lorries carrying massive tree trunks. As usual they give us as much space as they can. 

Then we are on a magical forest track. The path is not always obvious but there are signs painted on the trees every 50 meters or so, so it’s difficult to get lost. 

It’s very quiet with almost no bird song. The trees are entirely tall pines which I presume will one day get chopped down and be travelling on the back of one of those lorries.

As we start to climb the side of a mountain the forest changes – the trees are more natural and scrubby, obviously not cultivated as previously.  If it wasn’t for the very regular directions we would stand no chance of finding our way. 

As we get to the top there must be hundreds of thousands of the white flowers asphodelus growing on the side of the track. A beautiful sight.  As the trees lessen the view opens to the ridge of another mountain across the way.

It was lovely to walk in the forest, but I think even better now that the scene has opened to show us far views, especially with a blue sky for the time being. We’re told to expect heavy rain in a couple of hours but hopefully we’ll be at our destination by then.

The distant scenery is absolutely stunning and now there’s lavender growing all around the path. 

We descend into Peñacoba after 22.4 km and the final trail to our destination takes us past a sheep farm and then along a track beside a stream surrounded by lush trees. The weather is beginning to look a bit threatening but we only have an hour or so to go until we reach Santo Domingo where we are really hoping there will be all the facilities we’re expecting. 

There’s a rocky, loose stone, steep descent, where you have to watch where every step is landing, that eventually leads us past a chapel and down a series of steps to a bridge over the Rio Mataviejas and through an arch in the city wall alongside the monastery. Possibly the most stunning entrance to a pilgrim destination. 

The view of the town from above was absolutely enchanting. I have been in touch with Friar Ángel who meets us outside the house that the monks offer as an albergue. He gives us a genuine welcome and says a prayer for us – which I’m sure we are all in need of. 

The albergue is small but pristine. Two bunks and two further beds that slide out if required, beautiful modern bathroom, and – wait for it…a washing machine and drier. Oh joy!! 

Sadly my merino jumper that I’ve worn In the evenings didn’t fare too well from a robust wash and will now fit a doll, but hey, that’s one thing less to carry!

The town is ancient and so beautiful and there are indeed plenty of bars and restaurants but of the three shops, two are firmly closed. They all cater for tourists but the one that is open sells a bit of tinned food amongst the souvenirs. 

We visit the monastery, which is free for pilgrims who present a credencial. It’s as lovely as I expected and has a museum. Unfortunately it’s not as peaceful as it would normally be due to a visiting school party of teenagers. 

Although stunning, the town is eerily quiet for a tourist attraction – in fact if it wasn’t for the teenagers roaming the streets it would seem fairly deserted. 

This was a really lovely stage with only 7 of the 26 km on road and such a treat at the end. Oh, and the rain didn’t really appear – so an added bonus.