Camino Day Seventeen- Formista to Carrion de Los Condes (14.5 Miles)

We had a very special walk from Formista to Carrion de los Condes. What made it that way was the fact there were two paths to take, one longer than the other. We chose the longer trail and we were almost all by ourselves.

The walk included visits to two churches and both were special. The first was the Hermitage of the Virgen del Rio which dates from the 18th century. The Hermitage was of beautiful white plaster which we had not seen to date in our church visits. These Hermitages are small chapels that were built along the Way to provide help and housing for pilgrims.

The second church this day was the Church of St. Mary La Blanca of late Romanesque style from the 13th century. The church was built by the Order of the Knights Templar, who were the protectors of the pilgrims. We loved the main altar in this church but really found the Altar of Saint James in another part of the church, exquisite. The picture of the St James Altar posted below appears dark like we found it to our naked eye. But when we took pictures of the different paintings telling the story of Saint James, the Apple Phone Camera brought out color and detail we could not see with the naked eye. Hope you enjoy the many pictures below and to hear the whole story of Saint James, read the “History of the Camino Santiago” Chris wrote on our Home Page.

We have enjoyed every church we have found open. What is so special in them is all the amazing art that is anywhere from 100 years old to over 500 years old.