Camino Day Eighteen- Rest Day in Carrion de los Condes
This is our second rest day. We are so pleased to be in the historic Monasterio de San Zoilo that was first established in the 900’s. They have converted the Monastery into a Luxury Hotel with restaurant and bar. As we started exploring the grounds, through every window and around each corner are amazing views of the Cloister with late Gothic arches that date to the Renaissance, around 1537-1604. The Church, was constructed on top of the original church construction, with archeological digs explaining where the columns once were. We so enjoyed the altarpiece and some fabulous artwork that has survived the centuries. There is also a large library with over 6,000 books and publications on the Camino de Santiago.
After our tour of the Monastery we headed out to tour the town. The Iglesias San Andres up on the hill was closed but massive. We walked down to other end of town to see the Monasterio de Santa Clara, established in 1300, which has an albergue where pilgrims can eat a communal meal with the sisters and join in their prayers and worship. Back into the middle of town we walked through the Iglesia de Santa Maria del Camino, a beautiful 12th century church. Another glorious altarpiece (hope you’re not tired of them!) and breathtaking statues of Mary and Jesus, Saint James, and Jesus on the Cross.
The last church we toured was the Iglesia de Santiago. This 12th century church was destroyed by fire in the early 19th century. The surviving part of the church is the West Entrance where Christ in Majesty is surrounded by the 24 Elders of the Apocalypse. Since 1993 it houses the Museo del Arte Sacro full of regional sacred art.
We had a lovely lunch and returned to our room for a much needed nap. We had trouble logging into our blog website so we relaxed and planned our next day’s walk. We dressed for our late dinner at the hotel, stopping at the bar for a pre dinner drink-vermouth! The evening was lovely. Straight to bed we would wake up early and get walking again.
