The Happy Accident

May 4th. The Camino trail out of Triacasteli this morning offered two options, the shorter, more direct route to our next destination (about 14 miles) or an alternative route, that would detour you to the Monastery at Samos, a 6th century active Benedictine Monastery, one of the oldest in Spain. (walking about 19-20 miles). I wanted to take the shorter route, but missed the turn and ended up on the alternative route. It was so beautiful and quiet. For 3 1/2 hours, I only saw 3 other pilgrims. Beautiful wooded paths, tiny villages, all sorts of streams and rivers with rushing water and waterfalls. It added at least another 5 miles to my walk, but I was happy I did it. The monastery was only offering one tour at 12 noon. It is suppose to be very beautiful, but I couldn’t stay around that long, so I took a few pictures and headed out. I got to my Alberque around 2pm, after my nearly 20 mile walk…tired but happy about the days walk. Galicia is so beautiful. It’s lush and varied in topography, other pilgrims say that it’s similar to Wales, others say parts of Switzerland…I’m sure other comparisons can be made. In the end, it’s Galicia Spain…and it’s beautiful in its own right. A much shorter walk tomorrow. No deviations planned.