Samos

Today I toured one of the oldest monasteries in the word and the largest in Spain. 

Founded during the Visigothic era, the Benedictine rule was first introduced to the monastery by monks from San Juan de la Peña in Aragon in the 10th century. By the Middle Ages, it had become one of the wealthiest and most powerful of all the monasteries on the peninsula, controlling some 300 lesser monasteries, 100 churches and drawing its support provided by the rents from 200 towns and villages. Besides educating the sons of the nobility, a task it shared with every other Benedictine monastery in Europe, Samos also maintained an important pilgrim´s hospice, a pharmacy, a forge, and numerous farms. Its "Feijoo cloister", named after the monastery´s most famous monk, the 18th century scholar, university professor and encyclopaedist Benito Jerónimo Feijoo y Montenegro,  

It's beautiful frescos were painted in the 60's after a fire destroyed much of the cloister and library buildings. 

It retains much of its history and ties to the Camino. 

The 2nd copy of St. James work. The original is in Santiago de Compostella. 

The journey to and beyond was a beautiful walk through river valley. The land in Galcia is very pastoral.  

And my favorite!

Blessed with love!