Day 31 - Zamora explora

Mon 16th Oct., Zamora

Whilst we accomplished yesterday's walk with few dramas, the 31+ klms nevertheless sapped our energy a bit. So today's bonus day in Zamora was, indeed, a bonus. With an unexpected free day we were able to gently explore parts of this intriguing city. Its (modern-ish) history goes back to the 1100s, although its actual history goes back well into the pre-Roman times. I mention this only because today's built environment (la catedral y el castillo) sort of date back to those times of a thousand years ago.

Zamora reportedly has some 24 Romanesque churches in/near the old city (as an aside I'm yet to properly understand the sometimes subtle differences between Romanesque and Gothic styles). Our little apartment is right next to Iglesia San Pedro y San Ildefonso, parts of which date back to the 11th century. So historically the town is quite something.

Apart from some more domestics (blisters, phone (again! ), etc), today was just a wander day. So beyond the above few words, no commentary today, just a series of photos with some annotations.

A fabulous mural a short distance from our apartment, featuring El Cid, Sancho II, Urraca and others of the 12th century

Beautifully maintained garden in the centre of town.

Above: around the grounds of el castillo. It was closed today, so we'll go explore properly tomorrow

Different wall art

Just a hop along the street from our digs

We first saw these trees back in 2015. They are somehow grafted onto one another to form a single living entity

The photo doesn't really reveal either the steepness or the beauty of this street, leading from the main calle down to the river

Some street art, on opposite walls

Above: a few scenes across and around the river Duero

One of the many city churches ...

Another ...

The Parador de Zamora - the former palace of the counts of Alba de Aliste. A beautiful 15th century Renaissance palace in the centre of the city.

A few shots in and around la Catedral de Zamora. I didn't find the cathedral particularly attractive in itself, but elements were fascinating. The third photo above is of Santiago (St James). The fourth is of a crypt dating back to 1402 (there were several others). The bottom three are from the tapestry room (they are huge tapestries - Janet gives some perspective). These all date back 5/600 years, and are in fabulous condition.

For a quiet day we seem to have done quite a lot. Over 22,000 steps on the various devices. Another exploratory day tomorrow, then we hit the road again.

For those who are planning this camino, I could not recommend strongly enough spending a rest/extra day here in Zamora. There is so much to see/appreciate.