Detour to Santa Cruz de la Seros and San Juan de la Pena

It's well working taking a detour off the Camino to visit these two locations.

Santa Cruz de los Seros, 4 KM south of the camino, is an ancient town with traditional stone buildings, with peaked roofs covered with tile. Notice the small "espantabrujas" (scare-witches) statues on the roofs to ward off bad luck. Santa Cruz de los Seros is the site of the Benedictine community of nuns that moved to Jaca in 1555. The church, Santa Maria de los Seros, still stands.

Walking7 KM further south, we come to the monastic complex of San Juan de la Pena, which was founded in the 10th century. The old monastery has chapels in Mozarabic and Romanesque styles. The new monastary was build in the 1675 after a fire in the old monastary, but then abandoned in the 19th century "desmortizacion"--a government-led reform of the holdings of the Catholic Church. The complex now houses a a modern hotel, a conference center, and interpretive centers.

After the visit, pilgrims retrace their steps back to the Camino.