This was to be a very gentle walking day as at one point Christian and Savilla and their Dad were going to join us for three days. With this in mind, Delana tried to choose shorter distances between stops and fairly level terrain. When the plans changed we left the schedule the same—or so we thought…… We are truly in rural Galicia. On our way to Samos ( 9 km) most of our walk was through a forest, passing by small isolated villages of abandoned houses.There were cows in the pastures but few people about. It was very peaceful and we walked most of the way lost in our own thoughts. We were happy to arrive in Samos for coffee, to find our casa rural and to plan the rest of our day. Enjoying our coffee, Rod decided to check on the directions to our hotel, discovering that it was not in Samos at all but down the road a further 8 km!! It was early yet, and Samos has a famous Benedictine Monastery, so we decided to visit it before resuming our journey.The San Xulian Monastery was built in the 6th century, ( in Galacia “J” becomes “X”), and has a combination of Renaissance, Late Gothic and Baroque architecture.in its massive construction. Throughout the history of the Camino it has granted refuge and care to pilgrims. Today San Xulian remains an active monastery, but there are still beds for pilgrims, or for those seeking a spiritual retreat. Then it was onto Gorolfe and our accommodation. This was a dark walk as the thick, overhead foliage prevented the sun from penetrating. It was also very secluded— no structures, no people, no cows, even—a bit eerie.. We were depending on Rod’s ” personal guidance system”, which has served us well thus far, to find our casa rural. Finally, after a trek going up and down steep valleys and through a recently mown farm field, we miraculously arrived.at Casa Diaz. We are in the middle of no where in a semi luxurious, rustic retreat. ( This sounds like an oxymoron, but you have to see this place to understand…..) Tomorrow we will worry how to best find our way out of here.