Santo Domingo de Silos (detour)

Our taxi collected us as planned at the small town before Burgos. It was not a cheap journey, so it was good to have Danielle to share the cost. The journey to Santo Domingo de Silos took about 40 minutes, through many small villages. Santo Domingo de Silos did not disappoint. There are shuttered windows, rustic stone walls, and plenty of cobbled lanes. The main attraction of the town is the Benedictine monastery around which the rest of the town is built. Complete with cloisters and plenty of stunning Romanesque architecture. The Monastery dates all the way back to the 7th-century. The monks of Silos live in the Monastery of Santo Domingo de Silos to this day. Today, part of the Monastery has now been transformed into a museum, where you can learn all about the history of living in the Abbey during the Middle Ages.

The best view in Santo Domingo de Silos can be found from the small hermitage which presides over the rest of the town. The small chapel is closed to the public, but we managed to spy through the keyhole to see the interior.

One of the more unusual things to do in Santo Domingo de Silos is to enjoy the Gregorian Chants of the Silos Abbey Monks. The monks actually managed to make it into the British pop charts in the 1990s with recordings of their Chants. Today, the Divine Office is sung 6 times a day. I managed to go to three (Vespers, Compline and Lauds). Each were beautiful. The abbey itself is beautiful in its simplicity and the acoustics are very impressive.

Between vespers and compline we managed a very delicious dinner of suckling roast lamb and of course a glass of wine. We sat next to a German tourist. When we mentioned we would have to get a taxi back to Burgos the next day, he very kindly offered to take us. What a win!!

After Compline we were very happy to end our day and settled comfortably at our hotel.Read more