Estalaya is a small village with picturesque stone houses and a village green. But the main attraction is undoubtedly the parish church of the Asunción, located on a small hillock on the southeastern side of the village.
Located in the Palentina Mountains, just over a kilometre from the Requejada reservoir, surrounded by forests and green meadows, the area around Estalaya is panoramic and an excellent area for walking. Indeed, there are many popular and well-documented walks in the area, including Senda El Roblón, The Fossil Forest Route and Senda del Oso. It was on the way back from the Fossil Forest walk I chanced upon the sleepy village of Estalaya. What a find!
The church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción
The church of Nuestra Señora de la Asunción on the edge of the village has Romanesque origins, although very little has been preserved. Only the masonry belfry remains, comprising a solid lower wall with three arched openings in the upper part, which have been modified to accommodate new bells.
The church currently consists of two naves and a head square.
Estalaya photo gallery
I spent a very pleasant couple of hours wandering around the village, exploring and taking photos with my Nikon FE2 camera.
Film: Ilford Delta 100 exposed at 100 ISO.
Developer: Ilfotec LC-29 1+29 – developed for 7.5 minutes.
Agitation: Four inversions at the start, then four inversions every minute.
Digitised: Nikon Z6 and Capture One software.
I shot the photos in the early afternoon in bright sunlight.
