Today we started the day without rushing, which is the best way to start almost everything. Even before starting, after having breakfast and stretching properly inside the camper, we took a short walk through the forest to the Fuente del Cura (Priest's Fountain). It's not a monumental fountain that appears on postcards; it's basically a tap surrounded by stones, tables, and pine trees, but it has that air of a peaceful recreational area where a dog feels like sniffing every corner as if it were important. Then we went back to the car and, around twelve o'clock, we headed south.

We passed through Soto del Real without stopping and arrived at Manzanares del Real, where we parked in the visitor center of La Pedriza. The idea was clear, to see La Pedriza, although the logistical reality is less romantic. Between ten in the morning and half past four in the afternoon, they restrict car access to control capacity, so we had to do what humans call walking a bit, and what I call a proper excursion. More than five kilometers uphill, with a detour here and there because the route isn't exactly well signposted, and in the end, after a long hour and a half, we arrived at the La Pedriza car park.

The journey, however, was the best part of the day. Paths among pine trees, giant rocks with very strange shapes and quite a few people, maybe more than we like, but still very enjoyable. La Pedriza is famous for its granite landscape, with huge stone boulders shaped by erosion over millions of years, and that's especially noticeable while you're walking among them. Up there, to be honest, we were a little disappointed. We were expecting large open fields full of round and spectacular stones, but we had already seen the most beautiful part during the ascent.

Even so, we went a little further, walking past the car park to the Puente del Francés (French Bridge). There it was worth stopping, taking photos, and looking at the river, because the surroundings are very beautiful and the water gives another character to the landscape. Afterwards, in about an hour, we went back down to the car, this time on the road, because we already knew the path. It started to drizzle lightly at the top, nothing serious, but just as we got into the car it started to rain properly, as if the sky had been waiting for that exact moment.

We continued by car towards the west and stopped in Alpedrete to do some shopping at Mercadona. I stayed guarding the car while Daddy Edu went for supplies, and since we were there, nearby, we had a Whopper menu at Burger King, because excursions also awaken very specific human appetites. Afterwards, we continued and looked at a possible place to sleep next to the Valmayor reservoir. The place didn't convince us, not much charm and too much activity, with fishermen and movement that didn't invite a dog to rest.

We took a walk around the area and a quick photo of the 18th-century Tercio bridge that crosses the reservoir, a modern, functional bridge, without historical mysteries, but photogenic. We decided to move a little further and look for something more peaceful. Fifteen minutes later we found a perfect spot, the car park of the hermitage of Nuestra Señora de la Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude), near Colmenarejo. It's large, gravel and mud, surrounded by nature, with only one more camper van and good silence. Here we are now, settled, calm, and ready to sleep, because after stones, kilometers, and rain, you can't ask for much more from the day.