Day 14 - Guemes to Santander

Date: Friday June 28

Start: Guemes, Cantabria

End: Santander, Cantabria

Daily Mileage: 9mi (14.5km)

Total Mileage: ~173mi (~278.4km)

Last night we slept pretty well, especially for a hostel. The difference between five people in a room and twenty people is quite noticeable. No alarms went off. Everyone was quiet getting up – even after it was clear that we were all up. It was all very civil.

Unfortunately, Shawn woke up not feeling that great – a bit of a stomach ache, though not so bad that he didn’t think he could hike, especially since today’s walk would be pretty short – only ~9 miles. 

Since Shawn’s stomach was a bit knotted, I breakfasted alone. The albergue provided a simple breakfast of bread, jam, and coffee. I ate a couple of baguette slices with peach jam, drank a cup of coffee, and met Shawn outside. 

By 8am, we were headed down the road – as was everyone else who stayed at the albergue, since 8am was basically “check out” time. Groups of ones, twos, and threes were stretched out along the road. When we stay at hotels we don’t usually fall into this morning mass exodus. It always feels a bit strange until people spread out a bit.

Though we were moving at a pace over 3 mi/hr, most people were passing us – which wasn’t usually the case. “Are we going that slow?” Shawn asked. No. We weren’t. I guess everyone was excited to get into town today, though it was likely that some would be carrying on past Santander.

The day was overcast and a bit misty... most pilgrims had on both rain jackets and pack covers. Some were in ponchos, which served as both. A slight drizzle came off and on, nothing that had made either of us reach for a jacket yet. The sky had that heavy look to it though, like a real rain could be imminent.

The route for the day started along country roads from the albergue. It was easy walking, much at a gentle downhill slope. As we walked along, I looked at the variety of wildflowers along the ditches. And then – I stopped in my tracks. Was that...? 

There were snails high in the weeds, wrapped around the stalks. I had never seen this before (not that I’ve ever been out searching for snails). I had always thought of snails as ground animals, oozing and sludging their way along the dirt, rocks, roads. I guess if I really think about it, I’ve probably seen them climbing up trees before... but clinging to the weeds like this? This was new for me. 

Shawn did not share my enthusiasm, but he wasn’t feeling well, so he didn’t have a lot of room for excitement.

We weaved our way along country roads and a short stretch of highway into the town of Galizano, where we continued northward to the coast. The route along the coast started along country roads, but soon transitioned to dirt track squeezed between fields and the coastal cliffs. Field on the left, fathom on the right. And a thin dirt line down the middle.

Below the waves churned. Each beach we passed by had at least a couple of surfers in the water below, floating on their boards as they waited for a good set to roll in.

The walking was easy and the views over the coast were a nice distraction, but Shawn was feeling worse and worse as we went. Even easy hiking was too much hiking. When you aren’t feeling well the appropriate amount of movement is usually no movement. We stopped for some short breaks along the way. 

Like many of our other days on the trail, we could see the destination for quite awhile as we hiked toward it. Today, we would actually curve with the coast along the east side of Santander Bay to the town of Somos, where we would catch a ferry across the bay to Santander to end this stage. (I’m sure this is what all the medieval pilgrims did as well).

The hike along the bay was beautiful, with interesting coastal rock formations, a variety of tall grasses and wildflowers along the track, and a misty view toward the west side of the bay. 

Curving further inward along the bay, the last stretch of the hike was along a series of beaches. The first couple were short, with some large beach boulder obstacle courses to maneuver around. On the second of these, I missed the timing of the waves when going around the rocks near the shoreline. The water lapped up along the beach to my ankles, my shoes now completely soaked (and full of sand). That was a bit of a bummer.

The last beach was the longest one at nearly a mile. This beach had long steady sets of clean waves and, for this reason, was obviously very popular with surf schools. Several classes were in various stages along the beach. Some were practicing their technique on boards in the sand; some were making their way through the shallows; and others were waiting in the lineup for their chance to try and get up on their boards. We watched as some of the more experienced surfers caught some good waves, gliding along like it was effortless. 

I once took a surf lesson. You should ask Shawn how that went. 🤣

With only about a mile to go, Shawn was flagging. The sand was more effort to walk on than the trails and he was out of energy. I give him huge kudos for persevering (not that he had much of an option at that point). 

Luckily, once we were off the beach, it was only a short walk across Somos to the ferry, where we were just in time to get tickets for one that was about to depart. It was probably about a 15 minute trip across the bay, which – much to my delight – was calm. Shawn was, understandably, just happy to sit down.

Coming into Santander by ferry offered a nice view of its harbor, promenade, and the buildings along the bay. It all looked very regal, especially compared to Laredo, who’s promenade had looked like a bit of a dump.

In Santander, the ferry terminal at Puerto Chico was only a short walk to our hotel, though unfortunately it was only a little after noon and we weren’t going to be able to check in until 3pm. We killed part of this time in a bar/restaurant, where Shawn had water and coffee and I ate a few pintxos. Afterwards, we returned to the hotel and waited in the lobby until our room was ready.

And the room is exactly where Shawn stayed for the rest of the day, resting and hydrating. His stomach was getting better, but his temperature seemed to be getting worse. Luckily we are spending an extra day in Santander tomorrow, so hopefully he can get some good rest. We’ll have to play it by ear after we see how he’s feeling tomorrow.

Los Raqueros statues. In Santander, the ‘raqueros’ were children who scraped a living from the docks in Puertochico, scavenging, collecting coins, and combing the bay for anything of value. They were also paid to fetch items that fell into the bay. Apparently, sailors and passengers of ships in the port would throw coins into the bay, and the raqueros would dive in and hold their breath until they could retrieve the coin with their mouths. This trick and the hard way of life was immortalized by the artist Jose Maria Pereda through the bronze sculptures. This activity was not unique to Santander (or Spain) at the time.

I eventually wandered back out for a bit. Naturally, we’re taking a zero tomorrow, so it’s going to rain. This in mind, I took advantage of what was an overcast but still nice afternoon to walk around a bit, walking along the bay to the Magdalena Peninsula. 

Santander’s Magdalena Peninsula is a beautiful park that sits along the northwest side of Santander Bay. I could see its trees and the tippy top of its famed palace on the ferry in from Somos earlier.

The palace on its grounds – the Palacio de la Magdalena – was built in the early 1900s as a royal summer residence. Since that time it’s served a few other uses, but today is open for visits. Opening hours were over by the time I arrived, but I enjoyed walking around the park grounds, which – in addition to the palace – includes beaches, walking paths, viewpoints, and even a small marine park with some seals and a few African penguins. A beautiful Friday evening, there were plenty of families, couples, and friends out enjoying the park.

On my way back toward Puerto Chico, I took a different route, walking along a bit of the Playa Sardinero, its neighboring parks and gardens, and even a statue of Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus) before making my way back toward Puerto Chico. This route took me along a nice wide pedestrian path by neighborhood homes before turning into a tunnel for half a mile, which spit me back out right in Puerto Chico.

On the way back, I stopped through a supermarket to pick up plenty of fluids and some snacks for Shawn, as well as packaged ramen for the two of us – the dinner of champions. 

Tomorrow we will probably be laying low so Shawn can rest and recuperate. If the weather is correct, it will likely be raining anyway. I’ll need to sneak out for a couple of errands – like laundry – and that will probably be the excitement for the day. More on that tomorrow...