Day 16 - Double Zero in Santander

Date: Sunday June 30

Start: Santander, Cantabria

End: Santander, Cantabria

Daily Mileage: NA

Total Mileage: ~173mi (~278.4km)

Today we ended up taking another zero in Santander. Two reasons really. 

The first is that our next stop along the hike will be the city of Santillana del Mar. It’s reported to be a beautiful medieval town and has a few historical/archeological sites we’d like to see. Since the walk there from Santander is one of the longer stages (~20 miles), that means we we’ll need an extra day there (another zero!) to see the sites, none of which happen to be open on Mondays. If we’d hiked out today (Sunday), everything would be closed on our day off there tomorrow. No bueno. So, essentially we’d either need to take two zeros in Santillana del Mar or take a second zero here in Santander and make the hike to Santillana tomorrow so our zero there will be on a Tuesday – when everything is open.

The second reason is that, given a choice between an extra day in Santander and an extra day in Santillana del Mar, is seemed wisest to give Shawn one more day of rest before we start hiking again. He’s feeling good now and the extra day of rest can only be a good thing. So we chose to stay in Santander for another day. I’m sure taking two days in Santillana del Mar would also be lovely though.

Just out doing cultural things... 

A third, though perhaps no less important consequence of staying in Santander for one more day is that my shoes have one more day to dry after their complete soaking on Friday’s hike along the coast – definitely a good thing. Hiking in wet shoes often creates stinky shoes... and no one wants that.

We also woke to sunny blue skies in Santander, so it’s been nice to see the city under favorable skies. We came in under overcast skies and all day yesterday was either rainy or overcast. I’ve said it before, I feel like the weather in which you experience a city can really influence how you feel about the city in general. Sunny skies definitely help the mood and atmosphere. 

Time for tapas y vino.

Today we had a very Spanish Sunday. We took a very long slow lunch - enjoying wine and tapas at a great little tapas bar along a busy street of cafes in Santander’s Puertochico neighborhood. The tapas came out in courses, starting with a board of Iberian ham and Manchego cheese, then yummy toasts with blue cheese, blueberry jam, and walnuts. This was followed by a bowl of mussels in a creamy broth and finally a plate of sirloin tips and lightly fried potatoes. All was delicious and we ate slowly, lingering over each dish.

Following lunch, we went back to our hotel to collect our bags and check in to our new hotel. We hadn’t been able to extend the additional night at the same hotel, so we moved a couple blocks away, which was easy enough. Our new space actually looks out over the opposite end of the very same plaza that our last hotel overlooked and has nice French doors that open onto the plaza, which I love. 

For our week in Barcelona before starting the Camino, we also had an Airbnb with wide French doors that opened to a plaza. Each night, after traipsing around the city all day, we’d open the doors and relax on the couch listening to all the happenings on the plaza. This included a wide variety of musical acts - entire operas, orchestras, choirs, smaller instrumental acts, a woman that did a choreographed dance/spin routine in a large hula hoop at least twice a night, and a group of guys that did an entertaining show of flips that involved a bit of crowd participation. These guys obviously did not have the appropriate permits to be holding their act on the plaza, because most of the nights we saw the police come along and stop the act, breaking up the crowd and moving them along. They must have hit their quota for warnings, because on our last night there, the police actually gave them a ticket and confiscated their speakers and tip hats. 

In the afternoon, we took a walk up the hills in Santander... though as soon as the hills started gaining a decent amount of incline, we took the obvious option: the escalators. We’ve seen moving escalators along many hilly areas of towns in Spain now, a welcome reprieve when you aren’t really looking for any extra exercise on a day off. 

At the top of the escalators, we transitioned onto a funicular to climb the steepest bit. We were really only there for the views (not some penchant for funiculars). From the top, we looked out over the rooftops and across Santander Bay to Somo. Everything looked far more cheerful under the sunshine. It seems almost a pity that I already explored most of what I wanted to see here on foot when it was so overcast and gloomy... maybe I’ll do it all again under the azure skies. (I will not).

A Sunday, most shops are closed. Unknown whether we will be able to accomplish the last errand that we need to take care of soon: new toothpaste. We are both almost out... I can probably make it a couple more brushes. Not sure what state Shawn is in...  but let’s hope we find a store soon :) 

Other than our brief walk, we spent our afternoon siesta watching the Tour de France. So far a lot of climbing. Reminds me of our time in Basque Country. Our own climbing has eased substantially since entering Cantabria.

Since we are not a fan of the very late Spanish dinner hours, we tend to skip dinner. Usually after a good lunch, we are set for the day. Maybe we have an evening snack. Sometimes gelato is dinner. Obviously we aren’t on a health plan here. 

Vamos España!

And now, Shawn has located the Euro 2024 Spain vs. Georgia game on the TV. Time for fútbol! Spain just scored a point in the wrong goal, so things are going really well.

Tomorrow we head on to Santillana del Mar.