Santander on the north coast of Spain 8 and 9 October 2014


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Europe » Spain » Cantabria » Santander
October 9th 2014
Published: October 10th 2014
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Santander on the north coast of Spain 8 and 9 October 2014




We arrived in the city at about 3.00pm after travelling on more excellent roads at speeds of up to 130kph. We couldn't do those speeds in our motor home!!!! Our hotel was right in the middle of the old town and was quite hard to find as it was in a narrow, old, but multi-story building and as we found out, all rooms had been renovated so quite lovely. The lady who checked us in could speak no English, but we managed all.




That afternoon, with map in hand, we drove to the Peninsular de La Magdalina which had a Palace, and mini-zoo with seals and penguins, beautiful gardens (which included interpretive signs telling us about the vegetation) and a magnificent view of the surrounding coast line. It was quite windy so the waves were up and spraying very high over some of the rocks.




Out to sea, were several granite islands with lighthouses. Cargo ships and parasailing could be seen from the peninsula.




Santander is the main city of Cantabria (Spanish region), it has around 185.000 people and is a

middle-large size city that spreads along the bay. There are several beaches and harbours limiting the city on the northern side, towards the southern part where the old city centre is and a bit further the green mountains. We could say that Santander is between the blue and the green.


In the 19th century the city was a renowned tourist resort for Spanish politicians, aristocrats and for the upper class. The city still keeps wonderful palaces and promenades, a bay type architecture with white buildings, old cafés and its famous casino.




We also saw the waterfront which included a Maritime Museum, Planetarium and Festival Theatre. There was also a dry-dock and a boat ramp, both of which looked new and very clean. There was a substantial marina with many yachts and other pleasure boats.




That night is started to rain just as we went out for dinner so we found the 1st eating place we came to and had dinner. It was a bakery which also served meals. We had a light meal then went back to the hotel to catch up on some blog/diary work. It was still raining when we had finished

dinner.


The next morning, it wasn't raining, in fact it was a lovely autumn day. We headed further east, along the northern coast.




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