Blogs from Santander, Cantabria, Spain, Europe

After spending a lovely Christmas at home, I'm off again. As I set off at dawn the snow was fresh and crispy. It's lovely and not too hard to cycle on. A couple of seals were lazing around below the Peace Bridge and there were about a dozen cormorants taking turns to dive. There must be fish about today. Binevenagh was like a postcard photo with it's dusting of snow. The train connections to Rosslare worked perfectly and I arrived in plenty of time for the midnight ferry to Santander. I asked about a cabin and was fortunate to get a very reasonably priced one usually used by truck drivers. Turned out to be an excellent decision fir the two nights on board. The sailing was wonderfully smooth. I even managed to eat on board! I ... read more

I decided to stay a second night at Camping Virgen del Mar. I spent an easy day exploring Santander and getting together the last few bits and bobs I need. First priority was to book the train out of here. I managed to struggle through in Spanish. Explained what I wanted, it wasn't pretty, but it worked. Maybe in four weeks time I'll be a bit more refined So me and the bike are now booked on the 0714 train to Quintanilla de Los Torres. Gonna be an early start. My alarm is set for 5.30am as I really don't want to miss it. That journey will take me pretty much through the Picos de Europe and avoid a lot of climbing. I'll save that for another time. From there I'll head towards Alar del Reys ... read more

TOUR 2 – Great Iberian Tour – TUE, 07 JUN 2022 – Day 8: Fantastic landscapes. Altamira National Museum. Panoramic city tour of Santander. We will travel to Picos de Europa. We will visit Basílica de COVADONGA, which is surrounded by beautiful scenery. Then, we will resume our journey following the coastline to SANTILLANA, one of Spain’s most beautiful towns, and we will visit its well-preserved medieval quarter. We will also visit the National Museum and Research Centre of ALTAMIRA (ticket included) located in the vicinity of this town. We will later travel to SANTANDER, the region’s capital, a coastal city with amazing views and beaches. We will explore and learn about this elegant city and beautiful bay on the included panoramic city tour. NOTE: On some high difficulty dates (especially in summer from May to ... read more

Santander is a large city on the water with a lot of cool stuff to see. It is by no means Bilbao, but it was nice to stay in a hotel with great amenities. The walk starts out of the City with clear marking's for the Camino. This 20K trek is to take 3 hrs 30 min, meaning the path is mostly on a road. True to form the Camino follows the city out to a roundabout where it abruptly starts up out of the town of Santander. The trek is very nice along the coast line with great vistas, the weather is perfect for walking 62-70 degrees with partly sunny skies. Kris is the meet me in Arce around lunch time which should around 1pm. The walk is typical of the area, with remote villages, ... read more

30th April Travel to Santander day. A lazy start as there was no rush plus the wind was picking up...a lot. Then the rain came, horizontally. But, hahaha, the big Merc was copping most of it & they were packing up & it had a sliding door on the windward side. Karma. We left near midday & set the Dyson for Carrefour in Santander where after a wet & very windy drive, we bought some wine & had lunch. We got to the port in plenty of time where we wondered what the crossing would be like ...We left on time & after 5 minutes the ship was already rocking & rolling. Then we left the harbour... Well, what a hoot! After another 2 minutes a tannoy announcement came on to say that the doors to ... read more