Blogs from Cantabria, Spain, Europe - page 2

It is the second week of our journey and Mark and I are travelling on the Transcantábrico, a luxurious train journey of about 1000kms along Spain’s north coast between San Sebastián and Santiago de Compostella. Our train is currently taking us to our next destination and from the two windows opposite my sofa, I see a dense, green wooded landscape (lots of oak trees of various kinds and poplars too). The morning sun on Monday 15 May, is still low in the sky and the bell has just been rung for breakfast. This train journey began to be offered to tourists in 1983. The coaches were built in the late 1920s but the interiors contain reproduction period décor, think "Murder on the Orient Express". There are 27 of us; 13 couples and one woman. I have ... 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

Our B & B was terrific. Javier was so kind to drive al the way into Santandler and pick Kris up and bring her the B &B . Then he had his father take Kris to our hotel in Santtillana Del Mar. Me on the other hand, I have a 7 Hr. 30 min walk. The day is stunning, rain last night but cool sunny skies greet me. Our host drops me off at The Camino and I begin the trek. The scenery, weather, trail could not be better. Old country roads, no traffic, its perfect. Great day to be walking. Its always of interest to me the small things going on, spring begins, gardens, flowers, new birth abounds. You can only truly experience this by walking. What are they planting? What is already ripened, what ... read more

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OK, so I decided to put day 8 & 9 into one post because they were so similar and uneventful. At this point 95% of the Camino is on main highways with lots of noisy traffic and only pavement to walk on. No shoulder exists so you are in competition for space with the auto and cycle traffic. As with most places, automobile driver hate sharing the road with anyone, much less pedestrians. Then you have the hot rod bikers that love to silently whiz past you as close as they can. There is very little good to report except the weather, partly cloudy with highs in the mid 60's. These two segments are 29 & 30K long with multiple assents and descents in the 8-900 Ft range pretty easy stuff just unpleasant road walking. The ... read more