Casona Solar De Hidalgos Santillana del Mar

Twas a rough old night as we free camped (including a wonderful fish barbecue) on Oyambre beach, and it soon became apparent that our surf boards were non too happy perched a-top the van roof; this to the extent that they attempted to become detached at around 5am ...

A very pretty (cobbled alleyways, olde worlde stylee, cows in a field with not only udders, but also tuneful bells which, when youºve got a dozen, made quite a din a la Mike Oldfield) little town, unlike the campsite which was essentially a sodden piece of grass, for which we were charged Euro 22, for the pleasure of a night's shut-eye.

Leaving San Sebastian behind we drove to Santander to spend the night. With nothing more then the car, no place to stay and no plan. As luck turns out we found a cheap Pension to stay at, and ate in their quaint little restaurant, treated to warm hospitality, good food, and free Grappa and Lemonchelo

... fond memories of eating Basque tapas on the terrace, drinking coffee, and girl watching.

Memories, of Eva, one of the most beautiful Spanish women I have ever seen, with jet black hair and green eyes; Anes, the half-Belgian/half-Spanish cutie lawyer I met on the airport bus; the three beautiful senoritas on their way to Ibiza for a holiday, whom I also met on an airport bus ... Bilbao is still great for the senoritas, and that was actually ...

... time was nice, but a couple of hours of sun was more than enough for me, and it was time for a gelato. Unfortunately, the gelato shop right on the beach had a huge lineup, and the selection didn't sound that great, and I couldn't tell if it was homemade or shipped in from some supplier or factory - a cafe con leche overlooking the beach ended up being the choice. The view was decent, but the enclosed-glass terrace obscured the view, because ...

... but I think I need to start ... but not because of the salesgirls, only because we don't have their stores in Canada. Honest!

Time to visit the interior of the cathedral; this has been my plan of attack the past few days, since I've been arriving to these places late in the day - walk around the outside when I arrive, and check out the inside once they open up in the morning.

The Burgos cathedral is more famous than Leon's ...

... the best night's sleep aboard the
Port Aven, we booked a couple of nights in a hotel and set about
discovering the art of the Pincho. Pinchos are a sort of tapas but
this part of Spain have turned them into an art form. Touring bars
and sampling is probably not best from a healthy diet point of view
but we're on holiday and so at this stage don't care (maybe in a few
weeks when I can't get my arms round Virg we'll reconsider this.
Never one to ...

... treeless. The road along the coast would be hillier but has lots of views of the sea and plenty of shade, even though much of it seems to be along the main highway

One day we disregard the clouds and drive along a truly pectacular road to Potes, (heaps nicer than the 'best' village in Spain, Santillana del Mar). Here we manage to get a little walk in while the rain stayed away.

After 6 nights in Pechon we drive to an ...

... They aren't joking. We couldn't find a single restaurant that opened before 9pm. CRAZY. Finally ended up at a cafeteria that had a really limited menu that we were able to order from. Actually was a good deal. Two slices of thick ham (they LOVE ham here, on everything), a fried egg, salad, french fries, and a drink for 6 euros. We ordered one plate and shared to get us through until the nicer restaurants opened. We ended up driving all around several ...

... got some micro waved hamburgs and dry/hollow french fries with rancid mayo and ate there. While were there, a couple of girls from Australia came and sat with us. (Of course!!) By the end of the night, we had a huge gathering just to be in our company. lol. It also helped that the mini-market right beside us had tall-boys of Super Bock for €1.50. (Not a great deal, but it was cheaper than the bar.) Madrid, Spain. We stayed at the same hostel as last time. They have ...