Gran Victoria Santander

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

... nice on a day like today, and also because Santillana del Mar was quite different from Santander. Guess I'll have to come back one day for Comillas, and also for San Vicente de la Barquera, another nice town the TI suggested. If only I had known Cantabria was so incredible, I would have visited this region long ago.

It was a gloomy day, making for a depressing bus ride that quickly put me to sleep. The bus arrived in town during siesta, so ...

... it fun, which is something I miss about Oviedo, Leon, and Burgos. I tried a bit, but the residential areas of El Sardinero just weren't the same. Though on my walk, I did manage to find a kebab shop and a cheap cafe, so budget options do in fact exist here. And walking along the beach front is still fun, because it's so lively. Too bad it was quite a warm, humid night without any breeze, otherwise it would have been an even more enjoyable ...

To sleep past 8 AM ... it's not a luxury I normally have, because my internal alarm clock never seems to let me sleep past then, whether at home or on vacation. And it's a luxury I didn't have today! Off to buy a ticket for the ride to Santander, and to grab breakfast - the first thing to come to mind was any place on Plaza Mayor.

The cafe was overwhelmed, with only one waitress serving what seemed to be way too many customers. Sunny but ...

... the presence of Spanish television is still
enough to make her remember what she's missing. Daytime telly is the
same in any language that could be “mierda” or whatever Spanish
is for “lowest common denominator” , but the diary magazine
programmes they have in Spain are from another era to say the least.
Take for example the coverage of the “Tractores y Chocolate
Festival” in a nearby village. The premise is this ...

... a great chance for Janice and I to catch up now that we are back to just our family since the Burts have left. ... The park is great. Several large play areas, with a big pond/wildlife refuge sort of thing in the middle. After playing and talking for a good hour, we take some time to walk around the park enjoying the bird sanctuary type thing in the middle. Near 1:30pm now, we head out to meet Elena and Fernando. What a great couple they are! Just like so many of ...

... the men was actually the owner of the bars and he re-opened them in the middle of the night so we could hang out there. It was a really old, really beautiful bar that had been around since the late 1800´s. Me gustaba mucho! The next morning we got ready to leave for the train, packing our things and seeing a few more things in the city. We got on the the train from Sevilla to Madrid which took 2 hours, and then we had a 3 hour layover in Madrid. About 30 minutes before ...

... to someone just off the trolley I missed) and it is going to close four hours earlier than all the brochures clearly state. But I could see the museum for free. 'No photos!' I was sternly warned, or shifty-eyed Diego and his baton will menace you. So I took a look at the museum and although it was ok, as a consolation for some serious effort getting there ...