Hotel La Coteruca Suances

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

... haven't been allowed in the actual cave for a number of years, but instead visit the neo-cave, which is supposedly an exact recreation, but who really knows if this is true or not? I had the option of touring the cave on my own, or joining a Spanish tour. The cave was a bit disappointing, but at least the tour guides weren't :)

Our tour guide, Ana, looked a lot like a Spanish Heather Graham. And the only thing better than a Spanish ...

... 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 ...

... the summer studying Spanish, and were living in Burgos. At the time, I remember thinking how great an experience like that would have been, to be able to do that during the university years. So that's why I visited Burgos - not much of a reason, but I've never needed much of an excuse to stop in any Spanish town.

On the bus - I finished off the honey-roasted nuts I picked up yesterday (******, by the way), and took a nap. The ride to ...

... a
group of Costa-del-crime-a-like, trolley-wielding pensioners
,clutching our boarding passes and waiting to board the ferry.
Notorious for its choppy seas and 'mal
de mer', the Bay of Biscay ferry crossing has a reputation that
precedes it. One that Brittany Ferries has tried to gloss over,
offering 'mini-cruises' where you can take the 20 hour crossing,
over-indulge in food and wine before throwing it back up, spend half
a day in ...

... 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 ...

... br>

Things got better on arrival into Santander as the rain i feared would be waiting for me on arrival had thankfully been replaced by mostly clear and sunny skies. With a Brittney Ferries fry up in my belly and a spring in my step i disembarked and pedeled my way through the maze that is Santander. After about an hour i broke free from the shakles of the city onto the open road ...

... gave some icing on the cake and declared today a video game and movie day whenever we are in our house. After calming Samuel ... I shower and as Janice and I begin discussing our plans for the day, the doorbell rings. Janice answers the door and is greeted by the same woman who brought us food last night (who is also the woman who's grandchildren we played with several nights ago when Samuel set the world championship jump-roping mark of 14). Today, she offers an invitation to join ...