Husa Real 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

Yesterday night was supposed to be the last night in Santander, but the plans have now changed - I'm liking it so much here that I'm staying an extra night. This means that Bilbao will be cut from the itinerary but really, having already been there twice, there's not much left to see. Bilbao's a funny town - I've explained to friends that as a tourist, other than the Guggenheim there isn't a big draw. But I still loved it there last year because I ...

... overlooking the beach in El Sardinero, then returned to the pension to change for the beach. I picked up a ****** little beach mat and realized how poor quality it was - it'll probably disintegrate after just a few uses, which shouldn't be a problem as there won't be that much beach time on this trip.

The beach was great, and was nice and hot when the sun wasn't hidden behind the clouds. The clouds were shifting and changing ...

... my kebab, because they had a special platter on their menu that consisted only of meat and french fries. How fitting for Spain!

I never understand why anybody would eat inside one of these shops because it's always like an oven, so I grabbed mine and sat on a bench along Calle Vargas. The kebab wasn't bad, though at the end of it, there was nothing left but meat, which grew a bit tiresome. As I finished up, I noticed some people walking ...

... few hours and head off / back. It's not well-blessed in terms of
spectacular landmarks and buildings (Santander Bank has a lovely
building). The pinchos and bar crawl atmosphere makes up for it
though and a bit of Spanish food, language and culture helps you feel
like you're on holiday (or paradoxically home in Virg's case).
Virg make much of the way she feels
detached from her culture living in the UK and I was pleased that
spending a few hours ...

... hard going.



Managed to cycle around about 50km today which i was pretty happy with after the late start, tomorrow will be longer for sure. I made camp this evening in a prettty seaside town called Laredo and no sooner than i had pitched my tent the heavens opened and dropped rain, thunder and lightning aplenty upon all below. Heaven and hell in a day, day one to be precise.

... out of ten bare their chest. ... And only one sighting of an all nude dude (last week) ... but he was in a remote area, obviously doing his best to stay semi-private. We pile back in the car, doing our best to stay hidden from the passing police. All the way home, drop off the parents to get some their laundry started and take naps, and Janice, me and the kids head to the grocery store to get supplies for our last week here. One hilarious story. I had told the ...

... it to 3 nights. Then 2. FInally 1. So i had one night in Santander, and not a heck of a lot of idea about what to do. I had very odd directions to the hostel as well. It simply said road names, no left or right or straight. Just road names. SO I had to figure out using my keen detective sense how to get there. Right. Up the road. Right. Left. Straight for 15 minutes. LEft. Then I noticed a big hill. I hoped the roads I had ...