santander
Before getting to Spain, I mentioned to Pilar a few places that I would like to try to go on my free weekends. I arrived on a Friday morning, and by Friday night, we had a trip planned for the following weekend! I had not been to the northern part of Spain before, and that was on my to-see list for this round. Pilar and I spend Saturday and Sunday in Santander, the capital of the province of Cantabria. I would put Santander in the top 3 places I have seen in Spain. It had everything I love: coast, sunshine, green, and the perfect mix of city and open space.
Pilar spent the night at my apartment on Friday so that we would have a little more time in the morning to get to the train. We got Papa John's for dinner; Pilar knows that I love pizza, and when we were walking around my area last weekend, I found a Papa John's just about 15 minutes from my house!
The bus left on Saturday at 7:45, so we had to leave my apartment at 6:15. We got to the train station in plenty of time, but the trip just to the train took about 45 minutes. Thankfully I'm very well connected to all metro lines in my neighbourhood.
I am consistently amazed by the transportation across Spain. Their network is truly fascinating. It's so hard to believe that more countries haven't gotten "on board" with the system. I know it has to be expensive to maintain and build in the first place, but it definitely seems like a worthy investment. Public transportation is so sustainable and efficient!
Our train to Santander wasn't an AVE, but the trip still just took about four hours, which cuts an hour off the drive time and makes for a scenic journey. I also find it a lot easier than flying; you don't waste time checking in, arriving early to your gate, etc. You can literally just walk on the train and go, and then walk off at your destination.
Leaving so early on Saturday morning meant that we had the whole day ahead of us when we arrived in Santander. We couldn't check into our hostel until 1 and got to the city around 12, so we found a place to eat while we waited. Our hostel was really great. The idea always seemed weird to me before, but the prices are amazing, and it's an awesome way to meet people. We dropped our bags and headed out by 3:30.
We walked 17 miles on Saturday. Yep, you read that right. 17 miles! In Madrid, we maybe put in 1 mile, but we spent 4 hours sitting on a train, and then we walked and hiked the entire coast of Santander. We did not have a set itinerary for our trip, so we just kept walking until we really couldn't any more! The beaches and coastline were absolutely beautiful. We had expected the weather to be quite a bit cooler than what it was, so we didn't bring bathing suits, and that was our only regret of the trip! The water was definitely too cold to swim in, but the sun made it feel so warm out, even though there was a perfect ocean breeze. The colour of the water was the most unique shade of turquoise. It looked beautiful with the reddish brown rooftops and green mountains across the bay. We also saw a cruise ship come over from the UK; Santander, and the northern Spanish coast, is a popular vacation spot for all of Europe.
After about two hours of walking, Pilar asked some local women were a good spot would be to get a drink and a snack. They recommended the perfect place nearby, and they also suggested that we continue on walking to a trail. The trail led to the edge of the city and wasn't as populated as the coastal path. We had great views from there of the rocky coast, and the trail also looked back onto the mainland and city. Along the way we also hiked up to the Palacio de la Magdalena, which is a historic castle of ancient Spanish royalty. It was fun to stop periodically along the path to watch people playing soccer on the beach, boating or jet skiing, and swimming.
When we got back to the hostel that night, all we wanted to do was go to sleep! Thankfully, we had really seen the main highlight of Santander: the beautiful coast.
Our train back to Madrid left the next afternoon around 4, so we had Sunday to explore more of the centre of town. Santander is not a huge city with "significant" things like you might find in London or Madrid, but we enjoyed wandering around the streets, finding the fishermen's neighbourhood, and sitting along the beach. We were both worn out from the day before, so it was nice to have a slower-paced day. By the time we got on the train again, however, we had walked another 7 miles!
That night we arrived in Madrid around 9:30. Pilar's brother came to pick us up, which was especially helpful for Pilar who had a longer trip back home, but it also meant that I got an escort home! On the way, they took me past Madrid's four skyscrapers. They are average-height towers, in my opinion, but they're the only four skyscrapers in the city!
Even just 36 hours in Santander made me fall in love with the northern coast of Spain. I would love to do some of the Camino of Santiago someday; if you do the whole thing, it's about a 30-day hike across Spain's northern border. There is a Catholic religious connection, so you can get commissioned to do the hike, and Santander is a significant stop along the way. Taking in the coast by foot would be absolutely amazing!
Pilar spent the night at my apartment on Friday so that we would have a little more time in the morning to get to the train. We got Papa John's for dinner; Pilar knows that I love pizza, and when we were walking around my area last weekend, I found a Papa John's just about 15 minutes from my house!
The bus left on Saturday at 7:45, so we had to leave my apartment at 6:15. We got to the train station in plenty of time, but the trip just to the train took about 45 minutes. Thankfully I'm very well connected to all metro lines in my neighbourhood.
I am consistently amazed by the transportation across Spain. Their network is truly fascinating. It's so hard to believe that more countries haven't gotten "on board" with the system. I know it has to be expensive to maintain and build in the first place, but it definitely seems like a worthy investment. Public transportation is so sustainable and efficient!
Our train to Santander wasn't an AVE, but the trip still just took about four hours, which cuts an hour off the drive time and makes for a scenic journey. I also find it a lot easier than flying; you don't waste time checking in, arriving early to your gate, etc. You can literally just walk on the train and go, and then walk off at your destination.
Leaving so early on Saturday morning meant that we had the whole day ahead of us when we arrived in Santander. We couldn't check into our hostel until 1 and got to the city around 12, so we found a place to eat while we waited. Our hostel was really great. The idea always seemed weird to me before, but the prices are amazing, and it's an awesome way to meet people. We dropped our bags and headed out by 3:30.
We walked 17 miles on Saturday. Yep, you read that right. 17 miles! In Madrid, we maybe put in 1 mile, but we spent 4 hours sitting on a train, and then we walked and hiked the entire coast of Santander. We did not have a set itinerary for our trip, so we just kept walking until we really couldn't any more! The beaches and coastline were absolutely beautiful. We had expected the weather to be quite a bit cooler than what it was, so we didn't bring bathing suits, and that was our only regret of the trip! The water was definitely too cold to swim in, but the sun made it feel so warm out, even though there was a perfect ocean breeze. The colour of the water was the most unique shade of turquoise. It looked beautiful with the reddish brown rooftops and green mountains across the bay. We also saw a cruise ship come over from the UK; Santander, and the northern Spanish coast, is a popular vacation spot for all of Europe.
After about two hours of walking, Pilar asked some local women were a good spot would be to get a drink and a snack. They recommended the perfect place nearby, and they also suggested that we continue on walking to a trail. The trail led to the edge of the city and wasn't as populated as the coastal path. We had great views from there of the rocky coast, and the trail also looked back onto the mainland and city. Along the way we also hiked up to the Palacio de la Magdalena, which is a historic castle of ancient Spanish royalty. It was fun to stop periodically along the path to watch people playing soccer on the beach, boating or jet skiing, and swimming.
When we got back to the hostel that night, all we wanted to do was go to sleep! Thankfully, we had really seen the main highlight of Santander: the beautiful coast.
Our train back to Madrid left the next afternoon around 4, so we had Sunday to explore more of the centre of town. Santander is not a huge city with "significant" things like you might find in London or Madrid, but we enjoyed wandering around the streets, finding the fishermen's neighbourhood, and sitting along the beach. We were both worn out from the day before, so it was nice to have a slower-paced day. By the time we got on the train again, however, we had walked another 7 miles!
That night we arrived in Madrid around 9:30. Pilar's brother came to pick us up, which was especially helpful for Pilar who had a longer trip back home, but it also meant that I got an escort home! On the way, they took me past Madrid's four skyscrapers. They are average-height towers, in my opinion, but they're the only four skyscrapers in the city!
Even just 36 hours in Santander made me fall in love with the northern coast of Spain. I would love to do some of the Camino of Santiago someday; if you do the whole thing, it's about a 30-day hike across Spain's northern border. There is a Catholic religious connection, so you can get commissioned to do the hike, and Santander is a significant stop along the way. Taking in the coast by foot would be absolutely amazing!
Comments
Post a Comment