2018 Camino del Norte by WynChar
San Sebastián, Bilbao, Santander, Gijón
Post by Wynette: We had a beautiful day of walking. Pretty and interesting the whole 8.7 miles. Some views of sea about a half mile away, and then ending at the playa (beach). Gorgeous sunny yet cool weather. All on mostly quiet roads. Quite a bit of steep up and down. It didn’t bother us nearly as much as similar days did the first week of our trip. I think we are getting stronger.
We have been enjoying all the cows.
Post by Wynette: The church was unusual in that it was in a field away from town. Usually churches are in the middle of town, crowded by other buildings. Was lovely to see it this way. They enticed us in with beautiful recorded music (Ave Maria). That was strange too because most churches we have passed are closed up tight. More photos:
Post by Wynette: We walked 8.8 miles today. The first part wasn’t great. We walked the first few miles along this large pipeline. Not sure what it was carrying. There were a number of warehouses along the pipeline as well. (Almost simultaneously Charlie and I had the thought, well, this isn’t very nice, but at least it is flat.) Above is one of the prettier stretches with the pipeline. And this dog made us smile. Then we walked by some big factories on a noisy sidewalk along a busy highway. Finally, we got to walk on quiet country roads and into the pretty village of Santillana del Mar, which, by the way, is not on the sea.
We have seen a lot of both. Both remind me of Southern California.
Anyone who grew up in Southern California knows the distinctive smell of eucalyptus trees. It is always great to smell it again. They are messy trees and are terrible in a yard but out in the forest they are apparently good trees. They have them all over Spain and Portugal. They originated in Australia.
I guess the Northern Coast of Spain is warmed by the Gulf Stream enough to avoid freezes because there are lots of palm trees here. Often in pairs, for some reason.
The town name is famous for its three lies: it’s not holy (Santi-) nor particularly flat (llana) and several kilometers from the sea. Sartre said it was “le plus joli village d’Espagne” (the prettiest village in Spain). The name is thought to be a corruption of Saint Juliana. Our guidebook says it is one of the most picturesque stopping points on the Camino del Norte. It is a cute little town. It is Saturday on a three-day weekend but it is rainy and off-season, still there are a fair number of visitors here. Way more than in the typical village we go through. But no problem getting into the restaurant for lunch or the hotel. The lunch was excellent. A 19 euro menu (the guide book said 26, maybe in the season), one of the best we have had. The hotel is very pretty and old but with modern improvements. It looks like old New Mexico construction. Vigas, etc.
I’ll bet the village is mobbed in the summer months. Last year on the Via Francigena we hardly saw anyone until we got to San Gimignano (the town with all the towers) which was crowded beyond belief. The streets there are lined with souvenir shops. Some here, too, but not too bad.
Santillana has cobblestone streets which are terrible to walk on (see the photos). Many streets have one small strip on the side which is flat but there is a lot of competition for walking there. We grudgingly give way to mothers pushing baby carriages (babies like motion, right?)
Post by Wynette: We ran into Fausto at a bar not long after we all got off the train. He is such a nice man. Charlie and I had café con leche and fried eggs and toast. Fausto had red wine and a pastry and then an espresso. Note his tiny cup. I was surprised that he said he likes Spanish coffee. We really like the coffee here, much more than in southern Spain, but figured an Italian would look down a little on Spanish coffee because, though Spanish coffee is good, of course, nothing compares to Italian coffee.
Post by Wynette: Today we walked 8 miles, taxied 5 miles, and trained 2 miles.
We took a taxi to get past the city sprawl of Santander. Then, after a few miles of walking, we took a two mile train ride from Boo to Mogro. Hopping the train at that point is kind of a Camino-sanctioned way to get over a railroad bridge that is considered unsafe to cross by foot. (The only other way across the river is to walk about 10 extra miles. Many pilgrims evidently cross the railroad bridge by foot but some have been fined for doing so.) A train stops at Boo (pronounced boh-oh) every 30 to 60 minutes. We had to wait about 40 minutes. There were six of us pilgrims on the train. We were told we could pay on the train but no one showed up to collect our money.
While waiting for the train we met Fausto from Italy. He spoke minimal English and Spanish but he understood Spanish pretty well. He would speak Italian into his phone and show us the translation. (Photo above.) He told us that in WWII, his father rescued and hid an American soldier who had parachuted from a plane.
Walking today was nice. One of our coldest days. You might notice in photos Charlie wearing his coat for the first time. We were about half mile from the coast but got some nice glimpses of the ocean and sandy beaches.
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