I had another rest day in Noja, which is why I didn’t post. I am still recovering from a bug I must have caught on the flight over, but thankfully, I’m feeling much better today and was able to walk twenty kilometres to our medieval town for the night, Santillana del Mar.
We had decided that, as I wasn’t up to walking, we’d catch a cab to Somo and catch a ferry across the bay to Santander. That way, the taxi fare would be less, and it would be an enjoyable experience catching the boat across the bay and seeing Santander from the water. When the taxi dropped us at the ferry stop, we were told that the boat wouldn’t be for another 2 hours due to the low tide. We had no option but to wait. While we did, a heap of other pilgrims showed up, and about 60 Danish students who had been doing surfing school in Somo for the past week were heading back home. Lucky us to have a crowd! We were a little concerned about getting a seat on a boat that seemed no more significant than the Bundeena ferry, but we all seemed to manage and fit in.
Once in Santander, we checked into the hotel for the evening, which was the best one we’ve been to so far; Ron and I set out for a stroll along the promenade that hugged the city on the left and followed the bay to the sea on the right. It was a lovely sunny afternoon and great for a stroll. I wanted to eventually find ourselves at the beach facing the ocean and see how it compared to Sydney beaches. Santander has many beaches, some on the bay which aren’t surf beaches and one that faces the sea for surfing.
Above are some images of walking along the promenade up to the beach. From what I saw of the city, I was impressed. It was clean and well kept, and plenty of friendly people about.
After the walk, we returned to the hotel to do some work and prepare ourselves for dinner at 8:30 pm. Dinner at the hotel was delicious though as they had a special for 25 Euros each, the ‘Menu of the Day’. It included the entree, main, dessert, a bottle of wine and a bottle of mineral water. I couldn’t get that value at Oatley RSL, that’s for sure. Well worth it. The food was simple but delicious, and we felt well-nourished afterwards.
I had been looking at getting a courier service for our backpacks throughout the day as mine is pretty heavy with all the tech I have to carry around for work and feeling weaker due to the bug I’ve had. Ron and I decided we’d pay for a Camino bag courier service to take our packs from hotel to hotel, so all we’d need to bring is a small day pack with water and snacks. I was a little hesitant, I must say to have my luggage in someone else’s hands, but we tried it today from Santander, and our bags were already at the hotel when we arrived this evening. I might also add a much better walk today, not having all that weight.
Today’s walk out of Santander was to be officially 40kms by the guidebook, but we both weren’t up to that, so we took a taxi halfway out to a town called Arce. From there, we’d walk about twenty kilometres to our home for the evening. I was resisting thoughts all day that my backpack won’t show up and would still be in Santander, etc., but with the sun out and the lightweight of my daypack, I was happy to trust that all that would be looked after. It was out of my control.
It wasn’t exactly a scenic day today. Much of the track was next to roads walking along the footpath or country lanes on the tarmac. No groundbreaking images today I’m afraid.
That’s all there is to report on. A bit of a boring walk, but good to be out in the sunshine and with a lighter weight on the back. We arrived at our town for this evening, and there were plenty of people. Today is a public holiday in Spain today. Another reason that I’m happy is that my bag showed up at the hotel! The town was alive with restaurants and bars open and patrons spilling out onto the streets. Some images of the town below.
Tomorrow our walk will be about 26km.
That’s it from me today. See you tomorrow.
Buen Camino!
A map of today’s walk is also below.
