SANTANDER (Day Two)
It’s day two of our unexpected, extended stay in Santander, on the Northern coast of Spain, where we have taken refuge from the barrage of violent storms currently raging the Bay of Biscay and the Northern Atlantic.
Several excursions have been laid on for guests. We decided to go for another walk.
Using Maps.Me, we identified another park in the city that might be of interest, so that was our target. Our route took us up through the city centre, which was quite fun because they have lots of escalators to carry people up the hill. When we got to the other side, and approached our destination, the park was not quite how we’d expected it to be…
It was a park of sorts, overlooked by Santander University and with a large basketball arena at the far end. To be fair, we learned from an information board that the scheme had only been implemented in 2017, so I would probably describe it as a work-in-progress. It’s a bit of a nature reserve, centred around a lake. It’s all very overgrown, though, and difficult to actually see anything. There are footpaths all over the place, and footbridges that cross the lake – which would be great if they weren’t all closed.
From the park, it was only a relatively short stretch to the bay and beach. From here, we walked along the coastline to a rocky headland where we were able to stand and watch the big waves. We were accompanied by many locals who were also clearly captivated by the wild seas.
For lunch, we dropped into a small cafe next to the park and ordered burger and chips which, when they came, were absolutely delicious!
Our route back to the ship took us through a road 700m-long road tunnel, which wasn’t overly pleasant, but it was direct. By the time we got back to the ship we’d walked roughly 8 miles.
UPDATE:
It’s looking like we’re now going to remain in Santander for two more days, leaving in the early hours of Monday morning. Providing that all goes according to plan, it should take us three sea days to reach the Canary Islands. Fingers crossed…
