Due to the very rough seas off the Portuguese coast, the Spirit of Discovery had been forced to seek sanctuary in Santander for a few days. I decided to hire a car for our second full day in Santander and explore a few local sites. It was good that Chris and Fiona decided to join me as this reduced the car hire costs. Our first location had been the excellent Altamira Cave. The next obvious choice was the nearby small touristy town of Santillana del Mar, which was less than a ten minute drive away. After a couple of hours exploring Santillana del Mar, we were ready to leave by mid-afternoon. There was enough time to head towards the Picos de Europa foothills for a quick look. I could see there was a road running South from Cabezon de le Sal, that appeared to head into the foothills to the South of Saja. This looked to be the best option to get some views of the Picos de Europa in the time we had available.
As we got into the countryside heading towards the foothills, we bumped into a Griffon Vulture circling over the road. Fortunately, there was a nearby pull-in and in the next few minutes, the spiralling Griffon Vulture count increased to six, along with several Red Kites and another Griffon Vulture perched in a tree.
I wasn't sure if we would get to see any snowy views when we got higher, so it was worth a quick roadside stop on a lower side road. This proved a worthwhile stop, as there were a few more Red Kites and a nice Male Black Redstart.
As we climbed out of the lower valley, the road passed through extensive forests. Finally, we passed the one thousand metre altitude and we were above the treeline.
It was time to head back to Santander and drop the car off. It had been an enjoyable day trip.