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.
Approaching Santillana del Mar: The town is preparing for global warming, as it's name is Santillana of the sea. However, even with all the polar ice melting, it seems unlikely it was end up as a coastal town
This proved to be a good decision and we had a great couple of hours wandering around it and grabbing a late lunch. Santillana del Mar was a lovely town. But it's a shame that it looked more like a Hollywood set, than a lived-in town. Presumably, there would have been more locals around had it been the tourist season, but perhaps it's like some of the bigger North Spanish towns and largely empty outside of the Summer.
The town is characterised by these old stone buildings and high stone walls
Another feature is the cobble-stone roads
Sadly, this level of fine detail in buildings is now a rare thing
I love these over-hanging balconies that are very typical in North Spanish buildings
More over-hanging windows balconies
Another old traditional building
These balconies allow the houses to maximise their size, whilst still allowing cart access on the road
Another view of the main square
Looking back across the main square
Some more of the lovely balconies
It's also interesting to see these large arches and covered areas: It would be interesting to have seen how these areas were used, when they were first built
Another cobbled road heading out of the village square
Looking across to the church
The square in front of the church: Chris confirming that the temperature was starting to drop by mid-afternoon
Walking back to the main square to get some food
Another house with a large, covered area
I love these old fine details in these old houses
Some more carvings of one of the buildings: However, it's frustrating to see all the anti-bird wire, which isn't good for the local wildlife and spoils the architecture
An old cart next to one of the town's bar
White Wagtail: This was one of the few Birds I saw in this small town. I did hear a distant Iberian Green Woodpecker calling on a couple of occasions. It would have been nice to look for, but it wasn't close
It was now about mid-afternoon and we still had some time left to explore the local area. There was enough time to head towards the Picos de Europa foothills for a quick look. We knew it wouldn't be a long visit, as it would be dark in about three hours, but there was still time for a quick drive. I will cover the final part of the day in the next Blog Post.
