A Postcard from... Cantabria Pt. 2
Stories from the second half of Cantabria on the Camino Del Norte
The first few days in Cantabria were spent being surrounded by more people my age. I could finally start to say we had a larger friend group forming, even if we didn’t all spend everyday together. However, by the end of these next few days, i could with confidence say there were 4-5 other people that were truely my friends on the Camino and I looked forward to walking with them everyday.
If you missed Cantabria Pt 1 - read here!
Camino Pt 2: Cantabria
98 miles | 2,856 meters (9,370 feet) of gain | 6 days
Pobeña - Castro Uridales - Laredo - Guemes - Santander - Santillana Del Mar - Comillas
Guemes - Santander - 11 miles
We had an early start for a group breakfast of—surprise!—white bread and jam. It seems a single slice of toast and jam can suffice for the older folks on the Camino, but not quite for us. Luckily, it wasn’t a long hiking day, and we had plenty of snacks to keep us going. Since we’d gone inland to reach Guemes the day before, Ana, Erik, Joachim, and I headed back west toward the coast, enjoying a beautiful morning in the countryside. We eventually got a bit lost and had to cut through someone’s farmland, carefully avoiding his plants as we navigated back toward the water.
We were trying to catch an early afternoon ferry into Santander, the bustling capital of Cantabria. But since we’d left early enough, we had time to take a refreshing ocean swim once we hit the coast. It was a semi-cloudy day but warm enough to strip down to our swimsuits and take a quick dip in the waves. After drying off, we continued to walk barefoot along the beach for a mile or so before heading up and making our way to the ferry dock. A quick tip: if you ever want to stand out on a Spanish beach, just wear hiking gear, a large backpack, and carry trekking poles while everyone else lounges in beach chairs and bikinis.
The ferry ride into Santander was a breeze, and when we arrived, we said Adios to Erik, who was off to visit a family friend in the area for a couple days. The rest of us had been coordinating with Fritz and Gordon to find a place to stay, and thanks to Ana’s impeccable Spanish, we secured beds at “Isabela’s Place.” It turned out to be a local woman’s apartment with two bunk rooms she rented out. We made our way there and was met by Isabela herself who greeted us with free welcome beers - not a bad way to start off the afternoon!
We reached Santander early in the afternoon and the weather was still nice, so Fritz, Gordon, and I hopped on the local bus and headed back to the beach for more swimming, reading, and the best ice cream I’d had on the trip so far. After plenty of sun, we headed back to Isabela’s, took turns showering in the one shared bathroom, and eventually went out to dinner. Everyone was craving burgers, so we found a place called XXL Diner—which, as we soon discovered, lived up to its name. Fritz ordered what might have been the biggest burger I’ve ever seen; it looked like it could have fed a family of four, and we all died laughing when it was brought out.
I love the balance the Camino brings between staying in albergues in small towns and then, on other days, winding up in a random place in a city with a full range of restaurant options. Each day brings something new, leaving me both grateful for today and excited for the next.
Santander - Santillana Del Mar - 13 miles
Word around town—and straight from Isabela herself—was to take the train out of Santander and skip the 9-10 miles of industrial road walking. After the slog Ana and I endured with just three miles of industrial roads outside Bilbao, we happily took the advice and headed for the train station with Fritz and Joachim in tow. Amazing how fast 10 miles flies by when you aren’t walking it!
Thank goodness we skipped that section because it turned out to be one of the hottest days on the Camino yet. As we climbed back into the hillside, the temperature climbed with us, hitting nearly 90°F by lunchtime. We stopped for some cool drinks and a rest in the shade before tackling the second half of the day. We opted to take the less scenic shortcut, walking along the road through farm country, which saved us a few miles but did not spare us the smell of manure in the heat. Our moods were, admittedly, not great - until Gordon texted us with a link to a great ice cream shop in town. With ice cream as motivation (a recurring theme on the Camino) we picked up the pace and our moods.
We’d reserved beds in a former convent turned albergue, and it was easily one of the most beautiful places we stayed. The four of us lucked out with an extra-large room just for us, fitted with four bunk beds that allowed everyone a bottom bunk. Gordon, Corinna, and a few others we’d met in Guemes were also staying there, so it was a great reunion. With an extra-large washing machine on hand, we threw all our clothes in for a wash and then set out on the all-important hunt for ice cream.
The town of Santiallana Del Mar was charming and quaint with cobble stone streets winding through the buildings. While the cobblestone wasn’t the most forgiving after our day of walking, Gordon had been right about the ice cream. I got myself a dleicious and large ice cream sandwich that under normal circumstances would have spoiled my dinner but luckily my Camino appetite was always large. Afterward, we ended up at a bar, watching part of the Euros before heading back to the albergue for dinner.
Dinner was a multiple-course feast with vegetable soup, chicken and rice, and dessert. Just as we were getting into the main course, Ana and I glanced outside and saw it was absolutely pouring. We bolted outside to save our laundry, which had been drying in the sunny afternoon. Luckily, nothing was too wet, and with our empty top bunks, we could spread everything out to finish drying.
After dinner, the big question became “where do we stay tomorrow?” With everyone seemingly headed to Comillas and only one albergue available with 15 beds, we knew it would be a race to secure a spot. Thanks to the power of the internet, I found a budget-friendly apartment in town that could fit six of us, so Ana, Fritz, Joachim, Gordon, and I decided to book it. We messaged Erik the plan since he’d be meeting up with us the next day and this way, we wouldn’t have to dash out the door at the crack of dawn either.
Santillana Del Mar - Comillas - 17 Miles
As we were heading out the next morning, I noticed the convent was selling Camino bracelets for a euro each, so I bought a few and handed them out to our little growing friend group. Cheesy, I know, but I love a small memento like that.
The rain from the night before didn’t let up, so after a wonderfully big breakfast (finally), we geared up and stepped into what felt like monsoon season. Growing up in Oregon, I thought I’d seen it all when it came to rain, but this was on another level. And since it was warm outside, we were all sweating in our rain gear but didn’t dare take off our coats for fear of staying soaked all day. We slogged through countryside dotted with animals—including a baby llama in a raincoat—making slow progress towards town.
For lunch, we found a spot with a long list of bocadillos, which we assumed would be small, appetizer-sized sandwiches (based on all other locations we’d ordered them before). We ordered two or three each, only for the waiter to give us a look that made more sense when he came back with plates piled with massive sandwiches. Somehow, we managed to lick our plates clean which I think surprised both us and the restaurant staff. Ill spare the photos of our half eaten food and emptied plates because phones most definitely don’t eat first with this group.
As we walked, we realized we didn’t have many group photos. We had plenty of scenic shots and the classic “back of someone’s head” photos, but barely any of us together. Up until the last two days, we’d mostly just known each other from chatting in albergues or walking in pairs, but now we were really starting to feel like friends. And so, the daily group photo tradition was born. Fritz had a great camera with a front-facing screen and a self-timer, and it became a bit of a game trying to gather everyone in frame in three seconds.
Gordon had arrived in town well before us and was able to check into the apartment. By the time we made it there, Erik had also arrived, thanks to a ride from his Spanish friend, and it was like a mini reunion. Time feels different on the Camino; even though it had only been two days since we’d seen each other, it felt like we had weeks of catching up to do. I gave Gordon and Erik the Camino bracelets I’d picked up that morning, and we were all stoked to be back together.
It was amazing to finally drop our bags and have a place to ourselves for the first time. With a spacious kitchen, our own washer, a TV, and multiple bathrooms, we felt like we were living in pure luxury. Even though it was still raining, our apartment complex had a pool, so we all threw on swimsuits and went for a swim—just because we could.
Afterward, we hit the town for groceries, stocking up on enough food to last a family a week, though for us, it would cover dinner, dessert (of course), breakfast, and some snacks for the next day. I thought I had a large appetite but wow you can go through a lot of food with four athletic guys sitting at the table. To the Euro watchers delight, we were able to put the game on the TV - so we all gathered together in the living room, piling on the couch and the floor, staying up way too late and eating ice cream (common theme, remember).
Even though the rain had us soaked all day, this was one of my favorite days on the Camino. It felt like our friend group had solidified over these past few days, turning into days filled with getting to know each other better and creating more inside jokes than I could ever count.
I spent most of Basque Country just learning the ropes of the Camino—how to pack my backpack, how to handle injuries, how to put paper sheets on a bed, all the basics. But in Cantabria, I spent my days meeting people and building real friendships. I keep saying it, but Camino time runs on a completely different pace than the “real world.” Spending day after day walking and talking together lets you get to know people on a level that would take so much longer to reach anywhere else. For each of us to come from such different backgrounds and places (literally) yet find ourselves here together on the Camino felt pretty incredible. And the best part… we weren’t even halfway through yet.