So, we survived our first 2 weeks on the Camino Norte and have now reached the second of the four provinces that we will cover on this Camino. The Cantabria region covers roughly 144 kilometres and is best known for its beautiful Cantabrian coast and lush green hills.
We leave Bilbao and walk to Portulagete, a town on the mouth of the estuary of Bilbao, famous for its “hanging bridge” or Vizcaya bridge which is the oldest shuttle bridge in the world. Spanning the river, it transports both pedestrians and vehicles between the towns of Getxo and Portulagete.
This week has been less difficult in terms of elevation, but unfortunately there has been more walking on roads which brings its own challenges. Thankfully we are rewarded with amazing views of the Cantabrian sea, and villages hidden amongst the hills.
We stop at the small village of Santullan for the night. The albergue has only 10 beds and is not just for pilgrims so luckily I’ve booked our 2 beds in advance. Finding accommodation is becoming quite the chore. The pilgrim only albergues are few and far between as many closed during Covid and never re-opened; it is high season here and every man and his dog are travelling so most accommodation is booked out. But, we persevere and hope that things ease up a bit.
At Castro Urdales, a small town on the coast, we stop for coffee and to have a look around. The town boasts both a Gothic style church and castle.
One of our more interesting stops was in the town of Guemes. We stayed in what has to be one of the ‘purist’ type albergues What started as a small family cabin grew into the curent albergue which can host over 100 pelegrinos offering a bed, communal dinner and breakfast. One of the grandsons Ernesto, who is now 85 years old, runs things with a group of volunteers. Their philosophy is “Los espados son para llenarlos de vida” – or ‘These spaces are designed to be filled with life’.
Our journey continues to Santander, another port city on the coast. It’s a pretty place and like many here, the city is built on a slope so there are many ramps and escalators to help you get to the upper parts of the city.
Our last stop this week is in the medieval town of Santillana del Mar. It’s been voted as the prettiest town in Spain hence also the most touristy!
So we head into our third week and are contemplating a change… so stay tuned and watch for our next blog .
What lovely photos, really starting to get the bug.We are training for a 26 mile walk in September to raise money for home care for cancer patients. Both got some good hiking shoes yesterday & I got some poles. Did 16 km in the good old English country side today.Foot paths, stiles,& nettles, not easy. One walk at a time.Keep walking & stay safe. Let us know what your plans are, it would be great to get together before you go home😘