Pretty towns and sweeping beaches in Cantabria

From Santander I headed west into Cantabria. I travelled by bus except for the last day. I very happily walked, and it was my favourite day of all.

Santillana del Mar is a pretty little medieval town. Despite it’s name (del Mar) it is not on the sea. The first building I encountered was a convent. If a convent gate is open I always like to peak in. Why? To see if there are nuns cookies for sale. Sure enough I was rewarded with a tempting assortment of baked goods displayed on glass shelves. I debated the options with the help of a couple from Prague who came off the same bus. I rang the bell to place my order with the nun on the other side of the turnstile, put my money on the wheel and out came the cookies. We picked the trocitos de cielo. These “little pieces of heaven” were like a shortbread cookie with a thin layer meringue on top. We split the box, but even still, I was snacking on them for the rest of my trip!

The town is quaint. It doesn’t take too long to wander its preserved cobbled streets. The low two-story stone buildings with overhanging tiled roofs appeared pleasingly lopsided. It was clearly a popular day trip with plenty of shops selling typical Cantabrian products (more on that below) and the nearby UNESCO designated ancient cave art. I stayed overnight, and so glad I did. My inn Casa del Organista was absolutely charming. Wooden beams and planked flooring, cozy seating areas and lovely terrace overlooking the red tiled rooftops. My host Rafa was as charming as the inn.

It’s from him I appreciated the local baked goods I saw in the shops: quesada and saboa. They were born out of ingenuity.

“De la necisidad nació ingenio,” Rafa said.

The lush mountains of Cantabria are home to dairy cows, traditionally tended to by nomadic people living in cabins (cabañas) in the mountains. They moved from hut to hut with their livestock. How to preserve the milk? They churned butter. Not wanting to waste food, they created the quesada to use the leftover curd (cuajada) from the churning process. Curd was mixed with sugar, eggs and flour and baked to make a dense pudding like cake. Saboa, a spongy cake baked in special rectangular molds, was a way of preserving butter, and it uses a lot of it!

These traditions are celebrated today.

Rafa explained this history to me over a most excellent breakfast spread where I tasted not only quesada (which has a delicate lemon flavour) but four different local cheeses made from cow, sheep and goats milk. So good.

I also visited replicas of pre-historic cave paintings at Museo de Altamira. Given the fragility of the artwork, painted only with charcoal and ochre, viewing is restricted in the original cave. The art is from 36,000 to 13,000 years ago. I found it fascinating to recognize animals we see today like bison. Altamira is one of three UNESCO designated cave paintings in Spain. There are many other caves throughout Cantabria with ancient art open to the public and likely some yet undiscovered.

The next day I veered back to the coast to the town of Comillas. I didn’t quite make it to Comillas’ beach but there were sweeping views from a grassy hilltop park. The pleasant old town is a labyrinth of cobbled streets and colourful buildings. It was Friday and the weekly market was on. I would have loved to pick up a bottle of Cantabrian vermut, but settled on some practical snacks of mixed nuts and fruit for my hike the next day. Not to worry, I had a glass of Cantabrian vermut in a bar that evening while waiting for the restaurants to open. I can confirm it was very good.

Comillas has several architectural attractions. I visited El Capricho, a family home designed by Antoni Gaudí. It’s one the few designs by this famed Spanish architect outside of Catalonia (the Palacio de Gaudí in Astorga is another). Gaudí took inspiration from nature and music with whimsical details like a stain glass window of a bee playing guitar and bird on a piano. I took my time visiting this “ode to luminosity” as the audio guide declared. The u-shaped design took advantage of the natural light at every time of day. The terrace off the master bedroom faced west for the morning sun while a small seating area with tall east facing windows was the ideal spot to watch the sunset. My Dad the architect would have loved it.

The next morning instead of catching a bus I strapped on my pack and walked. It was glorious. A beautiful 12 km stretch (part of the Camino del Norte). Leaving Comillas I was immediately on a lovely tree lined path with cows grazing beside me. Then I walked over a river and the path turned right towards the coast. I came to a beautiful curved white sand beach (Playa Olyambre) with roaring waves and parking lot full of surfer vans. The view of the beach was even more spectacular as I climbed. I found a rickety bench to have a snack with the beach to my right, a small farming hamlet to my left and cows munching on the green grass in front of me. I marvelled at my private little picnic spot with a view.

I arrived in San Vicente de la Barquera around 1 pm. Entering this charming harbour town was like walking the red carpet, the red carpet being a very long multi-arched stone bridge. What an entrance! The sheltered harbour with its fishing boats bobbing in the water, palm trees, and hillside castle came into view as I crossed. I took my time (like I imagine you should on a red carpet). It was a very pretty scene.

I hit another market day. Stalls of clothing were set up in the town’s main plaza across the street from the water. I was more interested in finding a place for lunch so I started pursuing the many restaurants that lined the harbour. I definitely wanted seafood and that’s what I had. A garlicky dish of sautéed local clams (almejas a la sartén). I mopped up the juices with crusty bread. A fine ending to my hike, and my foray through Cantabria. After lunch I took the bus to another fantastic town. But Llanes is located in the communidad autónoma of Asturias so I will leave it for the next post.