Ride Day 31 – Comillas to Astillero – 46 km

We woke to blue skies. There is a surprise for us. After a rather dull breakfast, we keenly set off. Not to disappoint, lovely day today. Beautiful countryside, some of those lumpy hills which had a few percentages higher gradient than Julie expected but great going down through the pockets of warm and cool air. Mostly quiet roads with a good surface, a little busy in the middle section.

Here is the route

We set off from Camilla’s along the coast. If we had a camper van, this is where we would be staying. Steps were carved out of the cliff so you could get down for a swim. Gorgeous spot and a short walk into the town.

The big diversion of the day was to visit the beautiful medieval town of Santillana del Mar. it would have been nice to spend a couple of days here. The only downside was it’s the weekend that marks the start of the Summer holidays. The tourist numbers are growing rapidly. Luckily we don’t have parking issues or sitting in traffic queue issues. I think the shoulder seasons of June and September would see a significantly reduced number and also be cheaper everywhere as well.

Some greenery too. We complain about the hills but the scenery is so lovely and it changes on every bend. It’s never boring.

We saw a dead wild cat on route, obviously hit by a car in a mountain area. Julie has sent the photo off to be identified – will let you know what it is. The photo isn’t too gruesome, so here it is.

We finished the day in a modern apartment below Santander. We chose it because we knew we could use a washing machine and a home cooked meal and some rare green VEGETABLES! Boy, we chose a terrible area with possibly the worst supermarket in Spain. The fruit and veg looked terrible. We opted for green beans which were just OK. Never mind, four loads of washing in, the Tour de France to watch, bottle of red and chocolate afterwards. Better than camping!