Norman's Blog: Santillana del Mar

Santillana del Mar

I set out from the posada with Leslie. I planned to walk with her through the urban zone on the basis that two pairs of eyes are better than one when trying to locate yellow arrows in an urban environment, and then take off when we reached the countryside. The first two kilometres from the posada to the local village were in open countryside but spoilt by the sounds of traffic on the motorway and the occasional train that both followed the valley.

The next ten kilometres were through villages that had expanded so much that it was a continuous ribbon development with a little industry on the outskirts before the outer residential areas of the next village began.

Between Requejada and Barreda, there is a giant chemical complex operated by Solvay with their own marshalling yards and connected by train to the port at Santander.

This was where I was about to split with Leslie and walk at my own speed. After leaving the giant chemical complex, we crossed the river and were confronted by two a junction where the route splits. The sign indicated that one route was four kilometres and the other was seven kilometres. I didn't know that there was a choice along ths route.

I stopped and checked my guidebook and the map book. Neither indicated an alternative route but judging by the maps, the short route followed the main road and the longer route took some quiet backroads. It was only 10.30am and we had the rest of the day. We took the back roads option.

The route rose into the gently rolling hills before descending in Santillana del Mar, a real gem of a place to visit on El Camino del Norte. The tarmac of the road changed to cobbles as the road passed the camp ground on the edge of the town. The route descended past the 12th century Colegiata de Santa Juliana. She was martyred by Diocletian and her remains have been housed here since the 6th century.

The whole village is a well preserved medieval era village. A former palace, now a museum.

Old buildings with shaded balconies...

...and other buildings with open balconies.

There are several museums, this one is the Museum of Torture featuring medieval and Inquisition torture devices. There are also museums of chocolate, cheese and in the surrounding area if you have your own transport, museums of wine and cider. Plus the Cueva de Altamira, a UNESCO world heritage listed site, a cave system with well preserved Paleolithic cave art. The original cave is closed to the public but a replica has been built for visitors to get a near real life immersive experience.

There are a lot of tourists, souvenir shops, cafes, restaurants and shops selling local produce, wines, ciders, flavoured spirits, and cheeses such as this one with a calf looking out of a window...

...and another life size plastic cow. The sign says do not touch the cow, she bites!

Every street is a piece of preserved medieval history. The town became rich from wool and linen production. It has had a string of famous residents and visitors such as the Marques of Santillana, the Duchess of Austria, Jean-Paul Satre and Gil Blas.

Another street scene with my hotel on the left, an ancient stone built former merchants house and the street is quiet as it is siesta, but two hours earlier and you couldn't move for visitors and tour groups.