Touristing in Santander

Midmorning breakfast buffet at the hotel – very bountiful. Feeling full from breakfast, we were energized to start out with a vigorous walk along the waterfront. We walked almost two miles to get to the Palacio Real de la Magdelena, which is a castle/palace that we can see from our hotel room across the bay. The beaches are very wide and beautiful. On the beach we saw four people enjoying a rousing game of paddle tennis (speed volleys only). They were outstanding players.

We toured the palaces grounds as well by trolley train and by foot. We saw replicas of the ships of Columbus’ era. We also saw seals and penguins and swans on the grounds in a creative natural environment. There were great views from the grounds.


On the way to downtown, Margo happened to look down to the beach which was far below at the point, and voila, spotted a group of young men who were climbing the stony vertical wall toward us. This must be a popular spot, as we saw many pitons in the wall. We clapped when he arrived at the top. He asked if we want to try.

We made it to the downtown area and stopped for a beer and hot chocolate at a sidewalk café at Plaza Pombo. Then we walked to the cathedral only to find it closed for siesta.

Earlier we had spotted a cruise ship in the bay. So we walked to the terminal where it was docked and it turned out to be a huge ferry for cars and people, with overnight cabins. We found out that it goes back and forth from Santander, Spain to Plymouth, England. There were hundreds of cars and Winnebagos in line to embark.
At this point we had walked about 5 miles, and we wanted to find an easier way back to the hotel…
But the “train” wasn’t running so we decided to catch a bus back. Many school children, young and old, in uniforms were on the bus. They were very well behaved.

On our way back to the hotel we noticed a tennis and paddle tennis facility. One of the courts had an astroturf surface. The others were a VERY rough hard court surface.

We are going out to dinner with Amaya and Micky. They are picking us up at 9:00 pm for supper. … We just got back from the dinner. It is midnight local time. We had a wonderful fish dinner at a great restaurant; Amaya and Mickey are terrific people. Here are some pics.

Amaya & Mickey:

Salad greens with tomato, raisins, walnuts, proscuito, foie, balsamic based dressing. YUM

Margo’s Turbot fish in foreground. My new favorite fish.