4th of July in Santander

4th of July in Santander

Santander, Spain, Europe

Today was not a very patriotic day, but it was a really good day anyway. I had already bought today’s bus ticket when I was out yesterday, so I just had to get to the bus station for 10:30am which was no problem at all. I got my bus from Bilbao at 11am and I was in Santander by 1pm. Tonight is the first night I am staying in an Airbnb apartment, so I had a set of directions on how to find the place from the owner, Laura. I got the number 3 bus from the center of Santander and headed out of the city to the suburb of Peí±acastillo. It was only 15 minutes by bus and then a five minute walk to find her apartment building.

The only problem I had was that when I arrived, there was no one at the apartment. I guess this is the risk you take when not staying in a hotel or hostel, there is no reception. Laura had said that her brother would be in, but he wasn’t. I didn’t really know what to do, so I sent Laura a text and then sat on her front step playing Candy Crush. Luckily, ten minutes later her boyfriend Alberto showed up and let me in. He showed me around the flat, and then I was just left to do whatever. I had to find a place to stay in Oviedo for tomorrow night, so I did that, and then I thought it was time to head out and see Santander.

I got my own set of keys for their flat and caught the bus back into the city. I went back to the bus station and bought my tickets to Oviedo tomorrow and then to Madrid on Sunday. I figured it would be easier to make plans if I knew what time I had to be where. I then started my walk around the city. I didn’t really go in the city at all, since I was told there was nothing really to see, so I walked around the coast.

The coast in this city is really beautiful. You can see the coastline just across the river and out to lighthouses on little islands. You start by walking by the docks and then you hit a beach, followed by a park, then more beaches, and another park. By the time I walked along the city coastline, and then around the first park, I was pretty tired. I would have stopped here and gone back to the apartment, but Jacquelien sent me a photo that was in a park, and I figured it had to be in the next park along, so I had to go check it out. I’m really glad I did.

I had a really nice walk along the two beaches (playa de la concha and segunda playa del Sardinero) and then around Mataleí±as park. I wouldn’t have gone here if it weren’t for the scavenger hunt that Jacquelien sent me on, so it proved again that this round-the-world scavenger hunt is the greatest game in the world! The park was really beautiful and had a golf course right on top of the cliffs on the peninsula which had amazing views. I couldn’t help but think about how much my dad would love to play this course. Maybe someday.

I got a bite to eat at the end of the park and then tried to get a number 3 bus back to the apartment. I sat at a bus stop for about 30 minutes that showed a number 3 should come, but it never did. I started to walk back to the center of town and after walking about three miles and passing dozens of bus stops, I figured out that the bus only runs part of the route after 8:15pm.

I almost got back to the bus station by the time I found a stop where the number 3 was actually stopping, so I hopped on and finally got to sit down. I think I had walked consistently for about seven hours, so I was exhausted. I got back to the apartment at about 10:10pm and had just missed the start of the Colombia vs Brazil match, and Brazil was already winning 1-0. I watched the match in the living room with Alberto until Laura and her brother Julius came home.

We all sat around and chatted for a while and watched the rest of the game. Unfortunately Colombia lost, but they played well. It’s just after midnight now and I’m getting ready for bed, while the other three are downstairs having dinner. This Spanish schedule will always confuse me. I’m leaving here at 10am tomorrow so I probably won’t see my hosts again, but they were really nice. I would definitely do Airbnb again.

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