What’s up travel lovers!
Welcome back
This is episode 3
on my Camino de Santiago special.
Doing the northern route,
or the camino del norte.
This episode will cover
days 11 thru 15.
starting off here in Laredo,
which is right behind me
and hopefully making it
all the way to Colombres.
Today is a beautiful day,
So let’s get hiking!
I decided to do a quick walk around Laredo,
Before getting back on the trail
and walking along the beach
for a few kilometers
until reaching El Punta.
From here I would grab a ferry
that would take me to Santoña.
It was a short ride,
but one that saves you a lot of walking.
Just be aware that the ferry
does not operate in winter.
As soon as I arrived to Santoña
I was met, with the Juan de la Cosa
Historical monument.
Whom was a famous cartographer
from the 15th century.
Then I followed signs
To meet me, back up with the camino.
Within a few blocks I was out of town,
and in less than a couple kilometers
I would be on Playa de Berria.
A beautiful beach with not a soul on it.
I walked across the beach
and then started into a dense treed area,
that had me me climbing a steep 100 meters,
from the top I could see a new beach
and in the distance was another seaside town.(drone)
I would hike down to the new beach
and would have almost 3 kilometers
of walking on sand before arriving to Noja.
The trail would take me right past
the San Pedro Church,
and a few kilometers later
passing by a parish in the town of Isla.
Today’s journey had a great mix of everything.
Even baby goats and other friendly farm animals.
The sun was beginning to set
and I was nearly to my endpoint
The next morning I left the casa rural,
and the small town of Güemes.
It was a beautiful day
and I was excited to see what was ahead of me.
Today was going to be
one of the easiest days of the Camino del Norte.
I would start off in rural landscape
with farmland all around me,
but in around 4 kilometers
I would reach the town of Galizano
that was just off the coast.
For the next 10 kilometers
I would walk near the coast
passing some breathtaking beaches
and cliff walls.
I couldn’t have asked for better weather.
After a little more than 6 kilometers
I would come near the town of Loredo,
from here, I would walk almost 2 kilometers
on Playa de Somo.
All that was left was to jump on a ferry,
and it would take me the rest of the way.
A really great way to finish the days hike,
and a great way to see
Cantabria’s capital, and largest city.
the boat ride took about 30 minutes
and cost 2 euros and 85 cents.
This is a good time to explain
that there is actually many paths to the camino.
None are better than the others,
some are just more convenient
depending on your fitness level.
The other option
would be to walk around the bay,
adding almost 20 kilometers to the day’s hike.
I personally love boat rides
so I chose taking the ferry,
but you are free
to take whichever path suits you.
I arrived to Santander,
and was instantly met with stunning architecture,
plazas and monuments.
I went from walking without a human in site
to being surrounded by people.
I explored the city for a while
and then headed to my accommodation.
I started today’s journey bright and early
as I had a pretty good amount of distance to cover.
I walked through Santander
and in a few kilometers I had made it to the suburbs.
Even though I was walking through busy areas,
there were lots of sign markers to keep me on the trail.
I would eventually be walking next to a busy highway,
and even passing a sign just for Peregrinos
telling me I only had 560 kilometers
until Santiago de Compostela.
Which meant I had covered almost 300km already.
Then I came to the Pas river.
I followed it for a while going through
Some more small towns and farmland.
There was a lot of paved walking today
but there was still the occasional slice of nature.
Nature was easily
my favorite thing
about doing the Camino so far
Tonight, I would actually get off the camino
at Barreda.
From here I would go 2 kilometers south to
sleep in the town of Torrelavega,
as it had more accommodation options.
The next day I left Torrelavega
and made my way
back to the camino.
I left super early,
cause I wanted to spend some extra time
In Santillana Del Mar.
A beautiful medieval town
about 6 kilometers away
with several things worth exploring.
Less than an hour and a half later I would arrive.
This town is so picturersque,
I highly recommend
To at least just walk along it’s cobblestone streets,
but you could also stop at some of it’s attractions.
If you have the time
be sure to see the Altamira Cave Museum,
famous for it’s prehistoric cave drawings dating back
some 36,000 years.
Now I still had 22 more kilometers,
so I decided to start hiking
and make my way towards the endpoint of the day.
Update Peregrinos!
It is day 14,
Which means I am almost 40% done
with the Camino del Norte.
So far it has been fantastic!
The last 2 days I’ve been walking
pretty much on pavement,
which is a little hard on the feet
and the joints,
but the good side of it
is that I’m seeing a lot more Spanish people,
and observing some of the culture
of the small towns throughout Cantabria,
and through this whole region.
Well I better keep hiking
if I’m going to make my endpoint today
At the bottom of the hill
I came to the town of Oreña.
And eventually to the
Ermita de San Pedro.
It was open so I entered,
I was the only pilgrim,
The only other person was a volunteer
that explained to me
the history of the Ermita,
and even gave me a gift,
To remind me of my journey.
A camino scallop shell.
To be worn on my backpack.
A symbol that is easily seen
nearly every couple kilometers of the journey.
But now I was wearing the symbol.
I would continue
to walk through the country side
Passing a few more small towns,
And reaching the coast again
Around sunset.
Finally making it to Comillas
At nightfall.
The next morning I woke up
and explored the old city center of Comillas,
As well as peaked at the town’s most famous home.
El Capricho,
A villa designed by Spain’s most famous architect,
Antonio Gaudí in 1883.
If you have extra time,
I definitely suggest taking more than a peak.
Unfortunately, I needed to start making
my way to a new region of Spain.
Tonight I would enter into Asturias.
It was hard to believe
that today was going to be
my last day in Cantabria.
Today was excellent weather for hiking.
Not hot or cold, very fresh.
A little more than 10 kilometers later
I reached Playa La Rabia which looked
More like an estuary,
But shortly after it,
I came to Playa Oyambre
Where I could see surfers enjoying the waves.
A couple kilometers later
and I was walking on the soft sand
Of Playa de Gerra
and would continue all the way
to Playa St. Vincente de la Barquera
At the end of the beach
I would cross the bridge
into the town of
St. Vincente de la Barquera.
From here
I headed inland
walking through some really amazing nature.(drone)
The perfect way to end my time in Cantabria.
A couple hours later
The sun was setting
and I was nearing my endpoint.
I just made it to the Deba River,
that over there is Asturias!
which means
Day 15 is complete
and unfortunately, episode 3 of the Camino del Norte
is now done.
If you have any questions
about the last few days of this trip,
hit me up in the comment box below.
I’d be glad to help you plan your camino.
Until next time, safe travels!