It was a rainy morning walking to San Sebastian’s bus station for the 0840 departure. I had a rushed breakfast of a good sandwich roll at the station before hopping on the bus which left 10 mins late.
We called in at Bilbao’s station before continuing to Santander in the Cantabria region, arriving at 1145 on-time. I walked through a tunnel under a hill to get to Hospedaje Magallanes not far from the station, where I left my bag to go exploring.
I wandered to the market hoping to find lunch but there was only a couple of eateries with most of the area dedicated to fish, meat and ham. There didn’t appear to be a vegetable or fruit section. The cathedral had just closed so I would have to return later in the afternoon for that.
I grabbed a sandwich near my guesthouse and after refuelling myself, wandered to the waterfront. The temperature was perfect with a cool breeze but hot in the sun. There was only so much time I could spend walking on the waterfront and returned to the pedestrian mall where I could walk in the shadow of buildings.
Soon enough, I had killed 2h30 and I could go to my room to rest. There was a good fruit shop under the guesthouse and I bought a selection of nectarines, plums and cherries. All that was a fraction of the New Zealand price. The nectarines were far far superior to anything I had ever bought in New Zealand; so juicy I had to eat them over the bathroom basin. The plums and cherries weren’t as good though.
After 1630, I wandered to the cathedral for a quick look. The entry of EUR1 seemed too cheap but it was a simple place unlike some of the highly ornate ones in the country.
Text continues after this gallery.
-
- Ham at the market.
-
- Sausages at the market.
-
- The cathedral is minimalist on the inside.
-
- Cathedral courtyard.
-
- Santander’s courtyard has a small marina.
For dinner, I grabbed a salad from the supermarket. It was a third of the Swiss price but the quality and amount of meat was just a fraction, making the Swiss one pretty good value. I had gotten into the habit of eating from supermarkets due to high prices in Switzerland I need to get out more and enjoy the awesome menu del dia deals that can usually be found around.