To Altamira and beyond. Pilgrimage to the caves of Cantabria. Part 1. Santander
This will not be a very short, but if possible sincere story about how my dream to see ancient rock paintings and observe the life of ordinary Spaniards.
We arrived in Santander at 8 am, but the city was in deep darkness. In Spain and the south of France, it gets late in winter, around 9 a. m. But on the Atlantic coast, the proximity of Foggy Albion is also felt, which conveyed its rainy and capricious weather to these places. All day on January 11, it was drizzling with light rain, which then stopped, then began again.
Alley near the port
Santander Bank
Santander -located in mountainous medium size and very modern city. Its history goes back about 1000 years, but modern Santander was built according to the plan already in the 20th century, because it has flat wide streets, spacious squares and parks. The infrastructure is very well developed and cultural life is established. There are several tourist information centers in the city center where you can find out the opening hours of museums and theaters, or simply ask for directions if you get lost. As a rule, these information desks are open until 7 - 8 pm.
There is an elevator from the center to the upper part of the city. To be honest, at first I thought it was a funicular. But no - this is the most common city elevator. An interesting solution, isn't it?
Stairs and elevator to the uptown
Elevator
Walking around the city, one cannot but pay attention to the diversity of facades.
Colorful Santander
Graffiti
If you don't buy a city map like I did, you can follow the maps at the bus stops . True, such an orientation requires some skill, and if you get lost (as I did), then do not get lost, get on the bus and go. For example, to Villa Magdalena (a bus ride costs one euro 30 cents).
Villa Magdalena - the summer residence of the Spanish kings built in the early 20th century .
Villa Magdalena
If you are interested in seeing what tapestries hang in the antechamber of the Spanish king and what design is on the upholstery of his chair , then you can pay 3 euros and look inside the villa from 10 am to 1 pm and from 4 pm to 7 pm. I was more interested in the surroundings of this mansion, which took me more than an hour to walk around.
Plan of Villa Magdalena
In the park area adjacent to the residence, there are several benches located at the very edge of the peninsula. You can sit and watch how big and evil winter waves break on the coastal rocks, how white splashes soar and scatter into small beads. Here you can feel the strong breath of the ocean.
View from Magdalena Peninsula
After walking through the park of Villa Magdalena, I went to a cafe called "Taberna" and asked for something anything traditional. From the traditional I was offered cheese and bread. It was a good choice.
Bar-tavern where you can taste traditional Cantabrian cheese (15 minutes walk from the maritime museum towards the city center).
Cantabrian quesco cheese smells like French maroilles, but unlike the latter, quesco can be eaten . And it's really delicious!
Two words about food. Spaniards love solid food. Therefore, do not be surprised if a whole loaf is brought to you with cheese. And yes - even expresso coffee is served in teacups here.
From Villa Magdalena you can walk to the city center on foot, following the road along the coastline. Not far from the peninsula is the Maritime Museum (Museo Maritimo).
Santander Maritime Museum
Aquarium
The fish in the aquariums are not very big and mostly grey, but still a "dive" impression into their world and from "peeping" behind their lives remains quite resistant.
In the museum itself, for example, there is such an exhibit as the skeleton of a sperm whale. Perhaps in order to accommodate this skeleton, the ground floor was designed without a ceiling. The cashlot is huge, but it was impossible to photograph it (neither him nor yourself with him), therefore there will be no illustration of this miracle of nature, an echo of the prehistoric period of the life of our planet.
Santander has conditions for recreation for every taste: for lovers of beach lying - fine clean sand, for surfers - the Atlantic waves, for gourmets - local seafood and good restaurants, for historians and adventurers like me - living evidence of the past, unsolved mysteries of our ancestors - cave paintings of the Paleolithic era.
