A mere hour or so away from Santander was our third área de autocaravanas and it was the most densely packed yet. This is not a place that you come for the pleasure of camping. We were actually luckier than most in having pitches on the highest terrace looking across the lower terrace to the reportedly picturesque [read tourist trap] village beyond. some of our pitches were around a slight curve so had a little more space.
Santillana del Mar is a medieval village and one of the honey pot destinations of Spain with its reputation of being the most attractive village in the country. Having got installed, Francine and I wandered down the short distance, less than a kilometre, to the village itself to see if we could find some interesting seafood for lunch. Our leader, Andy, makes a big thing of strongly disliking what her refers to as “sea monsters” but we can’t get enough.
We succeeded. One restaurant with an open-air terrace at the rear, away from the bustling street, offered some interesting menu options. We plumped for zamboriñas [scallops] and pulpo a la plancha [griilled octopus] which, as seems usual for octopus, came on some potato, in this case mashed. ‘T was very good especially, as nobody was driving, when washed down with a bottle of white wine. We think we saw an Egyptian Vulture cruising about overhead, not that I was equipped for it.
We walked off lunch looking at more medieval streets, eventually sitting down at the Parador in the Plaza Mayor, the main square, for a beer, accompanied by some of our travelling companions.
A classical tourist trap shop in the square was selling gaudy pink boxes, decorated with gender symbols, of Orgasmos. I had no idea what they might be but how could I resist? I thought they might be useful at a group BBQ that we expecting a little later in the trip.
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