The news we were expecting and waiting for has arrived: our return ferry from Santander has been delayed. This is because the outbound boat from the UK was unable to sail in the weather conditions, thanks to storms Joseph/Chandra/Kristin [delete as appropriate – I’ve lost track]
However, the news is not all bad. Our amended departure is at 01:00 on 1st February so we should only be about 10 hours late. Our amended arrival time is 06:00 on 2nd February which, to be honest, is better than the original at about 20:30 on 1st February, getting us home at about midnight. Check-in at Santander still opens at the original 13:00 but goes on until around 22:00. So, we can get there pretty much any time in the afternoon.
All of which meant that we can spend another night in the campsite at Zaragoza, with power, instead of staying in a supermarket car park at Miranda de Ebro on gas. Excellent. So, second time around with neither the bus nor the city being so scary, we opted for a second bus outing into Zaragoza to check out the market which would, we hoped, this time be open.
Today’s bus was an old diesel unit. Yesterday’s bus had been electric and was much smoother. It got us there but the ride wasn’t as enjoyable.
The market was, indeed, open and was in full swing. It’s a long covered building with a couple of cafes in the centre. We treated ourselves to a coffee.
One of the long “arms” of the market hall was stocked mainly with butchers stalls offering a mouth-watering array of meats and offal. I even saw lungs for sale; not something that we do, although they are an ingredient of Haggis. The quality looked superb.
The opposing arm was where all the fish counters were and, once again, the variety of species on offer and the freshness of them beats the hell out of anything we can manage. Most of the stalls were doing a brisk business with the discerning Spanish queued up eager to buy.
Being unable to make use of any of the produce, we left the market to return to the main square which, yesterday, had been a slightly distressing press of humanity. Today was the complete opposite: things were remarkably quiet and civilized with no long, winding queues to get in anywhere. We went into the basilica but photography is not allowed, sadly. Now we could see signs unobscured by humanity, it transpired that yesterday’s crush had been occasioned by the Fiesta of San Vallero, the patron saint of Zaragoza. No wonder everyone had been on the streets. Maybe this was also why all the supermarkets were closed.
At one end of the square is what I can only describe as “the leaning tower of Zaragoza”. I know it has a more famous cousin in Italy but I really wasn’t expecting to see one here. OK, it’s smaller than Pisa but quite a surprise to see. It actually looks as if the foundations are subsiding on one side.
We retraced some of yesterday’s steps back up to the “El Tubo” district in search of a tapas lunch. We found a bar with considerably more atmosphere than our choice yesterday, This was Casa Colás with all manner of tasty items displayed in two-tier cabinets along the bar. We chose stuffed alcachofas [artichokes], stuffed red pepper and stuffed berenjena [aubergine]. The last two were quite similar with a meat and white sauce filling – both quite rich. A different, plainer third choice would have been better. €27.00 for that and four drinks. Not bad.
Time for the return bus, which was another diesel affair. Buses, taxis and delivery vans really are perfect fodder for battery operation.
Tomorrow we have something like a 5-hour drive up to Santander.
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