Wednesday 22nd July began with a morning’s walk alongside the Ria de Suances on a purpose-made pedestrian/cyclable path.The walk began at the beach.Walking along the Paseo towards the river Saja estuary.Looking inland.Looking towards the sea. The Saja river – The Saja River is an important watercourse of the Cantabrian slope, located entirely in the autonomous community of Cantabria. It originates in the Ports of Sejos at an altitude of 1,700 metres and travels 67 km before flowing into the Cantabrian Sea, forming the San Martín de la Arena estuary, between Suances and Miengo. The Suances Estuary , also known as the San Martín de la Arena Estuary, is a natural estuary formed by the mouth of the Saja River in CantabriaLocated between the municipalities of Suances, Miengo and Polanco, it is famous for its sandy beaches, its great scenic value and its fishing and tourist tradition.
Key points of the Suances Estuary History and Location: Many historians place the ancient Roman port Portus Blendium here , a strategic point on the Cantabrian coast.
Natural environment: The estuary covers almost 389 hectares and boasts a rich ecosystem. Its natural mouth is protected by Punta del Torco and Punta del Dichoso (where the lighthouse and Suances Castle are located).
Beaches: In the immediate vicinity of the estuary there are important sandy areas, notably La Riberuca beach (ideal for fishing and rowing sports in the most sheltered area), as well as the iconic La Concha beachFishing boatsThe sculptures were to be indicative of a well decorated walkway.The lines of rocks are to indicate boatways of sufficient depth.The only “ moving” boat that morning.The Ribera beach and park were lined with informative and artistically enlarged photographs These are just a few of the posters on the route – locals and mainly females of “ distinction”.CIVIC AND LOCAL PRIDE – A UNIQUE PLACE“ nuestras mujeres cuentan” translates as OUR WOMEN TELLIt translates as WORKING FOR EQUALITY The path through the park And then back alongside the Ria for more great viewsOne of the very few dwellings after the park is left behind but there are benches and picnic areas mainly on decking along the way.A lizard spotted during our water break.Mountains in the distanceIt was at this point that we decided to make our way back to Suances. It had been a great walk and quite different to any we had made before. Pristine and flat, uncrowded and well made. This “ greenway” continues for a further 15 KM from this point – Oh for the time and possibly the energy!Heading back towards Suances. Time taken? About three hours.Thursday 23rd and a drive to Comillas . A meandering, two lane local road with splendid views at times. Two extraordinary sites on the way – one a church and the other an abbey.
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Overview – as ever, Comillas is on the Camino del Norte.
Comillas is a town in Cantabria, northern Spain. Its Modernista architecture includes 19th-century El Capricho, a Gaudí-designed chalet. Nearby, elaborate, Neo-Gothic Sobrellano Palace has Gaudí furniture. In the old town center, Plaza Corro Campios is full of restaurants and bars. Comillas Beach is popular for its fine sand and water sports. To the west, Oyambre Natural Park has dunes, marshland and varied birdlife.
First view of the town.This is a statue of one of the local Counts overlooking the sea. He probably thought he owned it like much else hereabouts.Church in the hills.Balconies Impressive villas reflecting prosperous times.Parish church. As it was quite early by Spanish holiday time, the “ Centro Historico” was quiet and it is an interesting place.The Turismo Wonderfully situated Villa View from our coffee stop.Quintessential Holiday snap of Barbara.The GAUDI place
“Comillas cento historic is captivating and it has a fine beach. Much to enjoy.
Suances Parish Church – bells on the hour – 12.30 Mass for the faithfulSunday morning and the town prepares to show the finalA long walk downhill to La Concha beach A MSunday evening 21.00 KICK OFF TIME IN SPAIN Local fans gathering in the squareEvening gathers but the fans are optimistic The result 1 – 0 to Spain and well deserved. A lot has been written since then about Argentina’s antics both during and after the match. An interesting statistic I came across :- In the entire competition, England received yellow card every 7 bookings. Argentina a booking every 22 cards! Still,Spain’s victory was a great result for football.Monday began with quick drive down to Suance’s car park close by the beach. A walk along the beach brought us to the River Saja ,looking North.Looking south and the estuary.
La Concha beachSuperb view of the river from the high town.Local floraHannah’s Fathers’ Day T- Shirt – the leaves are samples from all the different trees you can spot in Cannon Hill Park. The cider is from the nearby region of Asturia.Dinner at Ramiro’s – great Anguillas – good food and at locals’ prices.Tuesday morning and a local bus ride to the capital of Cantabria.Port side and it was hot enough for a swim.
Steps to the lower churchOriginal Roman earthworks The cloisterThe High AltarA striking sculpture Welcome shade then on to the marketMercado de la EsperanzaSpoilt for choiceOn the staircase 100 years’ history Jardines de Perarda – a sculpture to commemorate and mourn the great fire of 1941An example of local architecture Glass balconies are often found along Coastal citiesMuseum of Modern Arts unfortunately closed for a refurb.Constraints of the bus timetable meant that it was time to make for the estacion de autobuses for the 13.10 bus back to Suances; this blog is only a snapshot really. It is a busy place and I was glad to be relaxing on the bus rather than driving!Through the coach windows a glimpse of the sea and Portside.
The Galicia docked on time in the port of Bilbao at 07.00 boat time;08.00 Spanish time. The crew call passengers to their vehicles,deck by deck,to avoid crowding the staircases. So we had time for a cup of tea before making our way to Deck 6 and a fifteen minute wait in the car.
The Port of Bilbao is located on the Bilbao Abra bay, and along the Estuary of Bilbao, in Biscay (Basque Country). The main facilities are in the Santurtzi and Zierbenamunicipalities, approximately 15 km (9.3 mi) west of Bilbao. Also called Exterior Port and Superpuerto, the port complex occupies 3.13 km2 (773 acres) of land and 16.94 km2 (4,186 acres) of water along 17 km (10.6 mi) of waterfront.
It is actually nine miles from the city as the original port was removed in the late 20th century,planned in 1975, as part of Bilbao’s “ makeover” followed by the Guggenheim museum etc which makes the city a far more pleasant destination today .
“ Dirty Old Town “ – the Pogues.
Our concerns about delays on exiting the port, fingerprints,etc, proved to be unfounded as we simply had to exit the car,enter a border control cabin where our passports were scrutinised and our photos taken. We were waved off with a cheery adios.
We were soon driving along the Autovia and on the lookout for a breakfast stop.It was a well engineered highway,impressive viaducts and bridges and a few miles on great scenery.THE VILAGE OF ISLARES
We have become accustomed to refreshment stops on Spanish motorways. There are rarely purpose built facilities that we are used to in the UK.Usually villages and towns served by the autovias are signposted with the addition of a “ services” sign below,plus distances. The reasoning is twofold, it can be difficult to find appropriate areas to build alongside the autovias and this is beneficial to these places, utilising existing facilities.I had never heard of this hamlet but who should I meet at the cafe door?Never far away from a Camino in Spain!The best and most imaginative Tortilla I have ever enjoyed- more brunch than breakfast.The local road on which we parked.
“ Country Roads” – John Denver
A Saturday market was being assembled opposite – the queso looked very tempting.A house opposite the cafe.A distinguished house complete with shields.
We continued the journey,bypassing industrial Torrelavega and with the help of the satnav found our accommodation in Suances. As we were to discover, Suances is a town of two distinct parts. The upper town where we were based and the lower town which is the seaside “ resort area”. The major difference is that the separation is more marked by the steep hills descending to the coast.
This is a view from on high. Before descending there was the business of shopping to complete and there were no shortages of supermarkets about a ten minute walk away.
An enormous stage overlooking the main square and our thoughts were that the World Cup Final might be being shown here.By way of a contrast….The nearby parish church Real flowers!
We decided to walk down to Playa Concha, the main beach,to get our bearings and we soon realised that Clio ack up in 26* would not be fun.
Marvellous beach and we liked the atmosphere.And I liked the Tinto Verano as we awaited our taxi back up the hill!
Waking up to the news that England had beaten France 6 – 4 in the Bronze final was good if surprising news. Quiet day by the pool,home cooking and maybe an evening stroll to the square for the final.
The embarkation process was quite swift and we were soon aboard The GALICIA. It was surprisingly quiet on board,considering the imminence of the school holidays. We enjoyed our Al fresco Dinner with great views along the widening harbour as we departed .
The main bar, is typical of these ships, is given over to “ entertainment “ – I popped by for a while and enjoyed the quizzes chaired by a very enthusiastic young lady – none of your paper and pencil pub quiz , but all facilitated electronically .Answers to the multi choice questions eg “ collective nouns – choose the noun for a collection of owls,”were sent directly to the “ leaderboard “ on the stage – very impressive,with scores being displayed through the rounds.
“Hey Lord Don’t Ask Me No Questions” by Graham Parker
Horreos-iconic grain stores
Unsurprisingly, the theme aboard the Galicia was The Camino – I felt quite at home – even the glass panels on the staircase reflected thematic images and Camino routes.
The “ Reserved Seating Lounge” was called El Albergue…now that was an irony, my uncomfortable memories of using albergues was quite at odds with the plushness hereabouts.
Spinnaker Tower: Located at Gunwharf Quays, this 170-meter landmark features a high-speed glass elevator and a glass “sky walk” offering views spanning up to 23 miles.
I don’t know Portsmouth or even the area around it first hand – Lord Nelson and The Royal Navy mainly – but it has an interesting history beyond those two facets and an ecological value,too. A quick glance at Wikipedia for the facts….
The harbour is best known as the home of the Royal Navy, HMNB Portsmouth. Because of its strategic location on the south coast of England, protected by the natural defence of the Isle of Wight, it has since the Middle Ages been the home to England’s (and later Britain’s) navy. The narrow entrance, and the forts surrounding it gave it a considerable advantage of being virtually impregnable to attack from the sea. Before the fortifications were built the French burned Portsmouth in 1338.[5] During the civil war parliamentary forces were able to carry out a successful cutting-out expedition within the harbour and capture the six-gunned Henrietta Marie.[6]
In modern times, the harbour has become a major commercial ferry port, with regular services to Bilbao, Santander, Caen, Cherbourg, St Malo, Le Havre, The Channel Islands and the Isle of Wight. There is also a passenger ferry to Gosport. The international ferry port also saw a cruise terminal expansion in 2012 and sees regular cruise ship operations. It is also a major area for leisure sailing. In 2001 the Gunwharf Quays development, was opened on the site of HMS Vernon (a former naval shore establishment.
Friday on the boat passed restfully – reading a novel given to me by Hannah – and a gripping read it was.
This novel is set around 1936 – USA ninety years on…is it in a worse or better place?
In a comfortable seat by the panoramic windows that looked out on to what eventually became the Bay of Biscay. The view was mainly of a dappled, light blue sea,rippling calmly…quite soporific.
The Bay of Biscay was the calmest I have experienced ; lying in your bunk at night you would not think you were on the ocean.
“ The Sea” by Sandy Denny
Disembarkation was quicker than anticipated and we were not asked for fingerprints, just out of the car for a photograph by the frontier police and a cheery “adios”.
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