7. Stage Camino del Norte from Somo to Boo de Piélagos

Today I set off without a specific destination. I had the choice of spending a rest day in Santander or continuing on. First, I had to walk to the ferry terminal in Somo to take the ferry to Santander. The small harbor was relatively close to my hotel, and since I had enough time before departure, I strolled down to the ferry. There was a notice in my accommodation stating that the ferry was supposed to depart at 9:25 AM. Unfortunately, a new schedule starts today. This means that the first ferry to Santander leaves at 10:00 AM. No matter, Daniela and I managed to talk on the phone for a long time. That did me good again. It’s always nice to hear that she and Littlefoot are doing well.

I sat on the harbor wall waiting for the ferry. It arrived with a five-minute delay, and about 25 people had gathered who wanted to board. The crossing took about 20 minutes. I had thought it would go really fast, but that wasn’t the case ;-).

In Santander, I first sat down on a bench and wondered what I should do next. Since it was still quite cloudy, I ultimately decided on a hike. Still, I looked at a few alleys and sights in Santander.

Then I kept an eye out for the Camino, and the Camino signs were really not easy to find. But once you know they are mostly on the ground, it wasn't a problem. So, the way out of the larger city was rather so-so. It only became really beautiful once I had finally left Santander.

In a small town, I took a break at a great restaurant. I ordered a non-alcoholic beer and a water. The waiter brought me a bowl of olives and chips with that. To be honest, I’m not a big fan of either, but the green olives were so delicious that I would have happily swapped the chips for them. Grin.

After the little break, I continued through the countryside. I told Daniela that it's like the Spanish Allgäu for me :-). Fortunately, there were finally enough places here to drink or eat something.

Right at lunchtime, the sky was a brilliant blue, and the sun was shining bright. Mmh, it got a bit too hot for me, so I checked on my phone where I could find a hotel nearby. The one I liked was still 3.4 kilometers away. No problem, I can manage that, but it was exhausting.

In the end, it went up nicely one more time, and to my delight, I first ran past my accommodation and took an extra lap around the block. I got an apartment in the hotel. So, it’s really too big for one person, and I feel like I’m all alone in this building. Earlier, I was at the pool, and there wasn't a soul there. To be honest, I find it a bit strange, but also somehow nice to have so much peace. From the pool lounge, I have a great view of mountains and meadows with cows. As I said, it’s my Spanish Allgäu.

Today’s stage was rather so-so, the scenery wasn’t that great, and it got too hot for me. In total, it was 21.3 kilometers.