Santander

Mileage: unchanged

It was once again time for a city tour.

With the ferry connection 'Los Reginas,' we traveled from Pedreña to Santander in just a few minutes. We were impressed that the boat docked without ropes at the harbor wall, as the captain simply pressed the bow, padded with car tires, against the wall while the sailor assisted with boarding and disembarking and checked the tickets.

In the city, we were greeted right away at the harbor promenade by the photo exhibition 'MOMENTOS' celebrating the 50th anniversary of the newspaper 'El País.' This publication was the highest-circulation daily newspaper in Spain.

We easily reached our destination, the Magdalena Peninsula, by walking along the shore. This took us through Puertochico, a former fishing and dockworker neighborhood, which had been transformed in the early 20th century into a trendy residential area with a marina.

We continued along the beaches of Playa de la Fenómeno and Playa de los peligros until we arrived at the large entrance gate of the 'Península de la Magdalena,' the Magdalena Peninsula.

Right at the start, we encountered a mini zoo featuring seals and penguins. Then we walked further across the expansive grounds to the 'Palacio de la Magdalena.' The entire estate was built in the early 20th century for the royal family as a summer residence and served this purpose for many years until it was sold to the city in 1977.

Passing by the 'Faro de Cerda,' we reached the 'Cafeteria de Caballerizas,' the cafeteria in the former horse stables, where we took a coffee break. The cafeteria and the adjacent assembly hall were the central buildings for the annual U.I.M.P - summer academy (Universidad Internacional Menéndez Pelayo).

After strengthening ourselves with tortilla and coffee, we made our way back. On the way, we passed the 'Playa de Bikini.' This beach section only received its name in the 1960s when the summer academy students made headlines here with their new swimwear after classes.

We continued along the 'Playa de la Magdalena,' past the 'Palacio de festivales de Cantabria' and the 'Dique de Gamazo,' an old dry dock. Then we passed by the 'Real Federación Cántabra de Vela,' the local Olympic sailing school, to the UC, the 'Universidad de Cantabria,' with its dome structure, the planetarium.

When we boarded the ferry again to return to Pedreña, we emptied the last drops from our water bottle; it seemed we had both not drunk enough today, which we would have to make up for with plenty of water and tea, of course, at Gary's.