Santillana del Mar

The sun woke us up, pardon me, as it rose over Bilbao. I decided to go for a short MTB ride. First, through the city, occasionally going up stairs, as tunnels or one-way streets made it impossible to pass through, but eventually I made it out of the city.

Generally, the area is very hilly, almost mountainous. The path became narrower, eventually just a dirt trail that went straight up the mountain. Luckily, I was back on a road later on, but I still needed to use the first (!) gear of my MTB occasionally. Once I reached the top, the descent came and I was very glad I wasn't going the other way, it was so steep...

Arriving at the square, it was time to pack our bags, our 48 hours were gradually running out. Leaving the square and making plans for where to go next. Once again, I flipped through the book of legendary road trips in Europe that my dear team gave me as a gift, and realized that we had just entered one of the tours described in the book. Santillana del Mar was the next recommendation, allegedly Spain's most beautiful village - off we went.

Shortly before arrival, it started to rain, we parked in a municipal parking lot and waited it out. The rain was quite persistent, but eventually it subsided and we started our exploration. It really is a picture-perfect village, although it feels like you're moving around in a museum. Nevertheless, it was worth a visit!

In the evening, we continued with rain and simply enjoyed some peace and quiet.