Walking Day 11 Santander to Santillana Del Mar

Walked 23.1 km.  5hrs 15 mins   316m elevation gained.  Max elevation 121m

Today we left the Alberque and headed straight for the nearest cafe.  

Started walking at 7:45 up hill out of the city through a beautiful park like setting

covered with Magnolia trees, but that soon turned to ashault roads and highways.  Like any big towns, building supply stores, factories and car washes and train tracks.

 

This stage was to have been 40 km , so you had to take the train one stop to cut out 7 km to get across a river.  So we and four other pilgrims just stayed on the train for a few more stops to shorten our day.  Cutting out almost 17 km. and

meeting  up with the Camino again. 

There were some pretty country views of miles and miles of farmland but we viewed them from the highway not nice walking paths.

The treat of the day was this Town of Santillana, said to be the most picturesque stopping point on the Camino del Norte.

We first got a late lunch arriving around 2:00 then found a great place to stay "Casa Octavio " for  30 € .  

The 12th-century Church was thankfully open.  You couldn't take pictures inside.