Today started out a little questionable, weatherwise. It was grey and threatening rain when we left, headed toward Santander. This week has been like this so far, and it's hard to plan what to wear for the whole day. Again, I was unaware of Jorge's plans for the day, though he did say we would be seeing the beautiful, but oddly named, Santillana Del Mar. Its name, Del Mar, would indicate that it was on the coast, but it is actually inland. But more about that later.
When we were approaching Santillana, the signposts said "Santillana" and "Museo de Altamira" at every roundabout, and each time, that is the direction we took. I really didn't think too much about it until our final turn, where the signpost only said "Museo de Altamira". Were we really going to Altamira?? It turned out that, yes, indeed, we were! And as a bonus, Sunday was a free day (though it would only have been 3 euros, anyway) Altamira is the location of one of the largest collections of prehistoric cave paintings in the world. The actual cave is no longer open to the public because the sheer number of tourists visiting was threatening its existence. In the early 2000s, they built an exact replica of the cave opening, where the paintings were found. There was a fascinating museum that we looked around while we waited for our turn to see the little introductory film. It was very well done, with English explanations at each display, and much of it was familiar from my anthropology classes. After the film, we headed down into the reproduction. There was a tour group just ahead of us who was speaking English, so I listened to them pointing out various features of the drawings. Even though it is a reproduction, it is really impressive. We had just enough time to see it and finish the museum before they closed at 3:00.
Then it was time to find a spot for lunch. It had turned sunny, but still a bit windy. We found a little roadside park with picnic tables (but apparently no lawnmowers), and spread out a little picnic. We had Asturian empanada, which is sort of like a thick-crusted pie with a filling consisting of finely chopped tuna, boiled egg, tomato, onion, and probably some olive oil. It was absolutely delicious! The dessert empanada was like apple pie with a layer of rice pudding under the apples. OK, I had two pieces, but the first one was small. Then we headed back to see Santillana Del Mar.
We saw a sign for some cliffs and decided to follow it to see where it lead. Big mistake. After winding around toward the coast, the road came to an end at a cliff, all right, but it was a guy's farm. And I mean it actually came to an end. Jorge had to inch the car back and forth to turn around. It was so scary that I closed my eyes while he maneuvered it. I was actually willing to get out and wait for him to get it turned but I thought that might be rude, so I just closed my eyes. He saw me and laughed, but he did tell me that I wasn't the only one who was scared. Back to Santillana.
Santillana is a town from the Middle Ages. As Chad said, when he saw a picture, it looks like a movie set. It is a very touristy place and has lots of shops, all housed in the original buildings. The buildings are stone, or half-timbered. Inside each, the floors and doorways are uneven and small. The streets are cobbled, and even without knee problems, I still had to watch where I was walking in order not to trip. We took a lot of pictures, and I found a couple of things to buy. At one shop, they gave us a sample of a local cake that tasted like a pound cake. I can see why this town gets mentioned a lot in guidebooks, but I really wouldn't want to be here in the peak of tourist season. It must be wall-to-wall people. There are several beautiful hotels and a parador, but you would have to haul your bags over several blocks of those heavy cobbles to get there because it's pedestrian only.
Then we were ready to head back toward Asturias. On our way, we suddenly turned down a small road to a parking lot in the middle of a field. I had no idea what we were going to see, and Jorge wasn't telling. We walked a good distance back, toward the sea, and finally came to the surprise - a beach called Playa de Gulpiyuri. It looks like a little pond surrounded by huge stones, but it is really connected to the sea by an underwater cave. This also gives the water waves and tides, just as if it you were actually on the coast. It was a steep walk down to the little beach, so I chose instead to take the also-steep walk up to the cliff edge. At the top, the view was incredible. The rock there is limestone, and it has worn away, over ages of pounding by the waves, to look like huge, jagged crystals sticking up out of the sand. When Jorge and I came back down, we watched some dogs playing in the water, then hit the road again.
Just a short drive on was another natural wonder, the Bufons of Pria. This a place where the waves have worn holes in the rock in such a way that, when the waves are high, the water can come shooting up out of these huge holes in the ground. You can walk around the area and see the holes, some big, some small, and hear the wind groaning up through them, and the water rushing in and out from down below. It was surprising, and a little creepy, to be walking along and suddenly hear it. It almost seemed like a volcano that might erupt at any moment, right next to you. But the sea was relatively quiet, so we didn't see it happen.
On the road again, we decided, while it was still light, to stop for a bottle of sidra. The place we stopped turned out to be something like the local biker bar, with lots of Route 66 signs all around. We sat outside in the fading light. Paula has turned out to be a good, though reluctant, translator. She clearly understands much of what is said in English but isn't excited about showing it off. She also has the tiniest bit of 12-year-old annoyance when asked to do so. She is also unhappy about having to go to school tomorrow instead of with us. Next week she will be going with her class to Valladolid for three days, the first time she will have been away from home for so long.
Tonight I hope to Skype with everyone for Mother's Day, at 12:45 my time. I hope it works - you never know if the technology will cooperate. But it's a long, long way from having to go down to the post office to make an international call home in the middle of the day (in hopes of catching someone home before work in the States). Kids on study abroad today have NO idea.....
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