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Leaving Gijon at 11 am. A very nice ride by bus to Santander in Cantabria. A part of the trip runs along some nice small villages along the mountains "Picos De Europa", so there are lots af things to look at.

Into Hotel Central - very cozy - unfortunately I seem to like the places that are a little expensive.

Time for a walk in the city. The usual promenade at the harbour, and a nice boat-ride on the bay. Santander is more tourist-minded tha Gijon. You even hear other languages than spanish.

Dinner at the hotel - at 9.30 pm - I start to learn the local customs about dinner-time. At the telly there is a game I have never seen before. The field is made of sand and is the size of a small tennis-field. 9 pins are placed in the middle, and some men stand in each corner trying to hit the pins with big balls made of wood. A strange mixture between billiards and bowling.

Tuesday august 27'th

Strangest places I eat my breakfast. Here at the hotel there is a head of an elk hanging above my table.

It's raining cats and dogs outside, but clearing up later in the morning. Still look a little threatening - but what the hell - there's always a cafe within reach in this town - so let's get out.

It turns out to be a long walk. First to Peninsula De La Magdalena. Lots of tourists - and one of those strange trains to take the tourists sightseeing. Well I take the walk anyway.

The along the beach of "El Sardinero" - with a short rainy-stop at a cafe. Finally I reach the area called Cabo Menor outside the city. It is getting windy, so it's pretty tough out here. Not a lot of tourist, so you say hi to whoever you meet.

It's 4 pm and it's raining heavy again. Late lunch at a cafe - really raining now. Nothing else to do than take the bus back to the hotel.

The rest of the afternoon and the evening is spend inside in the company of US-open on Eurosport and Umberto Ecos book "Baudolino" - and it's still raining.

Then of to Valle de Pas. It is supposed to be very beautifull around here, but you can't see nothing because of the rain. And the area is famous for it's cheasecakes (I guess every area has something to be famous for). We also visit an etnographic museum, where a very old guy tells us about the life back in the old days in this area. Sounds very interesting - but it is in spanish - so I don't understand a word.

On to the hightlight of the day. The Cabarceno animalpark. And the rain has stopped....

Cabarceno is placed in a closed mine-area, and is very very beautiful. Lot's of animals, including monkeys from Gibraltar, with a very relaxed attitude towards the fences. The run around among the audience begging for food. Luckily the lions, tigers, elephants and bears doesn't do that.

Back in Santander at 8 pm

Thursday august 29'th

This leaves another day for Santandar, so I check out of my hotel and take a bus to Santillana Del Mar. Takes less than an hour. Santillana Del Mar is a very cozy old town with lots of lovely souvenir-shops. And as a specialty they have a torture-museum as well - and a museum with old machines build for throwing big stones at other people. I see them both, and for some reason they remind me of old Monty Python and Mel Brooks movies.

Here is also a nice little zoo. Mostly waterbirds and small monkeys.

In the evening its back to Santander - a short walk around town - and at 11 pm it's the train to Madrid.