Day 9 Santander to Comillas Friday, June 13 Boysie’s Bday

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Smooth Sailing

More to come. 

Santander to Comillas June 13

We got an early start today, mostly because the hostel didn’t have anything for the pilgrims in the morning and they kicked us out by 8 am. We got out of Santander, which is a large industrial city with a lot of traffic, without too much trouble.  We only got turned around a few times and, other than the fact that Cathy almost got killed by a mad Spaniard in a roundabout (he must have learned to drive in Tucson) who promptly stopped in the middle of the road to threaten me and demand apologies from both of us when we had done nothing, it was just a typical day riding through a city in the north of Spain. Other than the cathedral I did not find Santander particularly charming. We made it to a Decathlon sporting goods store ( Spain’s version of REI) and resupplied with a tube and pump. I don’t want to carry my bike again.  We finally got on the road by 10:30 am and rode through rolling hills ( many of which were quite steep) and farmlands overlooking the Bay of Biscay most of the way. We stopped to see many churches along the way but they were all closed. It was a five hour ride and we were pretty tired by the end. We did not want to stay in a hostel in Comillas. My brain needed sleep and Cathy’s body needed rest.  A quick note on hostels, albuerges, pensions and hotels. Hostels are basically barracks with bunk beds and communal everything. This includes odors, snoring and other less decent sounds, showers, poopers, dressing rooms, laundry, and eating (when offered). There is no privacy at all. This is Russian roulette with sleeping. Sometimes you get lucky,like we did in Bilbao, and have a room with 12 beds but only four people. Sometimes you get the full monty. Literally. Albuerges are like hostels but seem to cater more to pelegrinos.  There are many types of room arrangements ranging from a single room with two beds to a barracks setting. Many of the albuerges are run by convents. These are my favorites. They are usually in, or beside the church, and pelegrinos get a blessing after 7 pm  mass. They send you out the door by 8 am, having given you a cup of cafe and some sort of bread. 8:30 mass is offered but few partake.  Pensions are like very low budget hotels. Small rooms with nothing more than a bed and a bathroom. There is something to be said about a private bathroom no matter how small. Hotels range from 1 to three stars. 1 being like the No Tell Motel and 3 more like a Hampton Inn. We have stayed in all of these accommodations.  I do not sleep well (or not at all) in the communal settings, so we try to find a pension or hotel about every third night. Riding a bike through the streets of Spain under the influence of sleep deprivation can be harmful to one’s health.  Tonight we are blessed with the comfort of a two star hotel. A good night’s sleep before a long hard day tomorrow.