Unlike many others, I had no significant knee, hip or foot pains in the first week. And from the second week on, I had none at all. My body had soon gotten used to walking with the backpack.
Of Cantabria I mainly remember good food, the nice coastline (the part from Castro Urdiales to Islares is fantastic) and beautiful beaches. And mainly it’s easy walking, except for the rocks between Berria and Noja. When I was there it was raining, so the rocks were slippery.
And I remember the children in San Martin de Ciguenza that were selling food and drinks to pilgrims in their parents’ garage:
As I had had a resting day in Bilbao, I had ‘lost’ my fellow pilgrims from the first week, and met a bunch of new ones from all over the world: Italy, France, Poland, Czechia, Australia, USA….and Spain of course.
One thing I did not like about the camino in Cantabria: many times you walk on asphalt for a long time. What I did like: the “pilgrims’ menu” that many restaurants were serving. Good food for 9-12 euros. And always served with wine. Many days I had two of these menus, one for lunch and one for dinner.
Stages:
- July 16: Castro Urdiales – Liendo 31 km
- July 17: Liendo – Noja 19 km
- July 18: Noja – Santander 30 km
- July 19: Santander – Mogro 25 km
- July 20: Mogro – Santillana del Mar 22 km
- July 21: Santillana del Mar – San Vincente de la Barquera 33 km
- July 22: San Vincente de la Barquera – Colombres 20 km
-> July 23 – July 28: First part of Asturias
<- July 6 – July 15: Basque Country