Camino del Norte Day 15: Santander to Santillana del Mar

May 4, 2025

14.6 miles | 23.5 km

Taking the Train

As advised by guidebooks and other pilgrims, I decided to take the train this morning to bypass some of the “urban nothing” on the outskirts of Santander. I bought a ticket at the train station and went to Boo de Piélagos (“Boo” for short), where I started my walk at 9:00 AM. The Camino was not well marked, and I took a wrong turn as soon as I started. Thankfully, I checked Gronze maps and caught my mistake before getting very far.

Crossing the Río Pas in Oruña, Cantabria, Spain

The Camino followed the curvature of the beautiful Río Pas for a time before crossing over it in the town Oruña. Most of the walk was on pavement, but the rolling Cantabrian landscape did not disappoint. Well-tended farmland and patchwork fields were my muses all the day long.

How the Camino looked most of the day

Daisies and knapweed studded the grass beside the road and made a path all of their own.

Roadside wildflowers: oxeye daisy (Leucanthemum vulgare) and common knapweed (Centaurea nigra)

I didn’t see many other pilgrims on the road today, except at the few cafeterias where I stopped for a cortado.

Walking on pavement

As I was crossing the bridge over A-67, I felt a blister on my left foot burst. My eyes smarted from the unexpected sting, and I hobbled, pathetically, to the other side of the bridge. As soon as I was across, I sat down in grove of pine trees and pulled off my boot. Another pilgrim walked by, took a sympathetic look at my foot, and said something in Spanish, but there wasn’t much he could do. I used the last of my bandages to patch up the blistered area and then kept going. I read it’s generally better to let blisters on your feet drain naturally… but now I had second thoughts. Ouch.

Cantabrian landscape

There were a lot of animals on the camino today: horses, cattle on a thousand hills, cats, birds, nice dogs, and sometimes sheep with bells around their necks.

Horses

Cows along Calle de Santa María

Camino cat

Well, don’t move on my account.

There was also an abundance of plants and flowers:

scarlet pimpernel (Lysimachia arvensis)

This hedge reminded me of a secret garden.

Passionflowers

About Santillana del Mar

Santillana del Mar is a well-reserved medieval town in Cantabria. Known as one of the most beautiful towns in Spain, its cobblestone streets and historic buildings attract crowds of visitors every year. Its name comes from Santa Juliana, meaning “Saint Juliana. The town is located near the Cave of Altamira, which is known as the “Sistine Chapel of the Palaeolithic” and contains some of the world’s best-preserved prehistoric art.

The cobblestone streets of Santillana del Mar, which is considered one of the most beautiful towns in Spain.

Lavender at Colegiata y Claustro de Santa Juliana