Camino del Norte Day 15: Santander to Santillana del Mar
May 4, 2025
14.6 miles | 23.5 km
Taking the Train
As recommended 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 Santander 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 sudden sting of it. As soon as I was across the bridge, I sat down near a grove of pine trees and pulled off my boot. Another pilgrim came by and said something sympathetically in Spanish, but there wasn’t much he could do. After giving my foot some fresh air, I used the last of my bandages to patch up the blistered area. I had read that it’s generally better to let blisters on your feet drain naturally… but now I had second thoughts.
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
