From Altamira we headed to Santillana del Mar. billed as one of Cantabria's "must sees", which in its traditional nature, lack of cars and preponderance of souvenir shops reminded me of a family visit to Gruyeres earlier in the summer.
A highlight for me was seeing irridescent clouds for the first time! High altitude clouds of ice crystals.
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| The main sight is the Romanesque Collegiate Church |
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| Where we spotted collegiate graffiti |
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| And a beautiful cattle grid to keep beasts out of the churchyard! |
Onto Virgen del Mar campsite which is getting pricey these days, but a lovely coastal setting, albeit by the cemetery. I got my fix of a paddle which I have to have when I'm at the seaside!
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| Limestone cliffs |
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| The bridge over to the island |
Next morning, with time to kill before the ferry left at lunch time, we went exploring along the north coast and found the little holiday/ex fishing village of S Pedro del Mar (everything is "on sea" here!)
As well as an interpretation centre in an old battery dating from the Napoleonic Wars, this has plenty of limestone!
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| The battery on a low cliff that gives a good view of the limestone bedding plane |
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Displays inside the Interpretation Centre. Not much geology but we were told
there is an information board further along the coast. Still worth looking at
though if you have an hour or two to kill in Santander |
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Intrigued by this exposure where there seems to be a shallow channel eroded
into the beds in the lower part of the cliff. Beds wedging out to the left. |
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| Checked for fossils - found this bivalve fragment in the Interpretation centre wall |
We queued up for ages on the dock for the ferry which was late arriving because of rough weather, and consequently late leaving. We hoped they would make up time but rough seas meant they couldn't so we were late into Portsmouth too, the next afternoon but were welcomed by a lovely rainbow over Southsea.
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| Waiting for the ferry |
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| Southsea Common with rainbow. Somewhere I knew well 40 years ago! |
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| Some bits of Portsmouth recognisable, but some additions! |
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This bit - the south side of Whale Island opposite the ferry terminal - looks pretty
much as it did in the 1970s, with rows of Bosun dinghies hauled out. No Royal
Yacht now though. |
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