Arrival in Santander

New month, new city. A bus towards the coast took me from Castille and León to Santander, capital of the community of Cantabria.

Santander has an excellent bay and port extending roughly east-west and is rather elongated. Thus it was that my lodging was a short walk away from both bus and rail stations, but a long walk from the centre of the city. So in the evening I set out.

The previous picture is of the Centro Botin Modern Art Museum, designed by Renzo Piano. I didn't visit it.

Looking across the bay.

The Paseo Maritimo goes under the elevated Centro and reveals a row of portside buildings.

One of which is the Bank of Santander, which was established here. The Santander Group is well-known worldwide and is the 4th largest European bank by assets.

The Palacete del Embarcadero (page in Spanish) which was an embarcation station is now a showroom. I last took a picture of it in 1993.

Next building along is the Real Club Maritimo (Royal Maritime Club).

Which looks out on a marina.

A wider view.

At this point I turned inland and waked northwards, encountering this Fountain of the Dolphins on Av. de Los Castros.

I saw many fine homes in this part of Santander. It seems that Santander has a moderate climate, with few extremes of cold or heat. But not as much sunshine as other areas of Spain. No doubt there are many retirees in Santander. 

About 15 minutes walking later found me on Sardinero Beach. This is looking east. It's about 1300 metres long and 79 metres deep and is one of the finest beaches on the north of Spain. There are many luxury hotels facing the beach.

A wide view of the beach.

The esplanade, deserted in the evening hour.

A few walkers on the beach.

I liked the patchy light on the beach and rocks. 

Some of the walkers resolve as frisbee players. 

The Gran Hotel Sardinero.

The Gran Casino, set back a bit from the beach. 

I had to turn the corner to return to the port promenade.

A wider view.

About a half hour's walking I was back where I had taken the inland diversion. This is the Palacio de Festivales de Cantabria (page in Spanish). It is, as the name indicates, a venue for events.

The eastern extent of the port area and the mountains on southern side of the bay.

I found a recommended ramen restaurant.

It was garishly decorated.

Which was in keeping with the manga theme.

The food was quite tasty and a welcome change from western meals.

On the way back I happened upon the Mercado del Este (page in Spanish). It's a mixed market as well as a hub for social dining and drinking.

It gave me a good impression of the quality of social life in Santander. 

That was one of the longest walking sessions I had during the trip.