Day 3: Comillas and San Vincente de La Baquera

 Woken by the sun trying to shine . Not as cold as last night but still pretty chilly. Not a believer in chasing the sun but weather forecasts suggest it’s going to be drier up here on the coast than further inland so we are going to head to San Vincente de La Baquera up on the coast . Not too far and seems to have things going for it! 

First we have to try and get some printing done. Graham has his role of chief proofreader of uni essays to fill. We ask at the local tourist board who aren’t able to help and can’t offer suggestions, short of finding a printing shop in Torrelavega, but that isn’t an appealing idea! So we pack up and head off hoping we’ll get help if we find a campsite tonight. However, just out of town we stop at a supermarket to get Brad and cheese, and Graham decides he’ll try his luck with the reception desk of the mobile home park next door whilst I shop. Turns out that the guy there couldn’t have been more helpful, refusing payment and printing exactly as needed. Job




The road takes no time to reach the sea and very soon we see signs to Comillas which looks to be worth a stop. We wind down to a seafront carpark which is beside a huge sandy beach where we can see rain to the north but it’s not here yet. We head to the cafe nearby for a milky morning coffee. It’s almost empty but for one Spaniard starting his day with a beer. 

Watching the sea from a warm cafe with a good coffee is a great start to our day! Then we have a stroll on the sand which is lovely, firm and vast, with only a couple of dog walkers for company. 

My knee which has been playing up since we left home is decidedly poorly today so although it’s only a 20 min walk away we drive round the town to get to Gaudi’s ‘Caprice’ (€5 entry). 



This one of Gaudi’s first buildings and one of very few outside Catalonia it’s an absolute delight with nods to many of the elements he would continue to develop elsewhere. It has a design flowing around a glasshouse with rooms having uses which follow the light pattern of the day. 
 The sun rises in the bedroom window and sets in the dining room. Could definitely inhabit this one! The outside is ever so slightly bonkers (which I love!) but the bright, clean, flowing spaces inside would be perfect for modern life. 

From Comillas we get back on the road to San Vincente , stopping briefly before we get there to admire the incredible view. With estuary in the foreground and the snow capped mountains behind. It’s just sunshine short of perfection! 

San Vincente itself spread out around a vast inlet/harbour with the eastern side very much a surfers beach and the more developed west resembling an out of season Devon seaside town. The beach is big and empty except for a few surfers whose ‘vanlife’ vans line the road to get there. 



 After a quick walk we drive the ten mins all around the inlet to get to a restaurant carpark on the headland that will be tonight’s stop if there’s space. 

No issues finding a space on the headland even when we arrive at 6 ish and by 8pm when the restaurant closes it’s just us and one other van sitting looking at the sea. It’s a great spot but tomorrow definitely needs to be a campsite day as we have some ‘ van admin’ to do! 



Cumulative Mileage: 151.5

Overnight: Car park beside La Ostreria, San Vincente (P4N 39540), free

Spending: Four Coffees €6.90 , Capriese entry €10, Shopping €11.49 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 41 - Riberduero to Embalse de La Cuerda del Pozo

Image
 Waking to sunshine and cuckoos, definitely spring now. Really hard to leave with the sun shining so we take our time doing all the necessary tasks when you are taking advantage of staying at a campsite.  A little later than we should leave we hot the road but only for a couple of miles to the limestone castle in the adjacent village of Penafiel. On paper this is a walkable distance but being at the top of a high hill the drive is very welcome.  The castle is unlike any other we’ve seen. It sits along a narrow ridge and to do this had to be built long and narrow. It’s almost ship like with one tower in the centre like a giant funnel. It’s also unlike any other in that the only way to visit it is on a Spanish speaking guided tour and on a ticket that includes seeing the ‘wine museum’ that is housed within the castle walls (€6.60). We tack onto a tour but are unable to keep up with the Spanish, so wander at the tail end of the group enjoying the sunshine and trying to work ...
Read more

Ready to go!

Image
Seems a long time since we were heading back from Scotland and talking about avoiding some of the British winter and taking the van to Spain, but nine months later we are about to hit the road.  The last couple of weeks have been filled with packing and re-packing to make the most compact version of everything. With a vague idea that we might keep going for six weeks and temperatures that could easily stretch from single figures to 30+ deciding what is needed is a challenge! Ten years on I’m still managing to find tiny mods that add space (like the magnetic knife rack holding little metal boxes) …and adding more fairy lights. The long ferry journey will be a new experience. Graham lacks 'sea legs' so it remains to be seem how crossing the Bay of Biscay will go. Particularly as they’ve brought the sailing forward tonight due to impending high winds! There’s also the added complication of having to have some things in a bag to take to the cabin …this destroys my van organisation...
Read more

Spain Day 5 - San Sebastián to Pamplona

Image
Bright sunshine to wake to at last! Off to Pamplona. Mostly motorway but we moved to the smaller road for the last 20 mins or so. Blue skies and snow capped mountains visible as we climbed. Stunning roadside mirador opportunity where we also got our first view of circling vultures and saw trees filled with nests of processionary moth caterpillars high in the pines.  Finally got a chance to make a brief visit to a bigger supermarket and fill up the fridge and the fuel tank just before we reached the city. The aire here is very new, on the outskirts of town next to the fire station, but only a short walk away from the centre (with a glass lift to save the climb). Google wasn’t happy with the address but got us near enough to follow the signs. It’s the first time that we’ve seen lots of English vans, mostly returning from winters on the ‘costas’. It’s nice to chat about their recommendations and experiences. The aire seems to be somewhere that young people hang around and smoke weed w...
Read more