On the way to the airport the taxi driver said ‘Santander; is that not just an industrial port city?’.
In some ways yes, he is correct and on arrival our first impressions weren’t much better. On attempting to find something to eat, we arrived at a café just outside the cathedral. The small menu card on the table seemed to be just local specialities none of which looked particularly appealing so, when a waitress finally appeared we asked for a menu. Now menu in English and Menú in Spanish are more or less the same but she just kept saying ‘I don’t understand’ then walked away. Our next stop was at the Plaza Porticada where our request for a menu was met with a barrage of unintelligible Spanish. Eventually we noticed in small writing at the bottom of a placard that the kitchen wasn’t yet open, that would be another hour or so. Presumably that was what the barrage meant. Now I never expect English to be spoken when abroad but it was the aggressiveness and rudeness that struck us. Eventually third time lucky, in the Calle Amos De Escalante we found a café, part of the Quebec chain, with excellent service, despite still no English, delicious burgers and much appreciated Copas de vino blanca (white wine), we could start to settle a bit. We realised then (as we should have done before we arrived) that we needed to brush up on our basic Spanish.
We were basically in Santander on an eating and drinking holiday and in that respect it doesn’t disappoint. The Spanish appear to have a completely different culture from ourselves as far as eating and drinking is concerned. It is very much a family experience and to that end Santander is full of public squares lined with bars and restaurants where everyone can join in with the food then the kids can go and play in the squares while the adults have a few drinks. There was no rowdiness to be witnessed while we were there but a really good atmosphere and as evening starts to arrive, things start to liven up.
Pinchos (also spelled Pinxos) are a speciality of northern Spain and are basically a type of Tapas. Crunchy bread is almost always used as the base and each bar or restaurant has their own specialities. Even as the day goes on the variety of Pinchos will change continuously. Having settled into our hotel, it was no surprise that the Pincho hunt would soon begin but we would first start with a stroll along the seafront lining the Bay of Santander.
Santander has a Maritime Station where the ferries berth and it also contains a good tourism office. From there we headed towards Puertochico meaning small harbour. Just behind the seafront is the Pereda Gardens, a beautiful green area much enjoyed by the locals and quite literally hanging over the water is the Botin Centre; an arts centre designed by Pritzker Prize-winner architect Renzo Piano. The centre integrates the Pereda Gardens with the Bay of Santander.
Puertochico used to be the main fishing harbour but some time ago the fishermen, their families and their boats were moved to the newly created Fishermen’s Quarter which allowed the redevelopment of Puertochico. The Barbour is now full of modern yachts and cruising ships. Beside the harbour are some statues of young boys. These are to commemorate ‘Los Rasqueros’ who were poor children who would somersault into the sea to retrieve small coins thrown for them by the fishermen. From Puertochico you can them continue along Paseo De Pereda which is lined with hotels and restaurants, along Calle Castelar and eventually to Playa De Magdalena, the first of Santander’s beaches and an important centre for water sports. The headquarters of the Spanish Olympic Sailing Team is based here. There is a distinct lack of bars in this area but we managed a few nice glasses of white wine at the Spanish Olympic Shooting Teams base here. The bar is marked for members only but they seem perfectly happy to serve anyone and at the bargain price of €1.50 per glass we weren’t going to complain. From here we headed back to the area inland of Paseo De Pereda and Pombo Square.
More to follow…