Santander

[Mac]

It is undoubtedly more civilised and less stressful to arrive in a
country by any means than by air, which is why I'm travelling by land
and sea to Spain this time. I'm also travelling solo: Mrs Mac has
decided that the Picos de Europa are way beyond her vertigo limits,
and has opted for Paris instead; I presume she won´t be going up the
Eiffel Tower.

Of course many thousands of people arrive in Santander by sea every
year, but I think very few stay more than a few hours. There is
little to delay the sightseer in the town itself: much was destroyed
by various explosions and fires in the 19th and 20th centuries, and
few old buidings are left complete. The Museo de Bellas Artes belies
its name with a weird collection of 'ínstallations' and projections
juxtaposed inappropriately with the very few older paintings,
inclusing the very reason for its existence: the famous Goya portrait
of Fernando VII commissioned by the city in 1814: a straightforward no-
nonsense man gazes stolidly at us in a picture full of symbols: a lion
at his feet eats the broken chains of enslavement (by the French) like
a puppy chewing a shoe.

The massive forbidding exterior of the cathedral, surpassed in
ugliness only by those of Madrid and (by a long way) Coventry, hides
the much better interior, whose elegant soaring arches and simple
unadorned stonework remind me of an English church. Even more
surprising is the chapel beneath: massive stone pillars support low
arches to give an intimate effect; two brass heads supposedly contain
the relic skulls of Christian soldiers martyred by Diocletian.

But it's not about the city, is it? It's all about the sea, the
raison d'etre of Santander. From the elegant Plaza de Valarde the
huge ferry appears marooned in the streets; the biggest and best
museum is the Museo Maritimo and aquarium; sailing, rowing and
navigation schools are scattered along the coast; the boats used by
various Atlantic and Pacific expeditions are on display on the
Magdalena peninsula, surrounded by some great beaches. I'm not a
beach person, and today certainly isn't beach weather, but yesterday a
few dedicated sun-worshippers nestled in the more sheltered corners.

Today's gales and rain have scuppered my plans to borrow a bicycle
(free!) from the local council. This is probably a good thing, given
my level of skill and experience. So I've taken refuge in the bar of
the bright yellow FEVE (Ferrocarriles Españoles de Via Estrecha)
station across from my lodgings; the barmen are small, chubby and
bustling, like the trains. (I hope to travel on this line in a few
days) The main line RENFE station next door has a much lower profile.
(Incidentally, the RENFE sign has been removed, and a snappier ADIF
sign, with logo, put up (Administrador De Infraestructura Ferrovarias
- is this this one of these dreadful makeovers?).

I'm supposed to be picking up a car from here tomorrow and heading
west.

El pronóstico del tiempo no esta muy bien.

Mac