Tough doesn’t mean you can’t – Difícil no significa imposible.

Date: 3rd July, 2023

Section: Boo de Piélagos to Santillana del Mar

Region: Cantabria

Staying: Santillana del Mar

Albergue El Convento – Room with a bunk bed €16 per night plus  optional €10 Community dinner and  €4 breakfast. Shared bathrooms.

Recommend, yes ✔️. Staffed by volunteers. This old convent building is set amongst beautiful grounds and has a calm and relaxing lounge area to chill in. Optional meals but also a kitchen to self cater and washing facilities.

Instagram: Link to extra photos and daily caption.

Today:

Along this camino I have taken many ferry rides to cross over large bodies of water. Today out of Boo de Piélagos it’s something different, there is a one stop train ride to cross you over the Ría de Mogro. The train takes you over a rail bridge which is not only dangerous to cross by walking, but is also apparently not legal and you can be fined. The station is just outside the albergue so directly after breakfast I made my way down. Thankfully, I realised I didn’t have my walking poles before the train came so there was time to promptly scooted back for them. I was walking a little too fast to get my poles according to a fellow pilgrim, ‘slow down, it’s a camino’ he paternally told me – aarghh the pilgrim police. Just.Do.You.Dude. And I’ll do me.

Mostly, I steer clear of the people who have ideas about how everyone should walk or be on a camino. Of course I think we should all be mindful and be courteous to each other, locals and the environment, but I don’t think there is one way to do a camino. I believe there is space for everyone. This what is so beautiful about this long walk, you get to be who you are, adjust as you need, try new things and learn about yourself. No one needs to tell anyone how to be, no thanks. I’m not here for that.

Boy was it good to be back on the official path and to see the yellow arrows again. I will never again take these humble way markers for granted. When you’re tired or unsure they have a knack of popping up, just as you need them to remind you ‘this way pilgrim’. Today I was mostly walking along country roads. A completely different day to yesterday. Calm weather, none of the extremes. I walked alone most of the day which I enjoyed.

This trip I’m trialing a ‘bum’ bag! It seems I have more things I need to carry these days – glasses for one. I can’t read my guidebook, my phone, menus in the cafes anymore without them. Between the glasses, the hormone patch I’m trialling, yes welcome to midlife and peri menopause I feel like quite a different person to the one that hiked the Camino Frances in 2018, and even the one who started the Camino del Norte in 2021. But this is also why I love the camino, it forces you to see yourself! Even chuckle about such things. The bum bag strap is also excellent to stash the guidebook in.

After arriving at my accommodation for the night, an old convent, it was time to have some lunch and to explore. I went for the pulpo (protein +) and a fresh vegetable salad it did not disappoint. Aside from my breakfasts and snacks along the way I haven’t needed to self cater. There have been healthy community dinners and good food options along the way, plus my accommodation has been so cheap. The medieval town of Santillana del Mar is so beautiful and absolutely deserves its title of one of the most picturesque towns along the Camino del Norte.

The convent too is beautiful. It has beautiful green, flowery grounds and this induces a relaxing vibe amongst the pilgrims. The Camino del Norte seems to have a more adventurous type of pilgrim. It is nice to be here. I spent this afternoon catching up on washing, working on my blog and chatting to people from all over the world. Annoyingly, the tops of my toes, the nails are really sore. Sore in a way they haven’t been before. I got some cold cans of Aquarius and rather than drink them I used them as ice packs on my toes. This does give them some relief, but I really hope I didn’t damage them yesterday in my long day of crazy off piste walking.

Tonight, I joined the community meal at the albergue and once again it’s super fresh and delicious. I am really enjoying the community meals especially after hiking alone today. It’s nice to sit down to some conversation. Megan is here and I also meet Laurence from France who she has been walking with over the past few days. I am in a shared room but I haven’t met my ‘roomie’ by the time I go to bed for the night. I decided on an early night to rest my feet (toes).

Highlight:

A calm day after the storm yesterday! It certainly was a full on day yesterday to start this camino with.

Ho hum:

It’s good to be able to laugh at ourselves …