Out and about in Cantabria, Part 2

As a follow up to Out and about in Cantabria, in pictures, here are some more of my favorite photos taken on our adventures in Cantabria during April and May, 2013.

First, for a short hike close to home, we decided to walk up Peña Castillo, a small hill near the Carrefour (the only place we've found to get Branston pickle!)  It's just outside Santander, two stops on the FEVE train, and has views over the mountains, Cantabrian sea, and Bay of Santander.  

Corin on the top of Peña Castillo, view south west.

the trail along the top, looking to the west

you can just see where the Cantabrian sea meets the
bay of Santander, looking east

plane coming in to land at Santander airport, looking south

Our next adventure was to walk up Peña Cabarga, a hill on the other side of the bay.  You can see the hill looking across the Bay of Santander, as in the picture below.  

To get there, first we took a FEVE train to Santa Cruz, and walked up the mountain through the Medio Cuyana area.  As we walked through the village of Santiago, we found some friends.....

The trail took us further up the mountain through areas of gorse, bracken, and eucalyptus trees.  There were views of mountains to the south and west, the Bay to the east, and the Cantabrian sea to the north.

view of Santiago

view to the west

The animals closer to the top of the mountain were not as friendly as those at the bottom .....

these goats didn't like us

The views from the top were worth the climb:

We got a bit lost on the way down and ended up with a long walk along the road to Solares, just reaching it in time to catch the last FEVE train back to Santander.

On May 11, I was lucky enough to be invited to hike Pico Jano in the Picos de Europa with a teachers hiking group.  I've written a separate blog post about that adventure.  

Around the middle of May we explored an area south of Santander, in the mountains, near Reinosa. We got off the train at Santiurde de Reinosa and from there, walked along a mountain trail towards Reinosa and ended up in Aradillos.  We had several adventures along the way including running of the bulls, a stampede of horses, getting lost, getting caught in the rain, finding a huge pile of snow, and walking through a cloud.  

running of the bulls, Cantabrian style

almost the top

there is still snow in May up on the top of the mountain 

tired baby

beautiful mountain trail

Stampede!

we are about to walk through a cloud

The last week in May, Christine came to visit us in Santander.  On May 25, my friend Pepe took Christine and me to Santillana del Mar.  We visited the caves, the town, and the zoo.  

Colegiata Santa Juliana, Santillana del Mar

Santillana del Mar

Zoo, Santillana del Mar:  Interesting bird from South Africa with snake shaped head.