Etapa 8: Camplengo - Comillas

Breakfast with our borrowed family, and a warm send-off with a bag of plums from their yard. It was already getting hot at 8:30 and we faced another long, sweaty stage. We finally reached Santillana del Mar, a town we had expected to see in the distance since the following afternoon, but which appeared suddenly as we came down a stone path toward a beautiful ancient house and stone-walled farm, then around a corner into a plaza right out of a fairy tale. Cobblestone streets, beautifully restored stone buildings, a very nice cathedral, empty and quiet but decorated with banners and streamers for the fiesta that night. We chose a lovely spot on a stone wall in the plaza across from an old fountain and wash basin to eat our plums and prepare our feet for the day with various bandages, pads, and the amazing body gel that Mimi´s parents sent us (THANK YOU!).



Soon groups of tour-bus tourists descended onto the jewel of a town and we escaped the crowds up a hill toward a campground. Where the dirt road narrowed we were faced with a train wreck of sorts, three camping caravans had been abandoned on the path where it became too narrow to continue, and we were soon discover, the road suddenly ended at a cliff over a brand new highway. We had to slip sideways between the caravans and a chain-link fence, through brambles, then were disturbed to find that where the path ended, so did the Camino! We had to find our way to a safe place to descend the cliff and cross the highway.


Big boar, little pony.

A few kilometers through farmland and up ahead on the hill like a beacon was the solitary church of San Pedro, a perfect place for a quick picnic of pate, cheese and bread. A couple arrived with armloads of hydrangeas to decorate the altar for the celebration the following day, Dia de San Pedro, and the church´s 400th anniversary. They invited us in for a look and offered us water from a fuente in the cemetary.


Invited inside the Church of San Pedro



More bucolic rambling on undulating paths through small villages, one of which was known for it's lemon trees. The Camino came close to the main road and we spotted Meson Alfonso. They let us split the menu del dia, not usually allowed, which was more of the gorgeously juicy local melon and jamon and dorado a la plancha (which we think is John Dory) with sweet piquillo peppers and onions. Fantastic meal, which was even better with a cold bottle of vino rosado which came with the menu.




This was rough going right after lunch. Note the arrow on the rock pointing up, always up.

After missing an arrow back onto the Camino, we ended up taking the main road all the way into Comillas. Another very old, historic city with a beautiful and inviting beach which lay to our right as we entered town. It was difficult to leave the cool waters behind to search for the albergue, which was a surprisingly nice building with new bathrooms, hot water, a clothes dryer!, and single beds instead of bunks.



Comillas might be even more beautiful than Santillana del Mar, we would love to return someday. The square was lively with vacationers and locals, another fiesta was about to begin! We had a simple dinner in the square, surrounded by lively conversation, children playing, and the frequent blast of fireworks. We opted to conclude our evening in a cozy meson on a quieter street. At 10:00 it was time to head to the albergue, already a late night for a pilgrim, especially after another 30K day.


Abandoned boots, R.I.P.