Santander: Altamira to Guggenheim

  Santander, Spain
Monday, July 10, 2006

Thank goodness - safe at last. All day travelling across the north coast of Spain saw me fly through San Sebastian and Bilboa on my search for reasonable summer-weekend accommodation - all the while sunglass-less in the bright sunshine, tragically hung-over from the debauchery of Pamplona and despairing at the thought of having to sleep rough again.

Fortunately there was an accommodation booking service at the Santander bus station and they saved the day. Rooms were still pretty pricey, but they were available and I grabbed what ended up being a particularly cozy little nest right in the heart of town for my last few nights on the road. Added luck saw an excellent and cheap cafe located very nearby so basic needs of shelter and food were finally sorted. The weather might have been mocking me, as the next three days it was overcast and dreary, but resting easy has rarely felt so good...



Santander is a sprawling but graceful beach city and the capital of Cantabrian region, located just to the west of 'Basque Country'. This means that the locals are a different breed from the general Spanish population and many are keen on the concept of a separate state. Whilst you aren't likely to get caught up in any ETA (the native terrorist group)-induced violence, I found that the locals aren't as open and friendly as elswhere and it is a little hard to get by with on a smattering of Spanish as few people, even the younger generation, know any English.



Still, the beaches and area's long history make up for that and are why so many visitors end up here.

In winter heavy Atlantic swells pound the coastline drawing huge crowds from the surfing fraternity. In summer the beaches are more placid and become a regional past-time with everyone from toddlers to grandparents sunning themselves on the vast sand vistas like content lizards. I spent a couple of days on the main beaches of El Sardinero and La Concha and was very surprised with how similar the beach culture is compared to Australia. Half the city is down here, even on a working Monday!



The reason I came here though was more historical, as this particular area has been settled for an incredibly long time. What makes it special however is the caves that dot the landscape - homes to hundreds of generations of paleolithic man in which they lived, decorated and buried their dead for millennia. Altamira, a World Heritage listed cave, is the most famous of half a dozen sites in the area. It was inhabited between 15,000 and 18,000 years ago and apparently contains a rich collection of bison, horse, deer, hand outline and symbolic drawings - so rich that some refer to it as the Sistene Chapel of the pre-historic world. Unfortunately I wasn't going to that impressed...

There is no chance of actually going inside the caves and to see the original paintings - there's a waiting list many years long for that and they only admit about 20 people a day. But there is an exact replica of the cave attached to the museum so Joe Public can have a look and this is what I was hoping to see.

So I head out to a place called Santillina del Mar, 25km from Santander, which is a collection of nice country cottages and cud-chewing cows. I meet the cows because the chick at tourist information office says there's no bus and I have to walk the final 2km through soupy humid mist to the Museo de Altamira. No worries, don't mind a walk - until a public shuttle trolley rolls by with 500 metres to go. Thanks - I just love being this hot and sweaty...

Once I get there I find another slight snag - all tickets for the replica had sold out (probably the last one to someone just off the trolley I missed) and it is going to close four hours earlier than all the brochures clearly state. But I could see the museum for free. 'No photos!' I was sternly warned, or shifty-eyed Diego and his baton will menace you. So I took a look at the museum and although it was ok, as a consolation for some serious effort getting there it was pretty crappy one.

Then I had to walk the 2km back to town too. At least I found some early season blackberries along the way so I could live the dream of being a pre-historic man...



Santander's free Museum of Prehistory and Archaeology made up for that however, actually displaying more stuff than the Altamira museum and including logical items that Altamira completely forgets (like differing skulls of varying types of proto-humans).



Cases of flints and finely carved bone are featured along with an extensive Bronze Age tool collection and plenty of Roman age stuff. It even had some prints of the cave art I'd missioned so far so fruitlessly for. From that I reckon we have better cave art down in Australia anyway. I did particularly like the huge round stones carved in various patterns, which I can't remember seeing elsewhere and that I still don't know the purpose of (all the captions being in Spanish). It's best to use your imagination in those cases - so my guess is they are large Neandertal-age statues that were dedicated to the god of round cheese...



From pre-historic art to the bleeding edge of moderninity, the main have-to-do stop in the area is the Guggenheim Museum at Bilboa. I believe this is the original of a handful that have now sprouted up around Europe and the US, all focusing solely on modern art.

As you can see the titanium-clad building is an exercise in sensationalism but it's unfortunate that it is difficult to find a decent vantage point to view it in its entirety. Overcast skies weren't helping but it's impossible not to get a few good angles when the subject is this unusual. Louise Bougeois's Maman, a giant arachnid sculpture outside is a definite highlight, as is Richard Serra's gigantic set of snaking, waving and coiling steel pieces called The Matter of Time inside. There was also a great temporary exhibition of Soviet-era Russian art, most of which has only left Russia for the first time, including Stalin lampoons, pop art in sculpture form and plenty of canvas works in the 'Severe style'.

Pretty good but they keep jacking the price up - E12.50 now (E10.50 in all the brochures) - so unless you're seriously keen on contemporary art then maybe settle for the worthwhile (and free) external sights.



The unusual architecture and the vibrant cafe lifestyle and plaza scenes were far better value really. So whilst the big ticket sights didn't live up to expectations the place itself was unusual and made for a very worthwhile stop, reinforcing the point that Spaniards are a classy and refined people inhabiting a modern, pleasant and privileged chunk of Europe.

To be honest I did have some pre-conceptions of what I'd find travelling around mainland Spain - disorganisation, decay and grot in particular - but this has not really been the case. The Spaniards seem to have a wonderful life adapted well to the surrounds and climate - stressing family and recreation over work and financial commitments. So as usual there are things that can be learned wherever you go and I'm glad I've had the time for a few solid weeks in Spain.

Anyway, I've finally run out of money so will have to wind things up. From here I take a ferry around France to Plymouth in southern England and then onwards to London. Plans to travel up through the west of France to catch the D-Day beaches, Bayeux tapestry and Mont Sant Michel will have to wait for another day. I'm sure I can bring you something equally interesting from London however so hope you join me for the last few entries of my odyssey I'll post from there.

Next entry -> a new home and a big rest in London

Great Brands of the World

Now that I'm leaving continental Europe I have to highlight some brands I had no idea were so popular here. They're not Spanish but Australian and eveyone in the 10-45 year age bracket here is wearing them, making this Aussie very proud.







E80 for a pair of board shorts! No wonder those listed on the stock exchange have been doing so well for so long.