Nailing the Menu del Dia

We wound our way through the old town and out of Laredo via two long steep hills with incredible views under brilliant blue skies. However, there were clouds ahead and before long a mist had rolled in clouding the coastal views.

The road was busy with many people walking the Camino de Santiago, and there were lots of reciprocal calls of “Buen Camino” even though we were cycling in the wrong direction.  It was a relatively short ride and we were soon in the heart of Castro Urdiales.

The host’s wife met us at the AirBnb and helped with the panniers whilst Simon carried the bikes up the steep stairs to the second story. Fortunately, there was plenty of room to store them in the airy apartment. She then took us to a nearby restaurant on the waterfront which served a menu del dia for 17 euros each.  We feasted on paella for starters and fish for mains accompanied by bread, sparkling water and a bottle of wine.  The waitress congratulated me on my choice of cheesecake for dessert, whilst Simon opted for an icecream cornet, which turned out to be a cornetto – not so good according to the waitress. We agreed that such lunchtime meals would sustain us well on future cycling days.  

We used ChatGPT to quickly plan a walking tour of Castro Urdiales which seemed to cover off a few of the key landmarks I had researched previously though in a less than optimal order. Using it as a starting point, we walked across the harbour and out to the Whaler statue that commemorated whale fishing.  The harbour was deserted as most people were still having lunch.

An enormous rock housed a small rectangular building, the Hermitage of Santa Ana. Used as a religious centre from the Middle Ages until the 18th century, the current building was built in 1941, and constructed on the remains of earlier buildings. A medieval stone bridge, known as the “Roman Bridge” (despite being built in the Middle Ages) connected the rock to the Santa Maria Church. As we were admiring the view from the bridge, a workman came up and taped off the stairway we had just accessed. 

Built in the 13th century, the church of Santa Maria de la Asuncion is the most important Gothic monument in the Cantabria province. Behind it loomed the Castle-Lighthouse of Santa Ana, built in the same century as the church and forming part of the original wall. The castle played a crucial role in the defence of the city over the centuries, including the Napoleonic War and acted as a prison during the Spanish Civil War.  The lighthouse is still in operation today.  

 We walked around the Atalaya, an open space where watchmen monitored the state of the sea and the possible passage of whales, to Pedregal Cove in the Sailors Quarters. We were lucky to see it at high tide, where the water flows through a tunnel under the cliff to create a natural pool.  Two sculptures of children diving into the sea could be found amongst the boulders.  

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