Day 42 - Friday 2nd June 2023

Today we'd be travelling from Santillana del Mar to Bilbao. This was the last day of our tour with Back Roads.

We had to have our bags out for collection by 8am and the plan was for the bus to leave at 9:10. We went to the hotel restaurant for breakfast at about 7:20. It was pretty disappointing - very limited choice and the only fruit on offer looked as though it should have been thrown out.

After a while, the motorway now was close to the ocean. At about 9:40, we stopped at Santander and Justin led us down the hill to a park near the ocean. There we boarded a tourist train for a ride through the park to the royal palace, This train was more like the sort of train you see at an amusement park.

Apparently this palace was constructed using donations from the general population so that the royal family could come and stay here for a holiday rather than in other towns. We had ten minutes to wander around taking photos of the palace and the shoreline before being picked up by the train again.

The train took us past a few restored timber battle ships before stopping at another site where there were seals swimming in what looked like a mote. It was a warm and sunny morning.

We were back on the bus at 10:40 for a journey into the centre of town. Justin pointed out the old part of town and showed us where we could go for a coffee break. Several of us chose to go to a modern cafe next to the ocean.

Then Suzy and I went for a walk to the old town and past the cathedral. The old town here is quite small.

Santander is quite a pretty town. Apparently they've demolished the industrial buildings along the shore. Now there is a wide walkway and path. The nearby street is also attractive with a colourful garden in the median strip.

The bus left Santander at 12:30 for our final destination of the tour, Bilbao. We arrived outside our hotel in Bilbao, Hotel Catalonia Gran Via Bilboa, at about 1:40pm. Some of us were booked into this hotel  but some had other plans. It was our opportunity to say goodbye to those who were going elsewhere.

For some reason, we had a large room with a big entry area. It had two single beds pushed together. It had a safe, fridge, tea and coffee making facilities, a long work desk, plenty of cupboard space with hanging space and shelves, plenty of power points and USB charger outlets. It had air conditioning with temperature control.

It had a generous sized bathroom with a bidet and a double shower recess.

We had a late lunch in the hotel bar near reception including two free glasses of red wine. Later Suzy went shopping.

For dinner, we went to a restaurant around the back of the hotel (DO Bilbao). The waiter spoke good English and recommended a nice bottle of red wine to accompany our dinner.

When we arrived at about 7:30, we were the only people in the restaurant but by the time we left about an hour later it was starting to fill up.

The streets near the hotel have wide footpaths and some have cafes in the middle of the street. It was a warm evening and the sun hadn't set.  The streets were busy with pedestrians. We were back in our hotel at about 9pm.