The rain had abated slightly this morning and although it was wet - as was my cycle gear ! it wasn't heavy like it had been.
I had to cycle back out of Santander along the busy dual carriageway for 3 or 4 miles south to reach a bridge across the estuary at which point I turned immediately north along the other side of the estuary to reach pedrena, which was about 1 mile across the bay from Santander but I had cycled 15 milews to get there. The reason I took this strange route was to pay homage to my all time sporting hero, for Pedrena was the home town of Severiano Ballesteros and at Pedrena the local course was here he grew up playing - one day I must return to play it. But for now a visit was planned for a photo opportunity , I was disppointed when I arrived to find large gates and lots of keep out warnings, as there was no-one there I didn't like to just cycle in as it looked quite exclusive ! So I satisfied myself with a couple of pics at the gates then headed off along a straight road passing a picturesque bridge over the inlet to Sono, I My hotel didn't provide breakfast so I had been looking for a small cafe without success, so when I came to a small coffee shop at Gallizano I stopped and had a coffee but was disappointed to find they sold no savoury stuff and I was forced to have some sort of sweet pastry which wasn't to my taste, but I needed the energy. What made things worse was the bill, as it was very expensive !
I continued east towards Santona and passed a large strange looking hill at escalante, it was only about 200feet high but it was also only a few hundred yards long and sat on its own above the coastline. I cycled past and was soon in Laredo which was the largest town I would pass and looked worthy of a decent look around on a better day. Instead I cycled straight through reaching a sharp 180 degree right hand bend, round which the road went up instantly , after a 400 ft climb I was whizzing downhill back to the coast on the other side and the gradients settled down for a few miles until Castro Urdiales. Leaving town I remember looking at a huge mountain which ran to the sea and I was thinking, how does my road get past that and where has the motorway gone ?
The coast was spectacular and soon after it turned sharp left at the headland to hug the coast on the side of the mountain, then it went uphill sharply, almost impossibly sharply and as it swung back to the right the motorway appeared on huge concrete stilts out of a gap carved through the mountain. The road seemed to go vertically up through the gap before going underneath the towering motorway then dropping down a great straight stretch of road as I left the mountainous Cantabria and entered the Basque country. I cycled through Muskiz before staying left to reach Portugalete where I woanted to cross the river on the famous transporter bridge which is similar to the one at Middlesbrough near where I live. The bridge was much fancier than the one at home having inside areas as well as the car deck.
From here I cycled along the river into the city, I did have problems a mile or 2 along the river as the road had flooded and was partially under water. I managed to get through and was soon passing the San Mames stadium across the river before reaching my Hostel in Deusto, That night I tried unsuccesfully to find a launderette and only succeded in getting my dry clothes wet in the attempt.