The historic town of Santillana del Mar is in Cantabria. They say Santillana del Mar is the town of the three lies: it’s not holy (santi), not flat (llana) and not by the sea (del mar). This medieval jewel is perfectly preserved, with its wonderful cobbled streets (not ideal for scooting as Sheila discovered) and all the tanned stone and brick buildings huddled together it could be from a film set as it has a magical air about it. People still leive in these which are passed down from generation to generation.

Right next to Santillana del Mar is the Cave of Altamira which is famous for its prehistoric parietal cave art featuring charcoal drawings and polychrome paintings of contemporary local fauna and human hands. The earliest paintings were applied during the Upper Paleolithic, around 36,000 years ago. The site was only discovered in 1868 by Modesto Cubillas. Aside from the striking quality of its polychromatic art, Altamira’s fame stems from the fact that its paintings were the first European cave paintings for which a prehistoric origin was suggested and promoted.

The drive from Burgos to Santillana brought us through spectacular scenery and wonderful countryside – and it was funny that everything was green again unlike further south.  The photos from the car don’t really do it justice.