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Posada Breakfast
Today was our earliest day yet. We had made a date for a country breakfast at ten, so we had to actually get up. I showed and drug Midori and Yai out into the dining room. The table was set for our feast. Milk straight from the cows down the street. Coffee. Three kinds of bread and just as many jams, butter, and honey. A simple breakfast, but great in itself. So good that the girls at too much and had to nap again before going out for the day.
Castillana del Mar
A bit down the road here in Cantabria, we found a cute little village which lives off of its culture. The souvenir shops are the same as anywhere, but the history and architecture are unique. The best thing I could compare the atmosphere to is a string of villages in Japan known as Kisouji.
We wondered around in the quiet streets, having arrived during the siesta yet again. After wandering a bit, we got to the oldest
buildings in town. An old church with a clausto. We took the 300PTA tour there. Pretty cool stuff. I remembered how it is fun to look at these old buildings and guess at what the different additions, subtractions, and missing parts mean. There is often quite a story.
Tourists
After the siesta, other tourists started to show up. We thought we might eat an early supper, but the restaurants are not open for dinner until about eight. We sipped some Cokes at a bar while watching some French movie on TV. There were two Australian backpackers in the bar. Later we saw them walking up a hill in search of camping. As we were sitting, a couple Japanese walked in, then more passed by. A whole bus! They seemed to be enjoying themselves. They were just as surprised at our speaking Japanese as we were of them.
Santander
We drove into the bigger harbor town of Santander. Came upon a market by chance. Mostly meat or vegetable stands inside. We decided to buy some bread before the place closed at 7:30. It turned out that the guy there had studied in London a bit and was anxious to speak in English with us. After some small talk, he told us about a great seafood restaurant in the Fisherman's Neighborhood. It took us a while to get there. Asked three more people before we finally got down to the end of the dock of the central city.
La Gaviota
This place was really hard to find. It looked like a real local joint. Nothing fancy, just cheap food straight from the sea. However, we got this wacky waiter who spoke a little Japanese and a little English. He informed me that America's first World Cup match versus Germany was about to start. We ordered the daily special and watched the States get beat up. Another good day.
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