June 27, 2019 – We were tired this morning because we did not get an adequate siesta yesterday…neither of us were very motivated, but we got up, packed up and were out the door by 10 am… only an hour later than we previously decided on.
We happened upon a winery that our waiter in LaGuardia had recommended that had a wine bar. It was called Bodego Ostatu, which translates to: “Winery” in Spanish and “Inn” in Basque.
We tasted 4 of their reserve wines and were blown away by how good they were. We were also served sausage, bread, olive oil and mineral salt which was a nice touch. We ended up buying all of the wines in the tastings, olive oil that they produce there, and the yummy salt to go with the oil. Two of these wines are special low production vintages from their old vineyards they said they save for special occasions. He said we should save for a day like Thanksgiving in the US. These would easily be 100 dollar bottles at home. All of this was only $131.00!!!
We then proceeded to get on down the road to our next destination for one night in Santillana del Mar. The drive was beautiful and very diverse. The landscape went from rolling hills with vineyards, then to flat meadows with cows and finally beautiful lush green forest.
Santillana del Mar is in the Cantabria region of Spain. It is a very well-preserved medieval city rich in art and culture. There is an old saying that Santillana del Mar is The Town of Three Lies, since it is neither a Saint (Santo), nor flat (llana), nor is it by the sea (Mar) as implied by its name. However, the name actually derives from Santa Juliana (or Santa Illana) whose remains are kept in the Colegiata, a 12th century Romanesque church and former Benedictine monastery.
The Altamira caves are located here, which are considered the “Sistine Chapel” of cave art. We have two reproductions of this cave art in our Chalet in Montana. We would have loved to see this art, but they only offer tours to 5 people per week on Fridays, for 32 minutes, in special wardrobe and in Spanish only. You have to go to the museum and sign up on a list and hope they call your name. We thought it to be a long shot so we passed.
We arrived later in the afternoon to our hotel and Wayne got to work while I went out in search of dinner. I came upon a park which was having a huge carnival. I walked around a bit, watched the kids enjoy the scary carny rides and look at some of the vendors and food places. I then headed down to the old town to check it out and see if there was something to bring back to dinner. I was so surprised at how well-preserved the 1,000 year old city was….very cool. I could not really find anything to take out for dinner, so I headed back to the carnival and bought us carny food…HAHA! They did not have any bags so I carried two giant pork sandwiches (I think they were pork…) back to our room with only a napkin. It was tasty though and did the job.
Later, Wayne took a short break and we walked down to the Old Town so he could take a look. We also stopped by the carnival and watched the people dancing to a band that was performing. We got back to the room and we could hear the band playing on until close to 2 AM…Spanish people really know how to party!
It was a good day!!
One of the tasty wines from Bodega Ostatu 
The winery 
Sharon in front on our Hostelaria. 
Our room…twin beds are awesome! We might have to be like Ricky and Lucy Riccardo! 
Small but cozy for 1 night 
Old town Santillana del Mar 
One of the plazas in Santillana del Mar 
Love the cobble stoned alleys 
Another Plaza 
The water spring 
Wayne on his lunch break.
Dig it! Loved reading about today’s adventure. Wayne’s lunch break at night was hysterical. I’m all about the siesta whether abroad or in the Grove. That cobblestone street was a beaut! I am so excited about leaving next week to MT. Thanks again for letting us stay in your chalet. Keep em coming . ✌🏻