Visiting Cantabria

After what felt like a very long bus ride I arrived in Santander and met up with my friends from Bilbao. We spent the first night in the capital and the next day travelled to the town of Comillas. For a small town there is a lot of beautiful architecture which included Gaudi´s Capricho, the University Pontificada and the Sobrellano palace. Unfortunately they were all closed the day we arrived because of the first now being a restaurant, the second is under extensive renovations and the third was being used as the decor for the shooting of a film called ´Barbykiller´.

After a walk around town we went to rest for the San Juan celebrations that were starting at midnight. St. Johns day on the 24th is celebrated with bombfires and fire works. When we arrived there was a celebration of light on the beach. I had a sip of honey orujo and jumped in the ocean for a quick swim. It is a tradition to make a wish as you jump over a fire. We chose a small one and joined a lively group of people. Soon after they decided we should start playing games and the first started a little like ´Ring around the rosy´. Everyone held hands and ran in a circle singing ´Pase mi si, pase misa, por la puerta de Alcalá, él de alante corre mucho, él de atras se quedará a limpiar el orinal con azucar y a aguaras´ At the end the circle became a variation of London bridges and once caught you were asked a question ´naranja o limón´ and depending on your answer you were put in a line for a tug of war. Crazy Spanish celebrations ! Other variations of St. John´s day celebrations I´ve heard include eating sardines and setting a plate at the table for your dog.