Sunday, 20 May Oviedo to Santander by train

I was up at 6:30 to pack my panniers and have a spot of breakfast. I left for the station at about 8 am. I had trouble explaining to the ticket lady that I wanted a “blue card;” my own fault, I should have rehearsed it better. The “blue card” is for the over 60s and cuts the cost of a ticket by half. I paid the full fare, which was now 1725 pts (Oviedo to Santander in May 2001). The train was a two carriage diesel with a luggage area at the front of the first carriage. There were extending straps, like car seat belts, for bikes.

We were off promptly at 09:08. The scenery in Asturias and Cantabria is beautiful. At Ribadesella we were bused part of the way and the bus managed to take three bikes in the luggage compartment. We arrived in Santander just about on time, having had several request stops en route.

I found a simple map of the town in the RENFE station and, after a bit of searching, I found the refuge. It would not be open until later, so I searched for a restaurant for lunch. It only cost 1350 pts, but it was a bit meagre.

After lunch I tried the refuge again. I tried phoning the main number several times, but there was no answer. I tried the other numbers before realising that they were probably mobiles and needed more money. They were all switched off and one took the money anyhow! I gave up on the refuge; it would have to be a hotel.

I then phoned Jenny and she quickly gave me a free emergency phone number and a reference code. I phoned VISA International and I was given a Western Union Agent and address, together with a control code. I was told that they would be open until 11 pm in the evening. I found the street but no Agency. I phoned them again and got a different operator. She asked me to give her time to read up on my case first. She then rang Western Union and obtained the names, locations and phone numbers of two new Agencies. She also checked the phone number of the Agency I was given the first time, but it did not work. One of the new agents was the Correos y Telégrafos (Post and Telegraph Office), so I felt a bit more confident.

Now I needed an hotel! I tried two of the pensiones listed in the guide, but with no success. The first I failed to find, the other did not answer the door bell. I went to the one opposite the station. It was on the 5th floor. There was also one on the first floor, “Pensión Angelines,” so I tried that. I did not fancy humping my bike up five floors! The Señora allowed me to have the bike in the room and charged me 5000 pts for the two nights. I managed to persuade her I would be able to get money with my travellers cheques on Monday morning. She accepted that and retained my passport as security.

After a shower and a change of clothes, I used the map at the station again to find the Correos y Telégrafos ready for the morning. There was also a Banco de Madrid on the corner near the hotel, where I could change my travellers cheques. I had a snack and a drink in “Bahia 2000” bar, at the RENFE station and returned to the hotel.

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