Stage from Santander to Queveda

Information about stage 14: Stage from Santander to Queveda

Itinerary

From the Ruamayor hostel, pay attention to the plates scattered on the ground where the shell and a red cross coincide, this one referring to the Camino Lebaniego itinerary . They will help us get out of the urban labyrinth of the Cantabrian capital. First you have to go down to Avenida Calvo Sotelo to continue along the streets Jesús de Monasterio, Burgos, San Fernando and pass the Cuatro Caminos roundabout towards Avenida Marqués de Valdecilla. You have to take the N-611 towards Palencia and Torrelavega and continue along Calle de Cajo, which will be called Campogiro after passing under the railway bridge. Between the national highway and a service area located on the right hand side, we will advance to Peñacastillo , where it turns to the right to cross the FEVE bridge and then to the left to continue along a path parallel to the track. We pass between houses in the Lluja neighborhood and cross the S-20 under a tunnel to enter the municipality of Santa Cruz de Bezana through Avenida José María de Pereda. Next to the church of Santa Cruz, a wooden indicator indicates the distance to Boo de Piélagos . It is 4.6 kilometers. Here it is possible to turn left towards the Albergue de la Santa Cruz , located about 800 meters away. After leaving the municipality of Bezana in Mompía we will enter Piélagos. Both Bezana and Boo are two Cantabrian municipalities that have experienced strong population growth in recent years, mainly due to the proximity of the capital and the excellent communication of the Torrelavega-Santander corridor. In Boo de Piélagos , at the foot of the Camino and next to the church of San Juan Bautista , we find the Albergue de Piedad. The pilgrim will already have the information that when leaving Boo it is possible to shorten the stage by about 8 km if he crosses the river Pas by the railway bridge, thus avoiding the detour to Puente Arce. There are brochures that alert about it and prohibit the passage. If you are going to take the shortcut, the safest and most legal option is to take the train at Boo station and get off at Mogro station. It is logically forbidden to cross the train bridge on foot, as well as being dangerous. The official Camino, with no shortcut, goes to the Escobal neighborhood and then to Puente Arce , where the bridge over El Pas is crossed . For pilgrims who have crossed the bridge with the train once in Mogro We cross the town in a slight ascent until we reach the church of San Martín and we turn left. Another indication, this time that of Cudón , shows us the distance of 5.7 kilometers to this nucleus of the municipality of Miengo. Once again, on paved roads and after various slopes, we descend to the CA-232 to cross it and find ourselves with a long and bleak stretch, further stretched by the pipes of the Solvay company, an important international chemical and pharmaceutical group. A journey where the yellow arrow becomes an endless tube of several kilometers. After this section, to the left, at the height of a STOP, we cross a bridge over the road to enter Requejada , a town in the municipality of Polanco that already has a hostel for pilgrims . It opened its doors in May 2013 and is dedicated to the promoter of women’s suffrage, Clara Campoamor . To get to the other hostel, El Regato de las Anguilas, you have to go back about a kilometer along the N-611. If our intention is to reach the next hostel in the municipality of Queveda , we must continue along the shoulder of the N-611 towards Santillana del Mar. We will pass Barreda and cross the Saja river next to the Solvay factory. At the roundabout we will continue along the CA-131 towards Santillana del Mar and about three kilometers we will find the “Osa de Andara” Hostel on the right.Those pilgrims who want to continue to Santillana del Mar must continue straight on the CA-131 and in 2.5 kilometers from the “osa de andara” hostel they will arrive in Santillana.

Difficulties

• The best option is to take the train at Boo de Pielagos and get off at Mogro

  Before crossing the railway bridge on foot to cross the Pas river, you should take the train from Boo de Piélagos to Mogro. Do not cross the train bridge on foot, it is extremely dangerous and is prohibited.

Observations

This stage, more typical of an athletic competition than a pilgrimage, fortunately has several intermediate shelters. In Santa Cruz de Bezana and Boo de Piélagos and further on, in Requejada, the Clara Campoamor hostel and El Regato de las Anguilas .The Regato de las Anguilas is located at the foot of the national road and can be accessed in two ways. Turning to the left before entering Requejada over the bridge over the tracks or reaching the town (at the El Puerto bar) and going back along the N-611, towards Santander, about one kilometer. The hostel is on the right.The stage can be shortened by 8 kilometers by taking the train in Boo and getting off at the next station, Mogro.The Camino Lebaniego also begins in Santander, which leads to Santo Toribio de Liébana and coincides with the route of the Camino del Norte until after San Vicente de la Barquera. You can obtain the credential for said path at the Cathedral.

What to see, what to do

• Santillana

  is 3 kilometers from the Queveda hostel.Since the stage is long, it is better to get up early and visit the town the next day. Despite being baptized as the town of the three lies, because it is neither holy nor flat nor does it have a sea, Santillana del Mar does not need any of these attributes to fascinate any visitor who wants to get to know it. In the 9th century, some monks brought the relics of Santa Juliana, martyred by order of her husband, and built a hermitage and a small monastery on the site of present-day Santillana. The monastery was gaining notoriety thanks to various donations and in the year 1045 the then King of Castile, Ferdinand I, granted the abbot the title of lord of the town, making the name of the town Santillana, which derives from the Latin Sancta Luliana.

  • Collegiate Church of Santa Juliana

    Its origins are a monastery founded in the year 870 but the current collegiate church is from the 12th century. Romanesque in style, it has three barrel-vaulted naves and a large portico. Its structure follows the model of Frómista and of the international Romanesque that enters Castilla along the Camino de Santiago. In the center of the transept stands the tomb of Santa Juliana, where the relics of the martyr are kept. Its reliefs and sculptures present on the cover, capitals and corbels allegorically show the struggle between good and evil and the need for penance to save oneself from the pains of hell. Thus, animal motifs such as lions, doves, snakes, goats and vegetables such as apples, ferns, grapes, lilies, etc. follow one another. The cloister, supported by 42 capitals,

  • The Altamira cave

    Discovered by Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola in 1879, it was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. On the ceiling of the main room of the cave there are Quaternary drawings, from 14,000 years ago, representing deer, horses, bulls and wild boars.

  • Santillana del Mar has an interesting set of museums

    The Diocesan Museum, located in the Regina Coeli convent, exhibits more than a thousand works from the artistic heritage of the Diocese. Among them are collections of medieval and baroque imagery, Spanish and colonial silverware, enamels, ivories and a collection of Christs. The Museum of Regional Art and Ethnography, in the houses of Águila and La Parra, exhibits samples of regional, national and international art. The Altamira Museum and Research Center shows didactic exhibitions on prehistory and rock art in the province.

  • The whole of Santillana del Mar

    is a monument in itself and strolling through its network of streets dotted with manor houses and palaces is well worth another more particular visit: Plaza Mayor , Rúa del Rey , Juan Infante street , the Renaissance palace de Velarde , the Gothic towers of El Merino and Don Borja , the baroque mansions and palaces , etc.