Bay of Biscay

 

After what has been an eventful summer, we’re finally on our way to Spain for a belated holiday. We’re taking the car and sailing from Portsmouth to Santander in northern Spain with Brittany Ferries. The crossing takes about 24 hours and we arrive in Santander tomorrow evening. We plan to overnight in Santander and make one further stop in Teruel on our journey south to Javea.

Compared with flying, taking the ferry is easy and hassle free. Pont Aven, Brittany Ferries’ flagship vessel accommodates up to 2,400 passengers and is more like a cruise ship than a ferry, with a swimming pool, hot tub (not in use when we were on board),  children’s and teenagers play zones, a small spa treatment area and a wrap around promenade for pleasant deck strolls. A five deck high atrium offers panoramic views from the lifts and there are comfortable lounge areas, shops and a choice of three restaurants. Our en suite cabin is basic but perfectly adequate for the eight or so hours we’ll spend in it.

As Brittany Ferries is a French shipping line, we’re hoping the food on board will be something special and we’re not disappointed.  The à la carte menu at Le Flora restaurant is tempting, but as we only feel like having a simple meal and some wine, we opt for the self service buffet’s freshly prepared dishes, cooked to order. We find a table by the window and tuck into entrecôte steak, pommes frites and a bottle of French wine as the golden evening sun disappears over the horizon and we move out into the unpredictable waters of the Bay of Biscay. Tonight the sea is calm as a millpond, so we can relax, enjoy another glass of wine and stroll around the deck before turning in.

After a comfortable night and a full English breakfast cooked by Pont Aven’s French chefs, we brave the breezy outside decks looking for whales and other marine life. We’re now  in the middle of the Bay of Biscay, one of the best places on the planet to see cetaceans – whales, dolphins and porpoises – so anticipate some spectacular sightings. But despite scrutinising the ocean waves for some time, see only an odd seagull, though a fellow passenger apparently saw a pod of dolphins the previous evening.

When not whale spotting, we spend our time checking emails, browsing the shop or indulging in one of Le Café du Festival’s irresistible strawberry tarts.

I also visit the small spa for an excellent Opi manicure. The spa provides French Pro-Care facials and rejuvenating treatments with Filorga cosmetics and has two state-of-the-art massage chairs. I persuade Alec to join me trying these out. My passive shiatsu massage is surprisingly firm – even painful at times – and after 30 minutes feel like I’ve had an invigorating workout.

We’re delighted to be invited up to the bridge to see Pont Aven’s arrival into Santander in the early evening. Approaching the port, the views are spectacular with the outline of the mountains of the Picos de Europa creating a backdrop for the rocky outcrops and sandy bays of the coast. Slowly cruising past the main beach area and into the harbour, we notice some grand 19^th century hotels.  According to my Lonely Planet guide to Spain, these date back to Santander’s heyday in the 1900s when King Alfonso XIII spent his summers here. He was given the Peninsula de la Magdalena and locals built him a small palace. High society  then converged on the town and sparked a belle époque building boom.

Disembarking Pont Aven is quick and easy, much easier than finding the hotel we have booked because someone forgot to update the satnav maps before leaving home! I wanted to stay at Santander’s palatial Hotel Real, built in 1917 to accommodate the royal court accompanying King Alfonso on his holidays,  because it now has a  state-of-the-art thalasso spa. But sadly (for us), the Real was fully booked. Eventually, with directions from some friendly locals, we find our way to the more modest but comfortable Chateau La Roca, a recently renovated hotel in Sancibrián, a few miles from Santander.