Monday 2nd June 2014
This was our 3rd Day of the Northern Spain Explore Tour and the first of many trips to be made by train. The original itinerary when I booked the tour was that we would be spending a day in Santander but a last minute change made from feedbacks and recommendations from previous travellers and agents have made the tour operator to change the itinerary to a stop at the medeival town of Santillana del Mar instead.
Our group left the hotel in Bilbao to the nearby station after breakfast. Most of us walked to the Feve Station - which was a short 15-minute leisurely walk at most. Our luggage was transferred to the station by two taxis.
The Feve train runs on a narrow-gauge track so the speed is limited by it. The locomotive is run on diesel engine. The coaches are new and quite comfortable. The trip took us to Santander Station in about 2 hours where we had to change to another train that too us to a station near Santillana del Mar. A few taxis then transported us to our hotel in Santillana del Mar.
The Feve Train services started as private lines by mining companies to transport cargo. With development of highways the rail cargo service could not compete with the cheaper cost offered by trucks. The governement has now taken over the rail service and is now mostly a public transportation system.
the Feve Station in Bilbao
waiting to board our train
wetlands as we approached Santander
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