My girlfriend Liz and I came to Spain with a considerable amount of money, but between the hostel, food, and putting a security deposit and first month's rent down on our apartment, we had successfully spent over half of our money. Then we thought, "What better way to make ourselves feel better than to take a trip to Santander with our little British roommate Amy?" We thought that it would be cheap due to the fact that its only an hour and a half away. Wrong. Our first task--transportation. We decided to take the 3 hour commuter train at 6 euro roundtrip a piece rather than the one and a half our bus for 8 euro. We saved 2 euro a piece!!! Big savings! Then we thought, "We should pack a lunch!" Good idea, until we realized that we had not purchased food the night before and had to get it when we got into Santander. Still, no problem, as we expected there was a grocery store in Santander. We spent 5 euro total on our meal. Not bad. We even opted to walk to the beach from the train station. Unfortunately, the beach was a bit farther than we had originally anticipated. After a 30-40 minute walk we reached the beach and collapsed in a grassy area for our midday meal. There's nothing like a wonderfully prepared picnic next to a beach overlooking a terrific beach on a breezy day. Although, there was something missing from my childhood memories that I used to enjoy with my sandwiches. And that item of course was sand itself to give the sandwich a bit of an extra crunch.
So we managed to get to the beach for under 20 euro, not bad right? Once we got there though, Liz's old guilty pleasure and my new found fondness kicked in. We left the towels, bags, and supplies with Amy and headed for the nearest surf board rental store. We found one at around 11:30 am. It was the same place Liz had visited two years ago. On our way there we were debating the amount of time and if a wetsuit was needed. When we got there our decision became much simpler. The lady was about to close shop until 3 pm, so we had to rent for a minimum of 3 hours, and due to the windiness of the afternoon, a wetsuit was needed. At that moment, our trip from under 20 euro to over 60 euros in a matter of minutes.
Even though I hate spending money, I would spend this money again in an instant. I love surfing. Call me a poser, call me whatever you want, I don't care. I love surfing. The best part about it, I spent 2 of the 3 hours getting absolutely wrecked. It's the first activity that I have done since high school football where I enjoyed the punishment that was inflicted on me by the unseen power of the sea. The experience was beyond words. Every crash was unique and every muscle in the body was used. I was getting pushed and pulled, thrown and sucked. I loved it, and I didn't even catch a wave. Haha!! Weird. I felt so excited to do something that I'm not good at. And I didn't think once about sharks!!
Leaving the surfing behind us, Liz, Amy, and myself headed to do some more touristy stuff on the little peninsula that jutted out into the harbor of Santander. On our journey we encountered a zoo, castle, and a Segway tour of the peninsula. Alas, we began to run out of time and hopped on the bus for 1.2 euro a piece. We were tired, sore, and ready to head home. Unfortunately, we realized that it was Saturday and that all grocery stores will be closed on Sunday. Thinking quickly, I headed to the grocery store in Santander and the girls headed to the sweet shop in the train station (actually come to think of it, I was the only one thinking on my feet). The good thing was that we had snacks, but the bad thing was that I had to add that total to my traveling expenses. Hello extra 15 euro. Bringing the final to over $100. O well, it was worth every penny.
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