Issue link: http://viewer.e-digitaleditions.com/i/669304
BILBAO – SANTANDER Day 7: Sunday 28 May A whistle stop to Bilbao's Guggenheim museum precedes a passage to Santander, capital of Cantabria. With its striking city beaches, this coastal gem sparkles on our afternoon city tour. Feeling lucky? As we're overnighting in Santander, perhaps you'll join us for a flutter in the city casino after dinner on board? POTES – CABEZON DE LA SAL Day 8: Monday 29 May Doesn't it feel like we are exploring a side of Spain that others miss? Chasing the rural idyll, the morning takes us on an excursion through the gorge of La Hermida until we reach the impressive Shrine of Santo Toribio de Liebana. Our train continues to later Potes, but with dinner and local entertainment on board, we're happy to leave exploration until tomorrow. SANTILLANA DEL MAR – ARRIONDAS Day 9: Tuesday 30 May We press on this morning to Santillana del Mar, with its beautifully preserved medieval old town, and hope to watch seagulls chasing the fishing boats returning with their catch in the village of Ribadesella. We meet the train back in Arriondas where we settle in for the night after dinner. OVIEDO – CANDAS Day 10: Wednesday 31 May Nestled among the Picos de Europa Mountains, we'll visit Lake Enol and the Sanctuary of Covadonga. Reaching the elegant capital of Asturias, said to have been settled by two monks in 761, we find it beautifully preserved in its original state. Our train continues on to Candas over dinner. AVILES – LUARCA Day 11: Thursday 1 June The train snakes along the coast, stopping off in Aviles on our way to Gijon. We're now over 800 kilometres from Barcelona and feeling a different side to Spain. Dubbed 'the white town of the green coast', fishing village Luarca has a simple beauty – bobbing boats, white bluffs and plunging cliffs pose the perfect backdrop for a memorable dinner on board. RIBADEO – VIVEIRO Day 12: Friday 2 June Resplendent in early summer, western Asturias melts into the Galician countryside as we make our way to Ribadeo. Wriggle our toes through the wet sand of Las Catedrales Beach, with its impressive natural archways carved by the relentless seas of the Bay of Biscay. No doubt the sea air has worked up your appetite. Lunch awaits in Ribadeo before we're back aboard the El Transcantabrico Gran Lujo heading to the city walls of historic Viveiro, where we call it a night. VIVIERO – PORTO JOIN SPIRIT OF CHARTWELL Day 13: Saturday 3 June As we cross country from Viviero to Ferrol, we prepare to disembark El Transcantabrico Gran Lujo, waving goodbye to staff who have become our close friends. Just three hours' drive takes us across the border into Portugal this morning. At Ribeira waterfront, the Spirit of Chartwell awaits. Exclusively chartered for our guests, it's enlightening to consider that this is the barge the Queen of England travelled upon for her Diamond Jubilee. Chase Spain's coast on El Transcantabrico Gran Lujo Take in the impressive panorama over the Bay of Santander Opposite: Visit the verdant port wine vineyards of the Douro Valley N O R T H E R N S P A I N A N D T H E D O U R O V A L L E Y 26 CAPTAIN'S CHOICE | Europe 2017