Scout Adventure #10 // Uncovering 10,000 Years of Spanish Prehistory in Cantabria

Spain is one of the world’s most popular destinations, yet its northern coast, especially Cantabria, is generally overlooked. Cantabria is a small region to the west of Spain’s Basque Country and offers some incredible archaeological attractions.

Above: The ceiling of Altamira, showing the painted bison highlighted by the natural relief of the cave. Photo courtesy Museo de Altamira and D. Rodríguez via Wikimedia Commons.

The big draw is the famous Altamira painted cave in Santillana del Mar with its brilliant paintings of animals, hunters, and hands dating from 13,000 to 22,000 years ago. Sadly, Altamira is closed to visitors in order to protect the paintings. Selected individuals have been able to visit, but the waiting list can last years. I know several people on it and none of them have ever made it inside. The general public has to make do with a fine museum and reproduction of the cave at the site.

This January, the government of Cantabria caused a local media sensation when it announced that Altamira would reopen for visitors. Every day, five visitors to the imitation cave will be selected at random to visit the real one. Opposition politicians immediately accused the local government of putting on a stunt that could endanger the cave. Others have pointed out that Altamira was supposed to have reopened back in 2011 and never did. There’s been much sniping in the local papers ever since. From what I’ve seen of Spanish politics, it’s hard to tell who’s telling the truth and it’s best not to bank on getting into the real Altamira anytime soon.

Luckily there are several prehistoric painted caves in Cantabria you really can visit. The best are the Monte Castillo caves in Puente Viesgo. It’s actually a set of four caves, of which two are open to the public: El Castillo and Las Monedas. Last year scientists discovered that some of the images in El Castillo date from 35,600 to 40,800 years ago. That makes them the oldest cave paintings in the world and suggests they may have been made not by modern humans, but by Neanderthals.

The archaeology museum in Santander has many prehistoric treasures, such as this animal head carved from bone, dating to c. 14,400-13,300 years ago. Photo copyright Almudena Alonso-Herrero.

The archaeology museum in Santander has many prehistoric treasures, such as this animal head carved from bone, dating to c. 14,400-13,300 years ago. Photo copyright Almudena Alonso-Herrero.

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The “Venus of Pendo”, made of deer antler about 17,000 years ago. Photo copyright Almudena Alonso-Herrero.

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The stele of San Vicente de Toranzo. These monuments are thought to be funerary markers for aristocrats from the period just before the arrival of the Romans. Photo copyright Almudena Alonso-Herrero.

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The Visigoths invaded Spain in the 5th century AD and took it from the Romans. They produced elegant jewelry such as this belt buckle. Photo copyright Almudena Alonso-Herrero.

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The museum in Santander has several interactive displays, like this touch screen that allows you to do your own archaeological excavation. Photo copyright Almudena Alonso-Herrero.

A newer attraction is the Museo de Prehistoria y Arqueología de Cantabria in Santander. Opened in the winter of 2013, it has an extensive collection of artifacts and interactive displays showcasing Cantabria’s past. Included are many Paleolithic bone carvings, showing that early people had a range of artistic expressions. Later periods such as the Iron Age, Roman Period, and Middle Ages are also well represented.

Part of the Roman remains at Julióbriga.

Part of the Roman remains at Julióbriga. Photo courtesy Jesús Ángel García Arnay via Wikimedia Commons.

The best Roman ruins in the province are those of the city of Julióbriga near the modern village of Retortillo. Founded during the Cantabrian Wars of 29-19 BC when the Empire brought the region under its control, it served as the main urban center. The remains of several buildings are clearly visible, and the site’s museum gives an overview of the city and Cantabria’s Roman period.

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The author next to a menhir at Yelso de Hayas. Photo copyright Almudena Alonso-Herrero.

Cantabria offers countless scenic hikes in its rugged mountains. Several hikes will take you past medieval estates of the landed gentry, and there are prehistoric standing stones called menhirs scattered around the landscape. There are also tumuli, stone tombs covered with earth to make small artificial hills. Set up by the pastoral people who lived in the mountains 4,000 years ago, they stand as mute testimony to the long prehistory of Cantabria.

Cantabria is best seen with a car as the sites are scattered around the region and there is little public transportation between smaller towns. If you plan on visiting one of the painted caves, it’s best to call and book your tickets in advance.

My Heart Belongs to the Mountains

My heart belongs to the mountains of the world, but none more so than the ranges found in British Columbia. As a child I roamed between the sweet-smelling blossoms of orchards and wineries that line the Okanagan Valley. Above the sandy shores of a lake-lined valley floor, dusty brown mountains towered with green- and caramel-scented ponderosa pines. Those trees may be scarred a charcoal black from fires that raged in one particularly dry summer, but they are still my playground.

Yoho - Rachel Kristensen

I was seventeen when I arrived in Yoho. The town of 300 was dwarfed by the giant Rocky Mountains that enclosed my new home. Glaciers hung from emerald basins with fresh water melting off, cutting through the rock into deep valleys and pooling into crystal-clear lakes. I never imagined lakes could be so blue and green in real life. I never expected to claw up a scree ridge to arrive at the peak of a mountain. With the wind blowing in my hair, I could look out forever, onto an endless horizon of sprawling mountain spines. I fell in love on those peaks harder than I ever thought possible. The day I left was the day I started yearning to go back.

Coastal Range - Rachel Kristensen

I didn't think I'd find a replacement for the Rockies, it was just too hard to compete with their beauty. But the Coastal Range is as good as rival as any. Above the rainforest valleys are jagged, granite peaks with snow that lasts until July. Three-meters-deep snow gathers in chutes and bowls alongside glaciers and glades, creating a snowboarders dream. I feel like I’ve spent the last two years trying to climb above every cliff and boulder and have an infinite amount left to try.

My heart belongs to the mountains. Every range is a new love affair.

Scout Adventure #9 // Lost in Translation Over Ecuador's Cloud Forest

I was really, really, really apprehensive about going zip lining. Let’s just say my fear of heights combined with a perceived lack of safety concerns in Ecuador did not exactly have me rushing to propel myself across the jungle on a steel cable. I even skipped out on zip lining on an earlier trip to Mindo — a misty, mountainous jungle town set in what's known as the "cloud forest" — but the second time around I had no excuse. So up I went. After we paid our $10 and got suited up (hellooo man crotch and helmet hair!), my friends and I were shuffled onto a platform along with an Ecuadorian family. As we stared down on the forest canopy, our group was given the lowdown by one of the zip line guides. The only problem was, he was giving his safety spiel in Spanish, a language my friends and I only have basic knowledge of. As he relayed what seemed like very important information my friends and I exchanged more than the occasional nervous glance. This was well beyond my ability to translate menus or stumble through giving directions; based on the Ecuadorian family's intense listening and nodding, I could tell he was advising us on what to do and what absolutely not to do. But what,  exactly, the latter was — well, I could not comprehend  that for the life of me.

Fortunate for us, at the end of his speech he did say one word I know: “preguntas?” (in English, that's "questions?"). Nervously, I spit out “Sí, hablas inglés?” (Yes, do you speak English?). I'm pretty sure my voice even cracked a bit. The guide and the Ecuadorian family we were about to defy death with erupted in laughter. Mercifully, the guide ended up knowing enough English to direct us on how to save ourselves from an untimely demise — or at the very least, getting stuck hanging in the middle of a line high above the forest canopy. Before I knew it, we were laughing and joking and the sassy Ecuadorian mom was proclaiming “I’m 50 and this is my first time zip lining!” Well, if she can do it, I guess I can give it a shot.

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One-by-one I watched Sassy Mom, her husband and two sons, and finally my friends take turns zip lining across the forest. The zip line was so lengthy that by the time each one of them got to the other side, I couldn't even see them anymore. As the last one left standing on the platform, my nerves had built up and I was secretly happy when the guide offered to travel across with me. I attached my caliper to his and braced myself for the ride, but before taking off he asked me (in Spanglish) something about doing an “activity.” Already feeling a little embarrassed by my obvious lack of Spanish, I shrugged my shoulders and agreed. “OK, MARIPOSA!” he demanded and within a millisecond I was flying across the forest doing the “butterfly,” a move that had me spread eagle, upside-down. And screaming my head off. Perhaps crying a little bit.

Having accomplished the most action-packed zip lining pose on my first run, the rest of the 13 lines were a cinch. Sometimes I went solo, sometimes we doubled up, and sometimes the guides pulled the lines up and down to make us bounce across the forest. OK, that last part was kind of terrifying, but I did manage to relax enough to actually take in the views of the forest from above. By the end I was sad our zip lining adventure was over, and I think I may have been married off to one of Sassy Mom’s sons. Looks like it's time to brush up on my Spanish for real.

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Photos by Scarlett Clementine Dawn, or at least taken with her camera.