In 1879 a nine-year-old girl named María was exploring a cave near Santillana del Mar with her father, Marcelino Sanz de Sautuola, an amateur archaeologist. While he dug in the floor, she looked up at the ceiling and saw painted animals. The bison of Altamira, painted in red and black on the uneven rock so that their bodies seem to swell and move in the flickering light, are among the greatest works of prehistoric art in the world. When Sautuola published his discovery, most experts refused to believe that cavemen could have produced such sophisticated paintings, and he was accused of fraud. He died before he was vindicated; only after similar paintings were found in France did the leading sceptic, Émile Cartailhac, publish a famous apology. Altamira was listed by UNESCO in 1985.
The original cave is now almost entirely closed to protect the paintings, which were damaged by the breath and body heat of thousands of visitors in the twentieth century. A very small number of people are chosen by lottery to enter each week. For everyone else, the museum next door has a remarkable replica, the Neocueva, which reproduces the cave and its paintings in exact detail. The museum also explains the life of the people who lived here during the last Ice Age.
Santillana del Mar, a short walk away, is one of the best preserved medieval villages in Spain, with cobbled streets, stone houses with wooden balconies and a Romanesque collegiate church. It is sometimes called the town of three lies, because it is not holy, not flat and not on the sea. In summer it is packed with visitors, but in the evening, when the coaches leave, it is lovely.
The riding in Cantabria is excellent. The coast road west towards Comillas, where Gaudí built the colourful villa El Capricho, and San Vicente de la Barquera has views of beaches and cliffs, while the roads inland climb into green valleys and mountains, towards the Picos de Europa. Surfaces are generally good, traffic is moderate, and the scenery is wonderful.
Torrelavega, a few kilometres away, has fuel, shops and restaurants. Try cocido montañés, a hearty bean stew, or quesada, a local cheesecake. The weather is mild and wet, with rain at any time of year; summer is the driest season.