Hello, my name is Sofia and I'm going to speak about my homeland, Cantabria.

There is a motto which represents my region: it is “Cantabria Infinita”, “Endless Cantabria”. It is a

good rounup to explain all the wonderful things anyone should know before going to Cantabria.
Besides, we have an amazing ambassador ; Miguel Angel Revilla. He is the president of the local
council and is well-known everywhere in Spain because he is always speaking about the wonders of
our region. Revilla encourages everybody to travel to Cantabria and discover all the secrets about it.

Cantabria is on the north coast of Spain, between Asturias and Euzkadi. The weather is mild; the
winters are not too cold and the summers are not too hot. If you are planning to travel to Cantabria,
you should know you will find the most awesome scenery in spring, when the green fields are full
of flowers or in autumn, when the trees show incredible colours, from yellow to red.

As for the transport, it is easy to get to Santander by plane, bus or train. There are lots of direct
flights from the main cities in Spain. However, in my opinion the best way to discover Cantabria is
driving your car or RV. You will have the possibility to get to the most isolated places if you like
getting off the beaten track.

Among the most populated or beautiful cities, Santander is the quiet capital with a lot of charms: the
bay, the long sandy beaches and the Botin Centre, a museum designed by the famous architect
Renzo Piano, strategically located on the dock of the bay.

You can't miss Comillas, where Gaudi designed a unique building: El Capricho, and Santillana del
Mar, a small village full of old stone houses. The time seems to have stopped when you walk along
the cobbled streets in Santillana.

However, the most important tourist attraction in Cantabria is the scenery you can enjoy in the
mountains and by the sea. If you like mountaineering or trekking, this is the place to be. There are
breathtaking landscapes, stunning peaks, forests and rivers. Nature is unspoilt and people do take
care of it. If I had to choose, I would go to Picos de Europa, a range of high mountains in the west
of the province.

We can't forget the caves. Archaeologists usually say that Cantabria is like a Gruyere cheese,
because it is full of caves and caverns. It is due to the Karstic orography of the area. So, you can
visit Altamira, El Soplao and many other important caves.

I must mention two places which are the most visited in my region: the Animal Park of Cabarceno
and the cable car in Fuente Dé. The first one is a reserve for wild animals from all the continents.
They are not locked inside cages, like in other zoos. On the contrary, they are almost free because
they live in the open air. As for Fuente Dé, you won't regret going up the cable car, unless you suffer
from vertigo. The sights from the top of the cable car are spectacular.

And, last but not least, gastronomy is a very important point. We like good food and we don't settle
for low quality dishes. The tastiest ones are, among others, sobao pasiego, cocido montañés,
Tresviso cheese, Isla red peppers and, of course, Santoña anchovies.

In Cantabria you will find peace and quiet, lively villages, art exhibitions to admire, folk festivals to
dance, big waves to surf, high mountains to climb, clean rivers to wade...Well, they say it is endless,
so it is beyond all you can imagine.