Catching My Breath

It’s been almost two months since I left the Northern coast of Spain to start an internship in the dry heat of Texas. It’s no joke what they say. The Southwest is hot, and luckily has more tacos than I ever imagined.

The past two months have been something of a whirlwind for me, causing me to momentarily neglect the efforts made with my blog to focus a bit on the real, non-digital, world. For starters, I left Santander a week or so before most of my peers did because my brother got married…and to be honest, what’s a wedding without a bachelor party?

I hit the ground running as soon as my flight landed in Charleston from Bilbao, and each day, I was running errands to get ready for the wedding, spending time with my new nephew, or attending events associated with the big day. By the time the festivities were over, it was time to pack whatever junk I had unorganized over the past two weeks into the car in preparation for my 18 hour drive to Dallas. At this point, my body was exhausted and I still hadn’t figured out a permanent living situation yet. I decided to reach out to Fraternity brothers in Dallas who may be willing to let me crash.

Aside from a few mishaps along the way, and moving in (finally) to my own one-bedroom apartment, I am now two-and-a-half short weeks away from completing my brand leadership internship for the multicultural and Hispanic-focused advertising agency, Dieste Inc. Where this road may lead, I’m unsure, but I am positive that the experience I had in Spain has helped me to comfortably transition seamlessly into a new city, to make new friends, and to integrate myself into a new daily routine. As always, I’ll keep you posted with my future travels, but for now, thanks for reading Another Travel Blog!

Can You Play This Song Next: Part Deux

Everybody has a list of favorite songs that takes you back to a particular time and place. For me, that list takes me back to my year abroad in Santander, Spain. Between the friends I’ve made, and the bars and discotecas I’ve spent my time in, these songs will forever be imprinted in my memories of Northern Spain. If you lived in Spain at any time during 2014 or 2015, you may want to take a look at this dynamite playlist to have a good blast from the past yourself.

Como Lo Haces Tu by Kevin Karla & La Banda

El Perdón by Nicky Jam & Enrique Iglesias

Danza Kuduro by Don Omar & Lucenzo

Bailando (Spanish Version) by Enrique Iglesias

Sigueme y Te Sigo by Daddy Yankee

Vivir Mi Vida by Marc Anthony

Travesuras by Nicky Jam

Noche y de Día by Enrique Iglesias

Adrenalina by Wisin feat. Jennifer Lopez

Back In Time by Pitbull

Propuesta Indecente by Romeo Santos

Adiós by Ricky Martin

El Taxi by Osmani Garcia

Moviendo Caderas by Yandel feat. Daddy Yankee

Dutty Love by Don Omar

6AM by J Balvin feat. Farruko

He Llorado by Juan Magan

Let me know if you have any more recommendations! I also have a Spotify playlist set up with these songs along with a few others so if you liked this, then you should check it out.

https://open.spotify.com/user/12121283082/playlist/58cefdWl9aIOGKq4f16PwV

And one last thing, if you want to take it back a few years more, I made this playlist when I studied abroad in Spain back in 2013 over the course of my stay:  Can You Play This Song Next

Semana Santa in 60,000 Words or So

They say that a picture is worth a thousand words, right?

Spending a Week at Sleep Away Camp

A few days ago, I pegged a thirteen-year-old girl in the face with a dodgeball, and I hardly felt bad about it.
I’m spending the week at an English-immersion camp with my 1-ESO students, who would be in 7th grade back in the United States. The majority of the students are members of the bilingual program at my school, thus I see these punks every Tuesday from 4-6pm.

While we ate breakfast one morning, I explained to the camp counsellors that I was the youngest child. With that, I never had much talent for sports in comparison to my older brother. I was always a slow runner, an awful hider, and never the first one picked for teams. But hey, put a 23 year old guy up against even the toughest 13 year old, and suddenly I’m a solid third round pick. Shocker.

This week full of hiking, rock climbing, capture-the-flag, and alternative sports has been what I like to call my faux “glory days”. Although I’m one of three chaperones (one other being from my school and the third from another), I act as if I’m one of the kids. I play the sports and talk to them in English as I grimace through the aches and sore muscles that these activities curse me with. I feel like I’m going through basic training or a real life gauntlet though I won’t ever let them see me sweat. One night a kid asked me how I ran so fast during night tag, and I responded by telling him to take notes. I had guts this week and I absolutely loved everything about it.

My school offered me this trip a month or two ago and I accepted without hesitation. A week of free food and housing, how hard could it be? I was told I wouldn’t have to do much but to take part in the activities with the kids and talk to them in English. Little did I know, I’d be elected our team captain of Capture-the-Flag and organize a bombardment of a dozen adolescent militants. I’m also not going to say that I didn’t take the flag from my teammate and run with it back to the base so it looked like I won it for us. Again, we won the game so who cares?

Dodgeball is a game in which I hold nothing back. I’ve seen the movie Dodgeball, and the legend of “Average Joe’s Gym” has inspired me for life. Unfortunately for Sandra, my glory days got the best of me. We had only been at camp for approximately two hours when I beaned her square in the nose, but she brushed it off like a champ. No pain, no gain – am I right? My team won (obviously), and we continued with the games in which I proved to my four-foot peers that I was for once in my life a force to be reckoned with. I was on a mission to show these kids who’s boss.

One positive outcome from the week is that the students like to engage in conversations with me now because I’m one of them. I’m no longer the awkward American who rambles for an hour in a language they don’t care to understand. They saw me climb the rock wall and cheered me on as I reached the top (twice, because I’m the bomb). Climbing out doors was a great way to challenge yourself with nature at your back. I wasn’t scared, but I maybe understand why a couple of them wimped out in the end. The kids also filled me in on the romantic drama that comes naturally with a group of teenagers at sleep away camp. It was tragic and passionate. At the end of the week, poor little hearts from both schools were broken as they all bid farewell to their star-crossed lovers. In all seriousness, I think for once, the teacher-student barrier dismantled during the week and we could finally overlook the ten-year age gap between us all.

When we went spelunking in the cave, my running shoes didn’t do me any good as I slid in the thick mud and almost burrowing down cliffs to my death. I held onto a 70lb kid named Eladio for support. If I was going down, so was he. We eased our way deep into the depths of a cave with nothing but jumpsuits and headlamps. I had never been inside of a cave before. Turning off the headlamps and sitting in silence was an awesome experience as we listened to bats chatter and the caverns drip. I only fell about six times over the course of an hour and eventually decided that it was easier to move on my butt rather than feet. I was afraid this showed weakness, but the kids didn’t make fun of me, so I’m still the man.

The week was amazing, and I must say, if you are an auxiliar and ever have an opportunity to go on a trip with your students, take advantage. It’s a great way to bond with them, take out some anger issues you may have, and even relax while having a great time outside of school.

Discontinuing My Job as a Language Assistant

I’m writing this be people are beginning to discuss their plans after their contracts as auxiliares end. I must say, after fair amounts of deliberation, I decided that I will not be returning. It’s been an incredible year of traveling and getting to know Santander, but I know it’s time for me to return to my life in the United States. It was a difficult decision to think about at first, and at times I still find myself more conflicted than ever. When the weather is gorgeous and the streets of Santander are teeming with life, almost nothing could be better. Life over here is grand, it’s laid back, and I’m immersed into a foreign language and culture that is virtually impossible in the USA. Why would I ever want to return to the real world of insurance payments and office cubicles?

Life Goes On

Simply put, the first reason for returning is that life goes on back in the US. I moved to Spain and I put life on hold indefinitely until I was ready to take on what came next. Whether that turned out to be one year or two, I was willing to take the plunge. I wanted opportunities to travel, to learn a new language, and to become acquainted with life overseas rather that commencing my career straight out of college. With that being said, just because life is on hold doesn’t mean it pauses for everyone else. New family members have been born into my family and some wedding celebrations have been missed. The strain on relationships that living abroad places can be difficult to maintain. My desire to find a job in marketing, on top of everything else, means that I’ll be hitting the ground running the second the plane lands. Getting a bearing back in the states will be tricky; finding a car, a job, and a place to live are all obstacles I’ll have to overcome. Sometimes this makes staying in Spain easier for auxiliares who have lived abroad for multiple years.  I could probably brush it off and say that some of these things aren’t big deals; in fact, to some people they aren’t. However, looking forward, I feel as though this chapter of my life is coming to a close, thus leading to a new one featuring my family, friends, and career a little bit more.

Short-term and Long-term Goals 

The second reason I am choosing to return to the states is because of the goals that I have set for myself. I didn’t venture to Europe due to a lack of direction nor drive. Instead, I had long and short-term goals to accomplish, and have since done well to challenge myself with them. People stand on two sides of the river and either tell me that I have the rest of my life to sit down at a desk and work until retirement, while others say I’m already a year behind. My own mindset falls conveniently right in the middle. It’s easier said than done to give up one life in favor of another. This past year I’ve gained great international experience and confidence that I didn’t develop when I studied abroad, but I have yet to enter the full-time job market. The thing is that teaching English itself isn’t helping me work towards my career goals. Using Spanish in formal and informal settings is something that I would love to, and have learned to, be able to do. On the other hand, the professional part of my stay in Spain isn’t enough to keep me happy for much longer. I’m ready to dive into a career that will challenge me and push me just like living in Spain has over the past two years.

Financial Stability

After working in Spain, I now know that if I was given the opportunity to pursue a career in advertising overseas, I would do it in a heartbeat. Had I not done this program, I know that I would’ve been too intimidated to take the plunge into something more permanent. There’s a large difference between working as an auxiliar and working for an actual company abroad. The most important and significant difference being the lack of a salary when serving as a language assistant. While auxiliares receive a solid 700-1000€ stipend each month, the shadows of student loans and credit cards hover over my head. I’m ready to stabilize my life and the debt that has accumulated since I started college five years ago. Even if you are lucky enough to graduate from school without owing a penny, the language assistant life is a a bit difficult if you favor being financially stable rather than crunching numbers. Personally, I’ve looked forward to the latter for quite some time, and am actually really excited to save up for more extravagant trips around the world with my friends. I know that this isn’t the end of my vagabond road, but for now I know it’s time for me to look back on this year with fondness and take a step forward into the next part of my life.

Again though, who knows? Perhaps next week I’ll be signed up for a program in Tahiti.

Understanding Spanish Using Podcasts

If you want to brush up on some of your Spanish listening skills, I would highly recommend downloading the podcast Notes In Spanish and working your way up through the levels from ‘beginner’ to ‘advanced.’ A few of the posts are a bit outdated (having been recorded in the 00’s). Regardless, it’s good practice if you want to practice passive listening skills or cover topics that are seldom discussed in general conversation.

The hosts choose a topic to talk about such as Facebook, fast food, or travelling throughout Spain, and talk a varying degrees of speed for about ten minutes. These clips help build vocabulary, learn more about Spanish culture and customs, and focus on learning skills in a more natural way.

To check out the different episodes that are available for free download, check out Notes In Spanish on iTunes or go directly to the website, www.notesinspanish.com. If interested in taking the “super track,” listeners can pay a fee of 47€ for accompanying worksheets to work on while listening to the conversations.

Bottom line, I highly recommend and strongly encourage anyone interested in learning Spanish to try this podcast out regardless of the level. I hope you enjoy!

Attending Bilbao’s BIME Live Music Festival

This one’s a bit overdue. At the end of October I was able to spontaneously book a bus to Bilbao to attend the second night of the BIME Live music festival. The event took place at the Bilbao exhibition centre headlined the band The National alongside other well-known groups like the Kooks, La Roux, and Mogwai.

At around 35€ per ticket, it wasn’t much of a price to pay for my first music festival ever. I did originally imagine it would take place outdoors near the exhibition centre. Instead, the bands played on one of the four stages set up in the vast basement of the building. The start times were staggered so that people could have the opportunity to see their favorite bands throughout the night. Rarely, if ever, would two headliners play at the same time. If anyone was afraid to miss one of the larger bands, they just needed to keep an eye out for the crowd as it mindlessly roamed from one stage to the next. The concessions are acceptable with prices a bit higher for cocktails and beer – but this is to be expected at a music festival. Bring a wallet with you, and also make sure you enjoy yourself with the massive amounts of food you can find around the different stages and rooms.

I had never seen any of these bands live nor had I been to a festival like this, so my expectations were limited. I was blind to the music and had not really ever heard of the musicians before the weeks leading up to the event. Regardless, it was a solid way to go in as I was completely open to the types of music I would be enjoying throughout the night. The festival starts around 11:00pm and shuttles are offered from Santander via the University of Cantabria. If visitors want to pay a small lump sum to ensure their trip back to the city around 4:00am, this is a great option. Other travelers like myself can wait for the bus station in Bilbao to open at 7:00am and book the first return bus available that day.

It was an exhausting night, but enjoyable nonetheless and I highly recommend the music festival to anyone who has yet to experience one. In 2015, Imagine Dragons are the headliners and are sure to put on a spectacular show.

Kapital: A Narrative to Celebrate Flashback Friday

In honor of #fbf, check out this post I wrote during my study abroad semester in Madrid, Spain! Enjoy.

Typically I don’t harp on my experiences at the night clubs here in Madrid too often, partially because they sometimes involve a less ‘cultural’ set of events. I feel to miss out on some stories though would make this blog dry, boring, and less Madrid-esque, if you will. So here’s a little story of my first successful night at Teatro Kapital.

Teatro Kapital is the name of one of Madrid’s most prestigious, well-known and largest discotecas. The entry fee is rarely below 20-25 euros and typically includes nothing more than a regular mixed drink. Kapital is so well known because it is one of the only clubs in Europe to be seven stories tall. Its major selling point is the fact that on each floor, patrons get a completely different ambiance and experience. On the center dance floor, they play typical house and electronica music, whereas on the third floor they like to take it back a notch and play classic R&B hits like Ignition Remix and U Got It Bad. If you know me well, you know the third floor’s where I say the party’s at.

Anyways, there are floors with only Spanish music, others where people can lounge. At the top, a terrace that opens up in the summer revealing the city sky. Kapital is a must-see if anyone visits Madrid.

This time in particular was my third time at Kapital, but only my first time successfully inside. I had a few mishaps the first and second attempts during “the weekend juice and spencer came to town” and so this was going to be my third (and final) chance at redemption. There was a deal this particular night; entrance before 1:30 was only 15€ and two drinks were included. If any one of you has been to European clubs, especially in Paris or Madrid, you would know how great of a deal this is. Althought Spanish nights don’t typically include night clubs until 2:30-3:00am, we couldn’t pass this up. Naturally, we grabbed our stuff together much earlier than usual and we set forth for my third attempt at the infamous discoteca, Kapital.

Entrance was great, the line was short, we got our two receipts to redeem for drinks, and being my first…err uh second…time inside, I explored what seemed like countless numbers of salas, lounges, and dance floors. Finally my roommates and I reached the top terrace where you could see each table was reserved for very important parties and people. We gazed around a bit and then as I was heading down the stairs, I saw a Kapital worker bend down and pick up somebody’s lost drink receipt!

Somebody paid good money for that!

The liquor was flowing and I was feeling a good deed coming on…
These two guys were standing close by and headed for the stairs so I followed after them to inform them that the worker just ripped up their receipt. When I finally got their attention, I noticed they were from England and so I didn’t have to use my great Spanish skills to explain what had happened. Right then, my roommates came up, one of whom is from the UK. We all started talking, having a great time, we found out these guys were on their bachelor party from London and they invited us to their VIP section whenever we wanted. Cool right?

So we continued our night and headed to the dance floor. I dropped a few moves and about an hour later we went up to the third floor (hell yea-R&B) where Vick’s (our new friend’s) VIP lounge was. I became great pals with his entire wedding party, each of them giving me different advice about what I should do in London that weekend. Finally we start talking to these American girls from another VIP lounge adjacent to Vick’s and I pretended I was from Lancaster thus pulling off the most bloody brilliant British accent of my life. Because of my fake accent, we hit it off, it was great and the night went on as usual.

Regular casual check-ins to Vick’s lounge, and then venturing off to find a new adventure within my new playground was the agenda for the night, and that’s very well what happened.

So it got to be 6:00am and the club was getting ready to close. I had lost my roommates and the entire wedding party had left about thirty minutes prior. I leave Kapital and wait outside the doors just incase my friends were still inside.

There was a guy standing there handing out promotional fliers for the pizza place across the street.

While waiting for my friends I might as well make myself useful!

I told him I would help him pass out fliers and took a small stack. I was very successful at passing them out (maybe because I gave two at a time) but after I finished he gave me half the stack and thanked me. He said he was going to go back and work in the shop, but if I or my friends wanted to when I finished passing out the fliers, we could get free pizza on the house. Of course I passed the rest of the fliers out, made friends with the random guys selling warm beers on the street, and finally saw my friends. We immediately went over to the pizzeria and got some slices, which the guy at the counter didn’t charge me for, and then we walked about two miles all the way home.

This night was definitely one of my top three most successful nights out in Madrid and I couldn’t have done it without a great attitude. So there you have it— my first actual night at the infamous discoteca, Kapital. Take it or leave it, it was a damn good time.

Hasta luego

Blending in With 35 Study Abroad Students in Ireland

I’ve been told all my life that I’m about 80% Irish, 20% German and an extra 17% scattered somewhere in there of French and Scottish. It’s the ‘American dream’, isn’t it? How those numbers work themselves out hasn’t quite made much sense to me over the years. In addition, if you look up my last name on a lineage database, they can’t quite pinpoint the correct area, let alone country that it originated in. Regardless, I wear my irish pride proudly, and drink my drinks green come St. Patrick’s Day each year. I’ve always wanted to go to Ireland, imagining it as a land of rainbow lined hills teeming with families of leprechauns. Having now visited a weeks back, I can now say, well, that’s more or less accurate.

To make a long story short, I was able to find a great deal for a three-night excursion to Ireland on black friday for only ninety euros not including my flight. Thus, I decided to keep the end of my trip open to backpack through Scotland and England immediately afterwards. The company I used, Bus2Alps, caters toward study abroad students trying to cram a bucket list into four months of European travel. I was a bit cautious while booking as I realized that the majority of the people on the tour would be significantly younger than myself. Sometimes it’s actually nice to have somebody else do the dirty work for you, but it can be bit weird being one of the oldest travellers on the trip; I mean, I’m only twenty-three! Anyways, I had my friends at my side, and we were determined to have a wonderful time exploring the country.

Our trip took us to Dublin where we enjoyed the pubs, nightlife, and the endless amount of live music that the city has to offer. When going out, we spent time in the Temple Bar area, which is also aimed to attract tourists. People say it’s one of those things you just can’t NOT do. I would definitely say it was well worth it, though the drinks are expensive and so can be the food. To be honest, everything in Dublin lightens the wallet, so it’s no fault to spend time around the area. There’s a pub in Temple Bar for absolutely anyone, especially if you want to listen to or watch traditional Irish folk music. If you don’t like drinking, the cafes in the area were instead quiet and quaint, and a seat by the window offers great sights when trying to people watch.

Like I said, with tourist attractions come touristy prices. Dublin isn’t far from being the most expensive city I’ve been to. While still remaining on the euro definitely helped with budgeting and avoiding conversion rates, a pint of guinness can hit the height six hefty euro. I yearned for the nights of $2 pints in the playgrounds of my college city, but splashed the tears aside and continued on. I was in Ireland, damn it!

After taking part in another walking tour, the group received admission into the Guinness Store House where the company brews and kegs beer to send it all around the world. The museum is easy on the eyes and interactive to say the least. Reading is minimal and the museum is full of engaging exhibits for visitors. Here you can take a shot at pouring a perfect pint of Guinness or learn the art of correctly drinking the legendary black stuff.

The following day, our group of forty students hopped on a tour bus to head towards the Cliffs of Moher. I kept thinking that the countryside of Ireland was reminiscent of the landscapes in Cantabria. With wet grassy hills toppling over one another, the Gaelic ambiance was one that felt familiar to myself despite never having visited Ireland in the past. The Cliffs were stunning and standing up close made me feel the extremity of being so high above the sea that crashed on the rocks below. We packed a light lunch to eat as our legs dangled off the cliff. Frightening but exhilarating it was; I will be the first to say that heights such as that are enough to make my legs numb.

Later we spent a few hours in Galway which felt short-lived. After grabbing some lunch in an extremely crowded pub, we had about an hour to make it back to the bus. It was in instances like this that I wish I had flexibility rather than organization, or freedom rather than tether. Then I realize that there’s a cost associated with convenience at times. We walked the colourful streets and meandered through the market as the vendors closed shop. One day I hope to return to Galway, as it had a unique charm that I hadn’t found anywhere else. As far as the tour company, Bus2Alps goes, it was definitely an eye-opening and extremely enjoyable experience. Our guide was beyond helpful if any curveballs came our way, and the amenities provided for the travelers were outstanding in terms of comfort and safety. Although I’m a bit over their target age range, I would definitely consider take a tour with them a second time around.

I would say that visiting Ireland for a few days felt like a tease. It’s such a big part of my family’s culture to not have visited for at least two weeks! I find myself saying that I definitely want, and will, return to Ireland in the future to see more of the country. The people were all so generous and I couldn’t help but to fall in love with the beauty of the few places we saw. Unfortunately, I realize that I’ve been saying this same thing quite a lot about places that I’ve visited. When all is said and done, I wonder which ones  I’ll actually be able return to, and which ones will I alway wish I had?

The world’s a big place.

EDIT: If you’re interested in taking part in a bus2alps tour, check out their website, and use the coupon code ‘DEVINE’ to save 5% off of one trip or even 10% off of two when you book them together!

5 Quick Day-Trip Recommendations From Santander, Spain

While staying in Santander, visitors can find a wide array of day trips to please their ambitions. From foodies to hiking junkies, there’s a spot for everybody, and I’ve compiled a listed of some of my favorites.

1. San Vicente de la Barquera

San Vicente is a coastal town, so you can imagine my surprise with the sea nowhere in sight when I hopped off the FEVE train. Anyways, I rolled with the punches and meandered up a hill until some strangers assured me that I was heading in the right direction. San Vicente’s ambiance was reminiscent of my hometown, Hilton Head Island, with regards to the marinas and small tourist shops lining the city squares. These local specialty food stores and Orujo shops lined the streets filled with both visitors and locals. The beautiful backdrop of the mountains made San Vicente a picturesque spot to spend a sunny day in Cantabria. After grabbing a bite to eat, I noticed food can be fairly expensive due to the high number of tourists during the summer months. Tourists can venture up to the local Castle and Church for great views of the city from above. San Vicente isn’t large at all; walking from one edge of town to the next wouldn’t take one more than twenty minutes. In that way, it is quite the contrast of Santander, and it’s always refreshing to return.

2. Somo

Standing only a 4.75€ ferry ride from the boardwalk of Santander’s bay is the beach town of Somo. This hot spot for waves has been one of the locals’ most coveted gems with regards to surfing and kiteboarding. One can always catch a glimpse of athletes in Somo, unless the swells develop better in Santander’s own beaches. Unless you’re in Somo in the heart of the summer, it’ll veer on the quiet side, often times feeling deserted from any travellers. A few surf shops and unique bars make Somo a great place to catch a drink, relax for the afternoon, and to buy some great Cantabrian surf clothes throughout the year.

3. Santillana del Mar

Tucked away a few miles from the coast, Santillana del Mar is known as the town of three lies. (1) It has nothing to do with a saint (santo), (2) it isn’t flat (llana), but rather rocky and hilly, and there’s actually no sea (mar) at all. Regardless of making a dishonest first impression, I respected the charm that the small town had to offer. With traits similar to those of Toledo in Madrid, Santillana del Mar boasts its old cathedral and close proximity to the cave paintings of Altamira to attract visitors. When I traveled there, a few of the attractions were closed for the filming of the movie Altamira starring Antonio Banderas. If this happens to be the case in the future, cool and inexpensive sights like the Torture Museum can be sure to please instead.

4. Santoña

Perhaps one of my favorite day trips from Santander is to the coastal city of Santoña. One would think that after a while, the Cantabrian cities along the sea tend to blend together. While that may be true part of the time, Santoña has two great lighthouses that you can spend the afternoon hiking and visiting. The town itself is small, and isn’t too different from any of the other pueblos in the area. Conversely, when the weather is nice, a stroll on the beach, picnic by the lighthouse, or wandering around the city streets is a great way to feel removed from Santander. This is all without making a dire commitment to travelling somewhere far away.

5. Castro-Urdiales

The best way I could describe Castro-Urdiales was to explain it as a mini Santander. This city has a nice central hub full of restaurants and stores, and a beautiful collection of beaches. While visiting the city, we were told to hike up to the cemetery at the farthest corner to catch a glimpse of the city from above. The trip itself took quite a while as Castro-Urdiales is much longer than it looks. Sometimes the crescent-shaped beaches make you feel as though the end isn’t ever too far in sight. After taking photos of the seaside cemetery and visiting the local castle, we took part in a city tradition by walking out on the jetties and kicking the wall at the very end. I’m not entirely sure why this ensures good luck, but the locals swear by it, and a few other auxiliars who live in the area told us it’s normal.  The city is quaint and calm and would definitely be worth considering if planning to live anywhere in Cantabria. It has just enough culture, sights, and city-life atmosphere to appease anyone willing to take on Northern Spain.