Pando on the Camino del Norte – Culture and Holiday Apartments

At kilometre 18.8, the Camino del Norte reaches Pando. The route then follows the CA-360 road through the rural centre of Concha. From Pando, the Camino follows this local road for one kilometre to Concha. The kilometre marker and the subsequent stretch of road therefore indicate two clearly distinguishable parts of the route. For orientation along this section, both the fixed kilometre point and the specifically named route via the CA-360 are helpful.

Culture

The Convento de las Carmelitas Descalzas is located in the Pando district. Rows of traditional houses have also been preserved in the village. Brightly painted wooden balconies add a colourful accent, while façades made of ashlar and rubble stone reveal the different stone surfaces. Windbreak walls are also among the traditional architectural features. During a walk, wooden balconies, masonry and walls thus stand out as distinctive details of the built surroundings. In particular, the interplay between the wooden elements, the stone surfaces and the walls makes Pando’s traditional local architecture perceptible in several visible forms.

The Camino de Santiago del Norte leads to the Chapel of San Roque and San Sebastián in Pando. Inside the chapel’s church are two large shells used as holy-water fonts. There is also a pilgrims’ book in which visitors can sign their names. The route, the sacred space, the shells and the pilgrims’ book represent different concrete elements of the same stop. The chapel thus links a named point on the Camino with distinctive furnishings inside the church.

History

In Ruiloba, the Monasterio de San José was built in 1877 at the request of the priest Don José Ruiz Pomar. It was intended to be inhabited by the Order of the Discalced Carmelites. The year of foundation, the request by the named priest and the intended religious order are therefore among the key details of the monastery’s origins. The year and the specific reason for its foundation give the monastery’s history a clearly defined temporal and personal framework.

Active Experiences

For active pursuits, Paintball Cantabria offers paintball activities at a venue in the Pando-Ruiloba district. The playing field combines wooded areas with open clearings. For paintball games in Ruiloba, Paintball Cantabria recommends groups of eight people or more. The landscape of the playing field and the recommended group size describe two different features of the offering. When considering this offering, the layout of the playing field and the stated group size can therefore be considered separately.

Paintball Cantabria also offers multi-activity experiences in Ruiloba for people aged six and over. The age requirement applies to these multi-activity experiences and should be distinguished from the recommendation of eight or more people for paintball games. When comparing the offerings, the type of activity and the age limit can therefore be considered separately at first. The two details belong to different forms of the offering and should not be mixed up.

The route through Pando and Concha, the historic buildings in Ruiloba and the organised activities in Pando-Ruiloba each represent distinct facets of the area. The specific differences are decisive for understanding them: a one-kilometre stretch of road, preserved architectural features, a monastery with a founding year, and offerings with different age and group requirements.

Other Places

You can also visit the pages for Liandres and Concha.

For the main travel overview: Ruiloba.