Riding in Real Comfort Aboard a Train in Spain

Unlike the Venice-Simplon Orient Express and other trains of its opulent ilk, El Transcantabrico is low-key, preferring streamlined comfort to extravagance on its week-long, 625-mile route across the north of Spain.

Stream-sliced gorges, dramatic ravines, sharply chiseled ridges and crags typify the Cantabrian Mountains that rise almost 9,000 feet about 20 miles inland from what the Spaniards call the Cantabrian Sea, the southern part of the Bay of Biscay.

South of Oviedo and throughout the province of Santander, coal and iron ore are produced, but the bulk of the Cantabrian countryside is an assortment of apple orchards, dairy farms and fields of maize, broad beans and sheep.

Quite different from the olive groves and vineyards of arid Andalusia, where Gypsies and guitar-toting flamencos populate southern legends, in Cantabria, folklore honors the cowherd, shepherd, fisherman and sailor.

Architectural Masterpieces

El Transcantabrico’s blue-and-cream cars wait at the Leon station late on a Saturday afternoon.

Leon, a city of slightly more than 100,000, features three architectural masterpieces of the Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance periods. The north of Spain had only fleeting brushes with the Moorish presence, so architectural echoes here run more to the Byzantine than the Berber.

Before boarding, I toured Leon’s 13th-Century Gothic cathedral with its profusion of stained glass.

Even in the dwindling afternoon sun, shafts of light danced across the gray walls and floor. From a side chapel, the muted confessions of a penitent Spaniard filtered through the silence.

Less imposing was Leon’s 10th-Century Romanesque basilica of San Isidoro, named for the Archbishop of Seville whose body was brought here for burial from the Moorish-ruled south in 1063.

Regrettably, Gothic and Renaissance remodeling obliterated much of the original Romanesque, but the Pantheon remains one of the earliest examples of that architectural genre in Spain.

Medieval Cum Modern

The Monastery of St. Mark--now the Hotel San Marcos--began life as the modest house of the soldier friars who protected medieval pilgrims en route to Santiago de Compostela.

During the Renaissance it blossomed to its present sumptuousness and 20 years ago became a luxury hotel, combining the best of the medieval and modern. A round of cocktails overlooking the hostelry’s cloister museum set the tone for a lively welcome aboard the train.

In 1983 Ferrocarriles de Via Estrecha, Spain’s narrow-gauge railway company, launched El Transcantabrico along a one-meter-wide rail network built to haul iron ore from the mountain mines of Leon to the forges and foundries of the Basque steel industry.

To a lesser extent the railway still serves that purpose, in addition to transporting sand and coal to other northern factories. El Trans-cantabrico’s purpose is strictly pleasure, however. Individual bookings are offered from June to October and special charters can be arranged throughout the year.

During its week-long run the train passes through eight provinces, but spends most of the time amid the greenery and formidable mountain peaks of Asturias and Galicia.

From Leon the train heads northeast to Valmaseda, where it proceeds west between the mountains and the sea toward its destination, El Ferrol, on the Atlantic Coast. Passengers may choose to continue to Santiago de Compostela by motor coach.

A Commodious Train

Despite its narrow dimensions, the train is commodious. Individual closets allow the storage of most items outside compartments, and each sleeping car has two showers and eight double compartments with wash basins. Two compartments in each car convert to suites.

Air-conditioned salon, pub and bar cars feature simple wood paneling, orange curtains, wooden tables and armchairs. Continental breakfast is served daily. All other meals are at selected inns, restaurants and paradors .

At the beginning of the week we were bused to the outskirts of the village of Saldana in Palencia province where we toured the 4th-Century ruins of the Villa Romana Olmeda. Expansive and grand, history suggests that the villa belonged to the Roman Emperor Theodosius I.

To escort us through the site was Don Javier Cortes, the man who discovered, excavated and maintained this national treasure for 12 years before the Spanish government acknowledged it as such.

Back on the train, we toasted the Roman villa as ruined castles and mountains slipped scenically by. We marveled at the Cornisa Cantabrica, a band of sheer, white cliffs.

On Monday we hit Santander, capital of Cantabria and former summer seat of the Spanish government.

Both a hard-working port and a fun-loving resort, Santander combines business and pleasure with sophisticated ease.

The Sardinero area brims with stately mansions beyond which lie a soft beach and steely blue sea.

Birthplace of Gil Blas

Tuesday took us to Santillana del Mar, which, despite its name, lies inland. As a national monument, this “birthplace” of Gil Blas, a fictional hero, has been frozen in medieval time. No stucco or whitewash here, but rather a rural rendition of the old town of Rhodes with Castilian coats of arms marking bygone nobility.

A 10th-Century Romanesque church is the town’s touristic hub. Hundreds of years ago it was popular with the pilgrims en route to Santiago de Compostela.

During our stop at Cabezon de la Sal, children in regional costumes entertained us with Cantabrian songs and dances and we picked up Macio, one of the last troubadours, for a rustic lunch in Barcena Mayor, a village with a mere 16 homes.

Macio, 77, is a feisty anachronism, barely 5 feet tall, with a classic black beret, cheeks ruddy from the mountain air and a fondness for liquid spirits. On the bus he recited poems and sang songs that he wrote to preserve local history and lore.

After a lunch of thick, savory beef stew, fresh mountain trout, rice pudding and some searing local brandy, Macio danced us a farewell jig.

Before the railroad came to Asturias, access to the region was hindered by a rocky coast and a ridge of mountains. Aided by these natural deterrents, the Iberian tribe of the Astures resisted the Romans and the Visigoths.

The Moors were newly arrived from the languid, open terrain of the south and were out of their element amid the fog-drenched forests and mountain spires. So this was the only region of Spain that never succumbed to Muslim rule.

Between Santander and Oviedo, the Cantabrian Mountains rise to their most rugged and precarious in the Picos de Europa.

Inch by careful inch, our day-tour bus climbed the narrow, coiled road leading to the Lakes of Covadonga in hollows high above the precipitous crags and feldspar knolls that are home to the wild chamois, wolf, osprey and the asturcon , a strong, short-legged horse indigenous to the region. A symphony of goat bells echoed a note of civilization in this treeless wilderness.

Celtic Heritage Lingers

Spain’s Celtic heritage lingers in the numerous redheaded Spaniards of Galicia who much prefer the strains of the bagpipe (here called a gaita ) to those of the flamenco guitar.

Galicia is the geographical antithesis of Andalusia, resembling--in its granite shores and damp, verdant moors--Wales, Ireland, Brittany or the west coast of Scotland.

The gallego speaks Spanish with a distinctive Portuguese lilt.

As the rias , inlets and estuaries along the coast, penetrate deep into Galicia’s northern and western coastlines, so the sea penetrates to the core of Galician life. Fertile land is scarce, so fishing is vitally important.

The grilled lobster we had for dinner was sweet and juicy, the clams were subtly enhanced by a savory cream sauce. Later, a band played Galician tunes upon the bagpipe, scallop shells and a square-framed drum.

Having dined, we would return at day’s end to the familiarity of the train, El Transcantabrico, which awaited with drinks, hot showers, cards, live music and compartments warmed in anticipation of our drowsy arrival.

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El Transcantabrico runs Saturday to Saturday between Leon and El Ferrol. Trips begin at either end with an extension to or from Santiago de Compostela via the train’s companion tour bus.

From Madrid there is frequent bus and train service to Leon, and bus, train and air service to Santiago de Compostela.

El Transcantabrico operates from June to October and can be chartered from October to May. In low season (June and October) the cost is about $700 per person, double occupancy; in July, August and September, about $835.

Several times a year a theme train, the Transgolf, combines the usual trip with golf tournaments at four courses for about $770.

Prices include all meals (with wine), entertainment, excursions, guides and a 6% value-added tax.

For more information or reservations, contact Marsans International, 205 East 42nd St., New York 10017, phone (212) 661-6565 or (800) 223-6114. For more information about Spain, contact National Tourist Office of Spain, 8383 Wilshire Blvd., Suite 960, Los Angeles 90211.