Our last stop in Spain was in San Sebastian, in the northwest corner of Spain not far from the French border. It was a six hour, 430 km bus ride that passed surprisingly quickly. After an hour the landscape was noticeably greener with quite a few trees and cattle being farmed amongst them. We passed through rocky hills before going over a pass and descended into a valley with fields of crops, there were wind farms here and there.
Before reaching San Sebastian the motorway passed through a several tunnels and we went over viaducts too. We also had the novelty of rain, the first we have seen since leaving home a month ago if you don't count the brief rain squall we encountered in the Sahara. As we neared our destination we were amongst lush green tree covered hills and saw the city on the flatter land near the sea.
In San Sebastian the rain was over and we trundled our packs along the knobbly paving, fortunately it wasn't far too our ‘pension’ (boarding house). Until now we have stayed in self contained apartments that we booked through AirBnB but as San Sebastian is a resort town our budget had us in a room with shared facilities. The room was roomy, the facilities were spotless and we seldom saw other guests so it was all we needed.
Our first impressions of the old town, where we were staying, was of paved streets, with no cars, and lots and lots of bars. Most bars were very small and people spilled out onto the streets to eat their pintxos (pinchos) and have their drinks and cigarettes. As we travelled through Spain we have noticed many people smoking and while we are amongst more people than usual I think there is a higher percentage of smokers here than at home.
A typical street in the old town
Here in Basque country they have a different take on tapas, instead it's pinchos which are mainly a variety of toppings on bread. Initially we thought they might be nice but when at 6pm we saw empty bars and the pinchos sitting out on the bar counters we wondered how fresh they would be come dinnertime.
Pintxos waiting for customers
Here, as elsewhere in Spain, people dine late with some restaurants not opening until 8pm and even then it's not until after 9pm that the crowds start arrive. Having snacks and drinks earlier in the evening seems to be normal and maybe this is the evening meal for some as we have noticed lunch portions are large and often three course set menus offered although these are offered in the evening too. By 8pm the bars were full with people standing by the counters (and food) drinking and chatting. When it was raining they still spilled out onto the streets where they huddled under the small awnings.
San Sebastian's La Concha Bay is a lovely curving beach with golden sand and on our first morning we walked the promenade along the length of it. It's not the height summer here yet so the beach was relatively deserted and at 21C while comfortable it was quite a lot cooler than what we have become used to.
Part way along the beach we visited the gardens of the Mirimar Palace, the house there was designed by an English architect and was commissioned in 1893 by the Queen who used it for her summer holidays.
Mirimar Palace with its English appearance
At one end of the bay is Mt Igueldo and we took the easy way
up (and down) riding in a 1912 funicular.
Relieved that the down coming car took the other track
At the top of Mt Igueldo we had lovely views of the bay and the surrounding hills. There is an old lighthouse tower (built in 1778) there so we climbed to the top to check out the view from there.
View from the tower
The old lighthouse tower
When we were back in the old town again we went past the 18th century Basilica of Santa Maria Costello, it had beautiful carvings over the doorway.
We were able to go inside the San Vicente church but from the crowd the gathered soon after came out we think we sneaked in before a funeral. This church was built in the 16th century with towers and decorations added later.
San Vicente church
Also in town is the Cathedral of Buen Pastor built around 1897. The main naves is 77 metres long and the belfry 75 metres tall.
By mid morning of our second day the overnight rain had cleared so we set off to climb the 123 metres up Mt Urgill. There was no easy way up this time but it wasn't a hard walk. The hill is topped by an old barracks and warehouse and a chapel and Jesus Christ statue that was added in 1950. In the 12th century the hill was a defence point and it was reinforced in the 16th century. In 1813 it was the site of military operations during the seige of San Sebastian and there were assaults during later wars.
On our way up the hill we passed an old gate and Bastian that overlooked the city. At the top there was an interesting museum and although all the explanations were in Spanish the pictures have us a good idea of the city's military history.
San Sebastian is on a river and over the bridge is the town of Gros, a smaller town and beach. There were many surfers in the water looking for waves and surf is what this beach is known for.
From here it's
adios España
et bonjour France.
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