Thursday, December 15, 2016

Más España! –- Los Caminos de Cataluña –– September 30 – October 9, 2016


Cataluña 

Cataluña (Eng.: Catalonia) is an officially designated "autonomous community" of Spain, similar in status to Pais Vasco, the Spanish Basque Country. It occupies the north-east tip of Spain and is bordered to the north by France and to the east and south by the Mediterranean Sea. Catalonia is composed of four provinces: Barcelona, Girona, Tarragona and Lleida. 

The Catalan language is one of Spain’s co-official languages and is spoken by over nine million people world-wide, including 75% of the people in Catalonia. To us, Catalan sounds like French-accented castellano (the language English speakers refer to as “Spanish”). Interesting factoid: Catalan is the official language of the Principality of Andorra (which we leave to you to find on a map!).

We won't pretend that our two-plus weeks in this autonomous community brought us any deep understanding of the complicated history and separatist politics of Catalonia. We can only convey our experiences and observations, including the general one that more Catalans seem less happy with being part of Spain than are the Basques. Our general observation is based on:

An Observation: The Catalan flag is flown everywhere. Only federal government offices and one contrarian in the town of Figueres fly the Spanish flag.



P1050008
Catalan Flag
 
An Observation: Basques take pride in their quirky, unique language but seem to accept that people around them speak Spanish. By times Catalans seem to express frustration with the predominance of Spanish. At times, when we would attempt to speak Spanish (and Bryce's Spanish is clear enough to be understood by most Spaniards and even complemented by some) the conversation would be switched to English. It felt less like the desire to improve communication we sometimes experience in Mexico and Central America, and more like a dismissal of Spanish. A statement of: "We speak Catalan here. If you can't speak our language we will speak English, not that . . . other language." But then, maybe we are reading too much into a couple of encounters. 

An Observation: We saw several examples of regional pride graffiti.


P1050021
Something Like: This Is Catalan Land!

Journey to Girona

This post covers the portion of our trip spent in the Catalan province of Girona, which is north of Barcelona on the Mediterranean coast.

We took the train from Donostia (Eng: San Sebastian, in Pais Vasco) to Barcelona, and then north to Figueres. Barcelona is sort of the Atlanta, Georgia of Catalonia in that most transportation to and from Catalonia passes through Barcelona. We stayed at the Hotel Duran, in operation since 1855. Happily the hotel has been updated several times since then and the rooms/baths are currently very modern and relatively spacious and inoffensively decorated. The hotel’s dining room and wait staff remain charmingly old fashioned and reminded Molly of the Spain she visited in the 1980's. For those who don’t find that little quirk charming – there are lots of places to dine in Figueres!


A Self-Guided Walking Holiday

We decided to take what the British call a “self-guided walking holiday” (how cute is that?) because we are generally pokey as tourists and Molly is generally pokey as a hiker - a combination which does not contribute to group cohesion. Self-guided walking holidays offer trail directions, luggage transfers (our back-packing days are waaaaay behind us), pre-arranged lodging (with breakfast) and the freedom to be as pokey and slow as you want or need to be. Catalan Adventures, the company we booked with, offered all of that for seven days at about $100 a day, per person. 

Our 66 kilometer (41.6 mile) walk was along the Costa Brava which is north of Barcelona. At times we were on one of the many pilgrimage trails to Santiago de Compostela, but we did not walk a pilgrimage route. Here we would usually throw in a comment about being afraid of a lightening strike but later in our trip that turned out to be not terribly amusing.


P1040981
Trail Marker


          Day One

The morning after our arrival in Figueres we were met at the Hotel Duran by Maria, one of the British couple who owns and operates Catalan Adventures. Maria drove us to our starting point, the sea-side town of L’Escala and gave us detailed written walking directions (including pictures) and a briefing on our route, accommodations and sights available for touring along the route.

After our briefing we wandered along the ocean front to the harbor where we had lunch and looked at – you won’t believe it! - boats. L'Escala gave the impression of a seaside resort that was reaching the end of a looong, busy season. Many of the beach side stores and restaurants were closed and the rest of them were just going through the motions. 

We spent the night at Rallye Hotel, a modest, clean and friendly place across from the malecón (seaside walkway). The hotel's restaurant was good and lively. We settled in after dinner in preparation for the beginning our big walking adventure the next day . . . and were kept up much of the night by weekend party people wandering along the malecón. This hotel might not be a place to seek out in the high season.


          Day Two

Walk One: Fifteen kilometers (9.3 miles) to the Casa Rural Mas del Joncar (a rural guest house) in Sant Pere Pescador (St. Peter the Fisherman).

Our first stop was a bread store to purchase our picnic lunch. That activity was harder than it sounds as we were starting out on a Sunday. Note to self: It's a Catholic Country.

After provisioning for the day we walked to the nearby archaeological site at Empúries – spectacular because it is the only place in Spain one can see the remains of a Greek city and a Roman city, side by side. Sadly, after spending only two hours there (see above re: pokey) we decided that because there were almost 13 kilometers of walking in our future we should quit burning so much daylight! [Travel Note: If you are taking this packaged walk and are a fan of archaeological ruins, consider visiting Empúries on Day One. It is a very interesting site and worthy of more time than most can give it as part of Day Two. In contrast, the town of L'Escala is not a one-of-a-kind place.]



P1040886
A Roman's View

P1040903
A Roman's Floor

After we left Empúries we began the most difficult part of the day – beach walking. Beautiful but . . . slooow. We enjoyed the butterfly-like kite surfers and, when we saw a comfortable looking piece of drift-wood, stopped for our picnic lunch.  [Travel Tip: Choose your beach picnic site carefully as many Northern Europeans (read: Germans) enjoy sunning themselves lo natural and, well – it’s best for everyone if you don’t interfere with that.]



P1040914
Bryce, Beach Walking
P1040917
Kite Surfers

Following our beach walk we entered an agricultural area. As a former apple picker (part of a misspent youth) Bryce was interested to see apples growing on espaliers – more like grape vines than apple trees.


P1040924
Espaliers With Apples

At the end of our walk was the charming and comfortable rural guest house, Mas del Joncar, a delicious pork tenderloin dinner prepared by one of the owners, a carafe of nice red wine and the pleasant company of other walkers.


P1040928
Limping Toward Dinner

          Day Three

Walk Two: Eleven kilometers (6.8 miles) to Hostal Casa Clara in the medieval village of Castello D’Empuriues.  

This gentle walk took us along the banks of the Rio Fluviá



P1040930




where we were introduced to the idea of a European "Camping" (AmericaRV Park). They are massive - hundreds of electrical hook-ups, swimming pools, club houses, playgrounds - massive. Most of those we saw along our way were closed - but when we imagined what they must be like when fully occupied during high season it was a reminder that we North Americans are thoroughly space spoiled!

We walked through a nature preserve where we saw lots of birds


P1040942





and climbed an observation tower where we observed each other observing each other  . . .



P1040948
Molly Observing Bryce

P1040955
Bryce Observing Molly

and some pastoral views.



P1040958
Tranquility

We ate part of the delicious lunches we had purchased from Mas de Joncar and packed the remainders for another day. [Tip: If you happen to take this walk, purchase only one Mas de Joncar lunch for every two walkers. Clearly the rotund chef/owner of Mas de Joncar has a horror of letting a customer go hungry and has never carried one of the gigantic lunches he prepares in a backpack for eleven kilometers!]

Our walk ended at the Hostal Casa Clara in Castello D’Empuriues where we inadvertently marched right through the hostal’s very popular restaurant in our dusty, stinky hiking gear (we didn’t see the side door to the hostal). Our very kind hostess managed to sweep us out of her restaurant and up to our room without making a fuss.

We cleaned up and took ourselves on a tour of the lovely medieval area of Castello d’Empuriues. At the Iglesia Sta. Maria (Church of St. Mary) we were entertained by an animated fellow who showed us damage done during the Civil War (1936-39) and assured us that the famous Catalan architect Antoni Gaudi had been inspired by the alter at Iglesia Sta. Maria. After our visit to Gaudi’s famous Segrada Familia cathedral in Barcelona we thought – could be.


P1040963
The Entrance to Sta. Maria
P1040969
One of Many Saints
P1040964
Alter and Gaudi Inspiration

          Day Four

Walk Three: Sixteen and a half kilometers (10.25 miles) between Platja Canyelles and Cadaqués on the Cami de Ronda through the Parc Natural del Cap de Creus.

Maria picked us up in the morning and drove us to Canyelles beach, located on the far side of an extremely large seaside housing development that has been built outside of Castello D’Empuries. Everyone in England who can afford to has purchased a second home there, it seems. 

This portion of our walk offered spectacular ocean views but was a bit tough, not so much due to distance as to the up and down and up and down and . . . etc. nature of the seaside trail.



P1040977
Oh, Man. If I Go Down . . . 
Who Will Tow Me Back Up?

At one point we cheated and stayed on the rim road above the beaches and the beach-side trail. Our distance wasn’t reduced much – if at all – and it was dusty and at time it was view-less. But it was flatter!



P1040987
Cheater Seaside Walking

Just as our feet started to cry out to us, we saw Cadaqués in the distance. No wonder both Picasso and Dali loved it.



P1040998
Cadaqués On The Horizon, Captain!

Happy to see Cadaqués, Molly left a thank-you pebble at a road-side shrine on the way into town. Others had gone before.



Thanks For The Assist!


          Day Five

After a night at Hotel Octavia (clean, well equipped, basic) in Cadaqués we spent our non-walking day -- walking! We ambled the four kilometers from Cadaqués to the village of Port Lligat, famous for being the location of Salvador Dali’s house.



P1050004
Every House Needs A Sculpture On Top 

We had not made reservations to visit the house museum. Travel Tip: When they say one must have a reservation, they really mean it. 

We had a nice walk anyway (it doesn't pay to stop walking once one starts) and we enjoyed seeing the little fishing/museum village.



P1050005
Port Lligat 

That night we had our Big Deal Meal of the week at Compartir (Eng.: To Share). For our foodie friends, Compartir is Michelin recommended and was begun by three former chefs from elBulli. Do not miss Compartir if you go to Cadaqués. Tell them the woman that made all the oooh-ing sounds sent you.


          Day Six

Walk Four: Twelve kilometers (7.45 miles) from Cadaqués through the Cap de Creus national park to El Port De La Selva (“Jungle Port” – clearly named by people who never saw a Costa Rican jungle . . . ).

We left Cadaqués thinking that the weather was a bit misty but, what the hey – we’ve been wet before. By the time the rains began and that seemed like a poor call we were about an hour’s walk out of town up an un-groomed path. Even wet the path seemed easier to climb than descend. About an hour later being soaking wet seemed like the least of our problems. We were huddling next to a stone wall at the top of an almost bald hill, hoping that the lightening crackling around us would skip us and be drawn to one of the few nearby trees.

After what seemed a cold and wet age the lightening and rain stopped and we were able to eat our picnic lunch. Standing up in the mud.



P1050014
Lunching Al Fresco
(Blurry Spots - Rain Drops On Lens)

Our map and walking directions were wet but readable if proper care was taken, we had not been struck by lightening and our lunch had remained dry. Bryce thought this was worth celebrating.



P1050012
Woo-Hoo: Fed and Not Dead!
 
Molly thought it might take a bit before she could celebrate being alive. Maybe after she dried out . . . and found a bush to stop behind.



P1050013
(Blurry Spots - Rain On The Lens)

We were almost dry by the time we arrived in El Port De La Selva for the night.


P1050016
Somewhere Down There Is A Dry Towel

We spent the night at a funny little hotel and spa where they asked us to leave our hiking boots in the laundry room. We padded around in funky slippers provided by the hotel (all nicely and cleanly wrapped!), dried off and cleaned up, and went out to look for dinner, to celebrate our survival. It turns out that it's not so easy to find dinner in the off season in El Port De La Selva: only three restaurants were still open.

After a bit of a wander, and learning that one of the restaurants could not seat us for over an hour, we chose among our two dining options, enjoyed dinner (it was hot) and managed to stay awake long enough to return to the hotel, leave our shoes in the laundry room and get to bed.  


Day Seven

Walk Five: Almost 13 kilometers (almost 8 miles) from El Port De La Selva to Niu de Sol Casa Rural in Palau Saverdera.


P1050017
Market and Lunch Provisioning Stop

Shortly outside El Port De La Selva, along our walking route, are the remains of a medieval Benedictine monastery – Sant Pere de Rodes. We were looking forward to touring the monastery until we realized that St. Pere de Rodes is perched on top of a very high hill. A particularly high hill for those who had walked more than 50 kilometers over preceding five days.


P1050023
Good Real Estate For Monks

In the spirit of pilgrimage (confession / seeking absolution, etc.) we decided to take a cab to the top of the parking lot just below the monastery, confess what we had done to anyone who cared (no one seemed to) and continue along our route after a leisurely tour of the monastery. 

An excellent plan.

We even got a bit of a tour from the cab driver who, unlike others we had met was very happy to speak Castellano. When asked about a proposed independence referendum we had heard about, he sniffed dismissively and blamed the weak government in Madrid for allowing separatist nonsense. 



P1050024
The Easy Way
P1050027
The Monastery


P1050033
Inside
P1050036
11th Century Wall Art
P1050040
One of the Thieves On Calvary - 11th Century
P1050044
A Monk's View
P1050053
Halt! Who Goes There?


The interior of the monastery was wonderful. We were particularly awed by the wall paintings from the 11th Century. This place is not to be missed if you are visiting the Costa Brava - regardless of whether you arrive on foot or by taxi.

After we left the monastery we passed a lovely church which acted as a location beacon for much of the rest of our day.



P1050063
Church In Our Rear View

After one of our favorite walking days, we arrived at the Niu de Sol rural and settled in. On the recommendation of our Catalan Adventures contact, Maria, we arranged to dine in and were not disappointed; another good dining experience. 

But fairly soon after dinner we were asleep. We had done it! Not exactly an Everest ascent, but more than 45 miles in five walking days. Good for us!


          Day Eight.

Steve, of Catalan Adventures, picked us up the next morning and drove us back to Figueres and the Hotel Duran. Full Circle.

That afternoon we did what one does in Figueres: tour the Salvador Dali museum. Neither of us went into the museum as Dali fans (dripping clocks and all that surrealist thing) but we came away more impressed than we had expected to be. We call that a successful museum experience.

As an encouragement to those who may not be enthusiastic about a Day of Dali, here’s a peek at what he did in addition to the dripping clocks:



P1050070
Dali's Wife and Muse, Gala
P1050072
Girl From Figueres

P1050075
A Boat - Of Course

Molly particularly liked the jewelry Dali designed (who knew?).


P1050128
P1050133

P1050124



But like the best travel moments, our favorite in Figueres was accidental. We came across two groups building Castells –human towers. This somewhat strange activity has been going on since the early 18th century. But now the kids wear helmets.


P1050091
P1050093

P1050095

P1050117

P1050110
P1050119



And Americans worry when their kids play football . . . !

Our other moment of serendipity was spotting a Dutch walker (whose name we never learned) sitting at an outdoor cafe along the square. We had been been saying hello to him all along our walk, and had even shared a table with him at one beach-side cafe where we learned that he had booked his walk through a different company but was on pretty much the same route as we were. In Figueres we had a chance to buy him a  coffee to thank him for the beers he had purchased for us that afternoon. The next time we are in The Netherlands, we will keep our eyes out for him! 
   

Next Stop: Barcelona, The Capital of Cataluña.

Tuesday, December 13, 2016

Más España! -- Pais Vasco -- September 22 - 30, 2016



We are now back in Sacramento, California to finish up some U.S.-based stuff before heading home to Abracadabra. We have been yammering on to anyone who will listen (and others who pretend to) about how much we enjoyed Spain. For those out of yammering range here’s a post about the third portion of our Spanish sojourn.

Euskadi / Pais Vasco (Eng.: Basque Country)

Pais Vasco (in Basque: Euskadi) is an Autonomous Community within the borders of Spain. Its three provinces, Alava, Biscay and Gipuzkoa, are bordered to the north and east by the Bay of Biscay and France. During our eight-day visit to Pais Vasco we gained only a vague understanding of the complex legal and political ramifications of Basque autonomy but a great appreciation of Basque culture and, in particular Basque cuisine.

This area was also our first experience with multi-lingual Spain (Spain has five co-official languages). Euskera, the Basque language, is a language isolate spoken by about 700,000 people. We could only equate it with hearing Gaelic: beautiful, lilting and totally beyond our comprehension. Fortunately for us almost everyone in Pais Vasco is also able to speak Castellano (which most English speakers call “Spanish”).


Bilbao, Biscay, September 22 – 25, 2016

Bilbao is the largest city in Pais Vasco but known primarily as the home of the Guggenheim Bilbao museum; and for good reason: the building dominates the city’s waterfront and tourist reputation. 

P1040743_thumb
Guggenheim Bilbao


P1040795_thumb1
And Again

We walked around the building several times and toured the interior, concluding after much debate that, even though we thought the cold, echo-y corporate headquarters feeling interior was a big "eh" - we enjoyed the exterior as a sculpture.    

The museum’s audio guide begins with what was, for us, a tiresome adulation of Frank Gehry (the building’s architect). Molly began to giggle during the recording of him blathering on about the fish scales of his childhood. Now if, unlike us, you get the whole fish scale / Gehry as A God of Architecture thing – ignore the following. But for those who have a similar negative reaction to the audio guide we offer this suggestion: Fast forward to the Richard Serra sculpture discussion or turn it off. Visit the exhibits you are interested in and then go outside and across the river. Consider the exterior from a distance. Think of whether it works as a sculpture rather than whether you like it as a building. Walk around it during various times of the day and watch the light change it. We came to believe it was really lovely. Still unclear on the fish scales, though.


P1040790_thumb
Sculpture


The building isn’t the only interesting sculpture at the museum. We enjoyed wandering through a display of monstrous sculptures by Richard Serra which occupies much of the museum’s permanent collection space. It has a fun-house aspect. Don’t forget to look up!

P1040724_thumb
More Sculpture

P1040729_thumb1
From Inside The Sculpture


When We Say Monstrous, We Mean Monstrous!
[Photo Credit: Martin Roysher]

The Guggenheim is often credited with jump-starting Bilbao’s present incarnation as a tourist and cultural center. But it’s not the only reason to visit Bilbao.


          Not Just The Guggenheim

Bilbao has a very pleasant and efficient tram system which covers most of the tourist zone. There is a beautiful and busy theater (Teatro Arriaga), a very nice central square in the old city and more museums than we could take in during our short stay (heresy of heresies, we were so busy we even missed a maritime museum!).

We did enjoy:

The city’s waterfront, which is a wonderful place to stroll and home to some lovely buildings not designed by Gehry.


P1040799_thumb
Along The Waterfront

P1040771_thumb
Sweeping Bridge


The mostly-Baroque Iglesia-Catedral de Santiago (constructed primarily in the 15th Century) in the city’s old town is very nice.


Bryce (6'1" - 2") Providing Perspective
Below A Plaque Commemorating a
Devastating 1983 Flood
Photo Credit: Martin Roysher

P1040754_thumb
What's a Cathedral Without A Gargoyle Or Two?




The Basque Museum (Museo Vasco / Euskal Suseoa Bilbao) doesn’t have state-of-the-art interactive exhibits found in well-funded modern museums, but through its dioramas and artifacts we got a good sense of why many Basques think of themselves as Basque first and Spanish only secondarily, if at all. Like many museums in Spain, it’s located in a beautiful former Jesuit convent. [The Jesuits were expelled from Spain at the same time they were expelled from Mexico (1767) and left a ton of good real estate available for re-purposing.]

Then there’s Basque food. Seafood fans will be particularly happy and those who are fond of octopus and squid - ecstatic.


          Pintxos

In Pais Vasco tapas (small plates) are served along side pintxos (Spanish – pinchos; Eng. pron: peenchohs). Pintxos are bar snacks made of toppings (marinated cod, ham croquettes, cheese, fried peppers – or all of the above) pinned to a piece of bread by a wooden skewer or “pincho” (Spanish for “spike”). We have read that, traditionally, one pintxo is served as a free snack with each drink ordered and that a bar is often known for its particular pintxo. 

Our experience was a little different: We saw patrons picking and choosing from platters of various pintxos displayed on the bar or in little refrigerated cases on the bar. Patrons then paid based on the number of empty skewers on their plate when they settled their tab. Even better for those who lack the spirit of adventure necessary to enjoy standing at a bar and reaching past one’s fellow revelers to grab food –  many bars now have a pintxos menu that is served at a table. Not so authentic maybe, but more comfortable.


          Friends  

We had a particularly nice time in Bilbao because we were able to join our friends Christina and Martin who were touring in France, Spain and England for several weeks. It’s always fun to share a good time, some wine and some pinxtos with friends.

P1040710_thumb
Christina, Bryce and Martin Plotting Our Day

P1040793_thumb
Molly and Christina
Contemplating the Guggenheim
 From Afar


          Sunday In The Square

On Sunday morning our friends departed for a cross-Pyrenees driving adventure and we had a few hours to wait for our bus to San Sebastian. We debated whether to fit in another museum or to drink coffee and watch life unfold in the central square. We chose the latter and enjoyed Sunday in the Square very much:

P1040805_thumb
Birds For Sale

P1040808_thumb
Lucky Peruvian Guinea Pig -
Not Likely To Be For Dinner in Spain

P1040812_thumb
Coin Collectors

P1040813_thumb
Book Collectors

P1040814_thumb1
And Musicians From Afar


And that was our time in Bilbao. If you go, consider staying at the Petite Palace, an English chain of mid-priced hotels. The one in Bilbao is located on the edge of the old town. Our room was tidy, modern and adequate – though this chain seems to save money by using frosted glass sheets to build out their bathrooms. A bit odd, that. The breakfast space in the attic was crowded and hot by mid-morning but, for those who enjoy watching human behavior breakfast was entertaining.


Donostia / San Sebastian, Gipuzkoa, September 25-30, 2016

From Bilbao we took a bus (train connections were complicated) to the culinary capital of Pais Vasco (and some think, Europe), a lovely town on the Bay of Biscay – San Sebastian (in Euskera: Donostia).

P1040860_thumb
Gros Beach


On our first evening in this culinary mecca we checked into Pension Koursaal and, we confess, took our pinxtos- and tapas-soaked palates out for a pizza and a salad. Sometimes culinary adventure is just too much.


          Gros

The Pension Koursaal is located in the beachfront neighborhood of Gros across the Urumea river from the city’s main tourist area. We really enjoyed Gros. It is a short walk from the tourist zone and generally quieter and less expensive, and home to a nice laundromat (there aren’t that many in Spain, we learned), several coffee bars and dozens of more modestly priced restaurants. 

Our room at the pension even came with free entertainment. Several bus tour companies used a spot right below our window to unloaded their charges – without consideration of the local drivers. Each morning we watched the poor commuters of Donostia become more and more frustrated in their attempts to go about their daily lives as bus drivers stopped and unloaded crowds of slow-moving, completely oblivious tourists.

P1040851_thumb
Traffic, What Traffic?


Ah, the love/hate relationship those living in a tourist town must have with visitors! Our take-away: Spanish road rage involves almost as many shrugs and hand gestures as Italian road rage, with slightly fewer blaring horns. 


          Touristic Activities

We enjoyed wandering across the tidal Urumea on the Maria Cristina bridge,

P1040850_thumb
Rio Urumea


through the city’s medieval section to the waterfront. You can take the sailors off their boat but . . .

We scoped out the docking options

P1040817_thumb
Sailboats!


and the local sport/working fishing fleet of cute little fat dories.

P1040839_thumb1
Bathtub Toys Brought To Life


We ate a basic but delicious grilled fish meal at a dock-side restaurant (but we do have a vegetable - we have fried potatoes) and watched fellow tourists wander by.

Contrary to our General Tourist Practices we visited the Aquarium de Donostia-San Sebastian (we usually pass on aquariums because we have visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium often enough to consider ourselves thoroughly aquarium spoiled). We were pleasantly surprised by this aquarium. It has lots of species of local sea life . . .

P1040836_thumb
Lucky Cuttlefish -
We Probably Ate His Cousin One Night


. . . but, best for us, one floor is a museum that provides information on the maritime heritage of the Basque province of Gipuzkoa.

Another afternoon we wandered along the beach at Gros, spending a lot of time watching two young guys roll a huge (4’ or 5’ diameter) ball onto the beach and bury it in the sand. Bryce won the “what do you suppose they are doing” contest when it turned out that the object of all their effort was to create an object onto which they could fling themselves. Hmmm. Maybe Basque girls are impressed by giant ball vaulting?

P1040881_thumb1
A Challenge Is A Challenge . . . 


          Culinary Activities

We did finally get around to having some culinary adventures. One afternoon, after wandering along the docks, we stopped for a delicious menu del dia (daily special) at a randomly chosen restaurant in the old town that caused us to once again violate our General Tourist Practices. We don’t usually take pictures of our food – but this time we succumbed to photo temptation:

IMG_20160927_141825_thumb
Food As Art


Three courses and a bottle of good wine for 25 Euros. It’s a great country.
Our other food-picture event was at the local market. These people love seafood – you can tell that from their market displays:

P1040878_thumb
Fish As Art

          An Active Activity

Our favorite day involved a walk to the nearby village of Pasaia. It was a beautiful walk, if somewhat more challenging than we had been led to believe by the guy at the tourist office. He told us that it was about 4 kilometers to Pasaia and gave us a map which showed one, very clearly marked path. Both he and the map-maker were misinformed.

P1040869_thumb
Bryce - Walking


The walk – more of a scramble in places – was very much worth the effort. But If you do decide to take this walk don’t forget to bring a flashlight. There is a long, dark, damp, squishy-bottomed tunnel somewhere between Donostia and Pasaia which may not actually be on The Official Trail, but was on Our Trail. Just a hint.

At the end of our walk was a spectacular entry along the Pasaia shipping channel


P1040874_thumb
Pasaia To The Right


and a cold beer and tapas on the waterfront.

P1040876_thumb
Sharing Our View With Some Local Women

The purpose of our walk was not only to enjoy the scenery but  to visit the Factoria Maritima Vasca Albaola (Albaola Basque Maritime Factory) where workers are building a replica of the San Juan, a Basque whaling ship that sank in Red Bay, Newfoundland in 1565. Cod. It was all about Cod.






IMG_20160928_162853_1_thumb
The Skeleton of the San Juan

IMG_20160928_162127_1_thumb
It's Coming Together

The Abaola site includes a lovely thank you to members of the Parks Canada Underwater Archeology team which has apparently worked closely with the Albaola factory. We now have another reason to visit Newfoundland: to visit the Red Bay National Historic Site.

The museum at Albaola provides information about Basque cod fishing and whaling. In Newfoundland, cod fishing was done in dories. After the fish were dried and salted on shore they were packed into larger ships like the San Juan for transport back to Pais Vasco. When the San Juan was resurrected by Parks Canada a full skeleton of a fishing dory was found lying beneath the larger ship. At Albaola several of these dories are also under construction.

IMG_20160928_161456_1_thumb
Building Dories

IMG_20160928_161528_1_thumb
Traditional Tools
(Though We Did See Some Electrical Tools In Use)

IMG_20160928_163428_1_thumb
Aerial View

IMG_20160928_161643_thumb
Molly - Clueless


In sum: Visitors can spend time in Donostia dining in Michelin-starred restaurants (there are 11 Michelin stars in this one relatively small city – more stars per meter than in Paris!) or just enjoying the other restaurants as we did; walking the beach (or even swimming in the right season); touring museums; doing laundry; and hiking. It’s truly a lovely place – we high recommend that you put it on your To Visit list.


Next: More hiking and another language to confuse us – in Catalonia.