Basque Bros Road Trip: Biblao to San Sebastian via Gaztelugatxe & Guernica

We rose this morning to dry weather, after a downpour and thunderstorms at the end of our day on Monday. We all crashed last night (some of our gang after a round of euchre) and I slept 10 hours without interruption--can't remember the last time I did that, but likely another time I crossed an ocean. I feel caught up with the time zone. 

And this morning, a reminder of one of the reasons I love Europe: 

breakfast for 4 (Spanish tortillas, which are a cake of potatoes cooked in egg, more potato than egg, mine with chorizo; crusty bread, and GREAT coffee, just as I remembered Spain) for €12. Total. And on the walk home, 

fresh fruit for sale on the sidewalk, 

and vendors setting up a fresh fish display. 

Then we cleared out of our wonderful AirBnB, and loaded 5 men and all their lugguge 

(looking at you, Dan, with the steamer trunk) and headed down the road to Gaztelugatxe-- one of many, many names in Basque Country with too many x's and z's. 'Tx' is pronounced as a 'ch,' but I can't guide you on the rest. 

Gaztelugatxe is a tourist stop of limited historical significance, but the site of an hermitage built on a small, rocky island connected to the mainland by a man-made land bridge, a long, climbing ramp climaxing with 248 stone steps. 

The signs at the start warn against wearing what we like to call "silly shoes:" flip flops, heels, or other flimsy and/or slippery footwear. Water is also recommended, as today, post-heat wave, was easily 95F with significant humidity and not a puff of breeze, and hottest I can remember feeling in a long time. The hermitage and chapel are dedicated to San Juan (Saint John) de Gaztelugatxe and date to as early as the 9th c, but the current structure is much newer, probably built and dedicated around 1891, per one of the signs along the path. It's greatest fame, however, was HBO's use of the site for Dragonstone, the castle of Game of Thrones fame, which was digitally superimposed on top of the islet. We saw no evidence of either dragons or HBO. 

But I did notice that the rose window at one end of the chapel was superimposed over a ship's wheel, acknowledgment of the sailing industries of this coast. 

After our sweaty descent from the chapel, and with the aid of a cooling breeze that had come up we returned to our car, plus that driven by our 6th Basque Bro, Jake, who had been exploring the Bay of Biscay on his own for the last week. Two cars for 6 guys was a much better ratio than the previous, and we drove in comfort to our next planned stop, Guernica (Gernika in the local tongue). Guernica is the site and subject of one of Picasso's most famous paintings, of the same name as the town, which "was bombed by Nazi planes during the Spanish Civil War, an event that destroyed three-quarters of the ancient town, killing and wounding hundreds of civilians in the process." This according to Wikipedia. The town has created a tile replica of the painting; the original work hangs in the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid.

It's quite striking and moving, as the artist tried to capture some of the horror of the destruction done by the Nazis. 

Guernica (the town) was also our planned lunch stop, and once again, lunch did not disappoint, very tasty morsels and thirst quenching beverages at a street cafe. There I learned the truism that "the camera always eats first." 

Our final Road Trip leg today was the drive to Donostia-San Sebastian, on the coast on our way to our bike tour meetup in Biarritz. The drive to DSS was past spectacular, steep, steep hills, more like sheer mountains, winding roads, agriculture of all kinds, but unfortunately today the vistas were obscured by heavy haze, which was most likely a function of humidity, since there's not much industry or traffic, nor nearby wildfires, that might have generated smoke or smog. 

We found our way to tonight's AirBnB, which was unfortunately not quite as scrumptuous as the previous. When we pointed out that there were 3 beds in 3 bedrooms for 5 guys, the host replied that the beds were large enough to share(!). We insisted he bring additional bedlinens so we could make up the sofabed. And Murray and I may be getting better acquainted tonight in our double twin beds(!!). But it was so hot, and I was so mistaken in my assertion that "Europeans don't wear shorts, even when it's hot," that I found the nearest clothing store and bought a pair of marked-down short that actually fit my skinny ass, and I'm cooler as a result. Then a walk to the shore to catch a cool breeze.

The city is European urban pretty and interesting, but almost on a par with Prague or Copenhagen for tourist crush and activity. 

We wandered our neighborhood and watched teams of young men--they looked like high schoolers VERY aware of the young women watching their play--compete in Pelota, a Basque game played similar to handball ki but on a 2-sided (rather than 4-sided) court, with a ball that sounded HARD, which made their bare-handed slam shots all the more impressive. 

Then more pintxos (there's that pesky 'x' again) and cervezas, vinos tinto and rojo. I skipped the last round in favor of a bit of quiet, and sink-laundering my well-worn t-shirts from the previous 3 days. Then to bed, and more adventures.

Tomorrow: bus to Biarritz, and meetup with Echappee Cycling tours for orientation and prep for our Raid Pyrenees, which we'll start on Thursday.