Geologist Nirvana

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Our bodies still think they’re in Toronto, so we sleep in until nearly lunchtime yet again.

We both think that San Sebastián is now close to our favourite place on the planet, so we’re feeling very sad that this is our last day here. Issy says that we’ll feel happier if we go for a long hike, so we head off towards the lush green hills of the Mount Ulia ridge at the east end of Zurriola Beach. It’s hot yet again, and it’s a bit of a struggle getting up the steep steps through suburbia. But it’s worth the effort; the views from the forest down over the crowded beach are excellent.

The path deteriorates into a maze of goat tracks leading off in all directions. We don’t know where we are or even where we’re trying to get to, but we plough bravely on. It seems that this is the place where the world’s geologists come for their holidays, although not all at once if the lack of anyone around is anything to go by. The only maps we can see are all about rocks. Now I’m sure the average holidaying rock doctor would love to know where the nearest basaltic outcrop is, or whether he’s currently standing on an early Palaeozoic sediment or some Devonian limestone, but we’re just after a “you are here” dot, and there’s none of those. It’s starting to feel very lonely. But wait, is that another person? Uh oh. We’re now kind of wishing it wasn’t - a sixty something lady squatting in the bushes looking for some privacy. I wonder if she’s a geologist. We don’t stop to ask. We pass some rocky outcrops that look like they might have been part of some ancient fortification, and then pause for a break at what we assume is a medieval hilltop watchtower overlooking the deserted coast. The views are excellent. We feel like we’ve been surrounded by other tourists for days, but we’ve now got this lush green forest virtually to ourselves. It’s very pleasant out here.

Back on ground level again we decide that we can’t leave San Sebastian without taking at least one dip in the ocean, so it’s off to Zurriola Beach. It sure is crowded. Fortunately sunlounges and umbrellas don’t seem to be in too high demand and umbrella-man is happy to rent us a set. The waves looked gentle enough from a distance but they pack enough punch to knock several youngsters flying. The water’s very refreshing nonetheless. We‘ve read that this is one of the most expensive places to live in Spain, so maybe it shouldn’t come as too much of a surprise that so many of the poor young ladies here are apparently unable to afford bikini tops.

We head down to the waterfront for our final meal, well for here at least, although that said I’ve read some less than glowing reviews about the airline we’re travelling with tomorrow. It’d be worth coming here for the food alone, and tonight’s offering is no different - squid and scallops washed down with some sangria.

We head off out to the point to watch the sunset, well that was the plan, but it seems that our timing is a bit off. The outline of Mount Igueldo against the orange afterglow is worth seeing nonetheless. It seems we mightn’t be the only ones whose timing is a bit off. It’s nearly dark, but we can just vaguely make out the outlines of three stand-up paddle boarders about a kilometre offshore out towards France. It’s a bit hard to tell but they seem to be trying to make their way into the safety of the bay before it gets completely black. We’re now very curious as to what they’re up to and where they might have come from. It seems like a slightly over creative way of importing drugs, but we’re struggling to come up with other plausible explanations, well I am at least, but that might just be the beer and sangria. But wait, there’s a boat with lights on it following them. Of course, it’s the Spanish Coast Guard, and they’re about to make the interception before our paddlers are able to make it to shore with their contraband. Hmmm. I think we’re going to need a new theory; it just cruises casually past them. We wait to see whether the wake’s going to help them along or tip them into the drink. I wonder if cocaine’s still any good if it gets wet. We’d like to able to report the outcome of all of this, but it’s now completely black, so we’ll never know, well unless they really were drug runners and we get to read about it in tomorrow’s edition of the Spanish news.

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