Blogs from Basque Country, Spain, Europe

Reisje in de PYRENEEEN. 17 t/m 27 september 2023 dag 1, 17 september: Vanaf Benidoleig via de AP 7 richting Barcelona verder via Ripoll en de nieuwe Toyota zoeft lekker door en uiteindelijk stoppen we in Ribes de Freser. Mooi uitgangspunt om de La Vall de Nuria te bezoeken. We rijden na het inchecken een stukje de berg op naar het plaatsje Queralbs. Daar stopt ook de tandradtrein naar Nuria. Leuk middeleeuws dorpje. dag 2, 18 september: Om La Vall de Nuria te bezoeken moeten we met een tandradtrein. Er bevinden zich daar een bedevaartsoord en een skioord. Het treinstation is om de hoek van ons hotel en de vorige dag hebben we al kaartjes gekocht. Alleen….. Zo moet een muilkorf op in de trein. Dat is een heel gevecht maar gelukkig is het niet d ... read more

Bilbao is on the Northern coast of Spain on the Bay of Biscayne, the same bay the much of western France is on. It is the largest city in the Basque Country with over 1 million residents. In the 19th century it was the industrial center of the Basque Region, then came Guggenheim. The museum was designed by Frank Gehry and puts the New York Guggenheim to shame. The architecture of the building itself is worth seeing. The museum opened in 1997 and now I don’t think of Bilbao without thinking Guggenheim. More on the museum later. Unfortunately for us, Sunday in Bilbao is not the day to visit. Most everything is closed, except the Guggenheim. It is a very sleepy city on Sunday. We did not make it to the old section Casco Viejo or ... read more

I absolutely love that the Rosslare to Bilbao ferry now carries foot passengers and cyclists. This is my second time to use the service. The Brittany Ferry owned M.V. Salamanca is a lovely new ferry and the calm conditions allowed for seawatching. I had a much smoother crossing than The Earls did in 1607. During the 27 hour crossing I added two more species to my lifetime list (not that I keep an actual list). I enjoyed lovely views of great shearwater and corys shearwater. Both can be seen on land based seawatches in donegal, but I have never managrd to find them before. However they stayed tantalizingly just out of range for a good pboto. I've added a few of the best shots here. Dull light and heavily cropped. A pod of dolphins followed us ... read more

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 ... read more

Today we’ve hired a car and plan to drive to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim Museum, and then onto the apparently iconic clifftop chapel at Gaztelugatxe on the coast north of Bilbao. The motorway is excellent and runs through spectacular terrain of steep lush green hills dotted with cute small farmhouses. The speed limit‘s 120 km/h most of the way, and there’s no shortage of fiends keen to test it and then some. We feel like we’re at some sort of major European crossroad with signs to France and Portugal. …. and I know it’s important to give drivers plenty of warning so they don’t miss their turnoff, but I would have thought the signs in Arabic directing motorists to Morocco might have been taking things just slightly to extremes. Bilbao’s version of the Guggenheim Museum ... read more