Blogs from Basque Country, Spain, Europe - page 7

We sadly leave Bilbao on our walk to Portugalete (10K), the weather is perfect for this leg of the Camino and Kris is all in on this one. We stop at many locations along the way to enjoy the day and add mileage to the trek. The Guggenheim museum is world class structure and from the outside a truly stunning work of art. On the inside, with the exception of the impressive metal sculpture on permanent display, the modern art exhibit was not my favorite. I visited the inside the night before during a thunder storm, it only a 15 min. walk from the hotel, and I told Kris to rest up and it was a must see we would go inside before leaving for Portugalete. Not much to say about this walk as it wound ... read more

Gernika was a special town due to two people Picasso and Franco. During the Spanish American war Franco ordered Germany to use one of the first "Saturation Bombing" techniques on the town of Gernika which obligated the town, while people tried to escape the burning rubble they were strafed by Aircraft killing 90% of the population. Consequently everything in town is new and there are very few relics from history survived. After this attack Picasso painted one his most acclaimed works depicting the horrors of war. From Gernika the Camino takes a severe uphill turn for about 3K, reaching a peak of about 1,800ft. The trail was a mix of unpaved gravel roads, woodland path's and road ways. I like this section because after the steep incline the elevation the Camino remained somewhat level with great ... read more

We had a great dinner last night across from our Hotel, only problem was they don't serve dinner until 8 pm. I got in at 3pm took an hour to warm up, no food or drink all day I am ready to eat and get to bed by 5pm. So, Kris and I go to a small bar and have beer and small dish of shrimp, go back to the room and hang up all the wet stuff everywhere. There is no heat control in the room and its still cold no way my stuff will dry by morning. I complain to the manager and he tells me the heat is automatic, it will turn on at 8 pm and off at 7 am, well crap now what. I got back the room and begin the ... read more

Day 1 on the Trek starts with partly cloudy sky's temp. in the 60's no wind just right for the beginning. I start with a light day pack with water, rain jacket, lightweight parka, walking poles and not much else. The hotel is SWARMED with tour people who completely dominate to free breakfast area, I can't even get a piece of bread to go, Kris can't get coffee so I say screw it I am going, I leave with no food. I start the walk from our hotel which is 30 min. from the real start of the camino. Kris goes back to bed. It's a pleasant walk down to the sea to where the Camino begins. The trail comes to a dead end with no clear direction to take, right? Left? Straight? After a few ... read more

Hello!!! Stuck around here this weekend, and I was happy to :) It was absolutely gorgeous with warm weather high 70's and sun the entire weekend and not a cloud in the sky. What more could I ask for? My parents arrive tuesday and I cannot be more excited. They are my favorite people in the world and I am so ready to show them all of the beauty here. Anyways, since I've been here I have been so interested and fascinated in the Basque subject. The basque country has a language of their own that typically is taught with Spanish as either their first or second language. Basque is so cool because it is not related to ANY other language. Not latin, not Spanish, not anything. It's completely isolated from any other. Many languages are ... read more