Salamanca to Donostia/San Sebastián Part 3 Days 51 and 53/54 A walk, or two, on the wild side

Spurred on by the enthusiasm of the very friendly woman we had chatted to in the Turismo in Orio, and the plethora of info boards about all the walking to be had around us, we almost felt obliged to don our walking boots and set of on one of the many way-marked routes we were right in the middle of.

 

Deciding we would almost certainly stay longer with so much to do, and blessed with more sunny weather, we decided to take a circular walk from the site. There is a long distance path (the GR 121) that winds itself along the Cantabrian coast, and we were fortunate enough to be able to complete one of the (shorter!) sub-sections.

 

Starting from the site we soon left the surf rolling onto the beach at Orio behind and started the slow, and steep climb…

 

As we climbed higher we were able to see further along the coast as well as appreciate the sets of waves lining up for the surfers back at the beach…

 

And as we reached the farm and guest house that marked the point of no return/decision to carry on climbing higher, Mr B started enthusing about the fabulous mountain biking opportunities as he spotted numerous tyre tracks in the mud…

 

 

Nearing the highest part of this route, from which look-outs used to watch for whales and signal back with flags to the rowing boat crews on the beach (Orio has the dubious distinction of sending a crew to kill the last Right whale caught on this part of the coast) we opted instead for a sighting of the ever present AP8 motorway, which spans the river at Orio and provides an audible reminder of the march of the motor car…

 

It’s not that bad really, as the noise is easy to filter out – which is just as well as it’s also visible from our campsite!

 

Descending towards the town of Orio we discovered that not only were we completing a section of the GR121, but also the Camino de Santiago de Compostela… or one of them.

 

There are many sections of the famous Camino, all of them designed to make the passage of pilgrims easier, with numerous places to rest, and had we been minded, we passed a chapel and a hostel on our way back into Orio…

Winding our way back down to the riverside in the town, its close connections to the sea and fishing could be seen in the ocean going trawlers in the harbour…

as well as the artistic influence on some of the buildings…

With darkness falling and a kilometre left to get us back to the campsite, we loved the bustle and chatter of the locals in the very busy cafes and bars on our route. There’s a real sense of community here it seems; with most of the housing in apartments, the locals are clearly making the most of the ability to meet and chat as day turns to night.

 

After our amazing day out in Donostia/San Sebastián (see previous entry) we couldn’t help but try walking in the other direction to the western town of Zarautz, another surf destination.

 

This time, we’d get the train back, having loved the efficiency and great value of the Euskotren to the city and also having done a lot of steps in the past two days!

 

As we walked through the site, we were struck by how busy it had become, with loads of Spanish campers arriving for the last weekend of the season!

 

We climbed up the slopes on the opposite side of the river to our previous walk, and found ourselves amongst the vineyards of the local Txakoli wine that we had loved in Donostia/San Sebastián the day before. Quite a novel experience to have discovered a wine we had never heard of, enjoyed it, only then to be wandering through the landscape it had been grown and made in!

 

The vineyards are small in comparison to those we have seen in France and even the UK, and the tradition seems to be lots of small producers, with even smaller sub-denominations across the slopes…

 

Pausing to take a breather outside one of the local producers…

 

…and spotting yet another Camino sign, slightly more interesting than the last one…

 

…we found ourselves outside the other ACSI site that we nearly chose to come to, Camping Zarautz. Perched on the top of the hill we had just climbed, it had fabulous views across to the town we were heading to…

 

But was literally in the middle of nowhere – great for a few get-away-from-it-all days perhaps, but not exactly an easy walk to get the train, or shop, or much else except enjoy the 440 steps down to the beach, and back up…

…passing the abandoned iron ore loading jetty…

 

…and the golf course (founded in 1908) sandwiched between the river and the sea…

arriving eventually at the beach…

 

…where we enjoyed a lush €17 menu del dia, whilst watching the surfers catch the waves rolling in as we chilled and enjoyed a seafood delight…

 

Waving goodbye to the beach at Zarautz after a very leisurely lunch…

 

we caught the train back to Orio, to finish off the walk, as we still had the last leg to complete!

 

As we crossed the bridge to get back over the river, we were lucky to see one of the local rowing teams practising…

 

Based on the old sea-going rowing boats used for whaling, nowadays these boats are adapted for competitions between the trawler crews, family and friends.

 

Arriving back at the site just in time to see the sun setting over the hills opposite our pitch, we agreed to treat ourselves to a day off for our last day in Orio, and indeed Spain, as we prepared to cross the border with France.

 

We have had an amazing time here in Eusakadi the last few days, and in Spain generally the last seven weeks or so – with weather that may say more about global warming that we will ever know, we have been very fortunate indeed.

 

¡Gracias España!

 

S&J

xxx

Salamanca to Donostia/San Sebastián Part 2 – Day 52 Donostia delivers!

Donostia (or San Sebastián), the capital city of the province of Gipuskoa in Euskadi, and an international destination for foodies from all over the world, is also known for its fabulous buildings and architecture.

 

So let’s not overlook the role good old Blighty played in ‘accidentally’ burning it to the ground in 1813 during the Peninsula War when it was held by Napoleon’s troops. So, much of what is so fabulous about the city besides its food, is due to it having to be re-built in the early 1800s after over-enthusiastic looting and burning by the British Army…

 

And what a beautiful city it is. Our journey started on the wonderful Eusktren, the 1m wide narrow gauge railway system run by the Euskadi authorities that connects in different parts of the region with the Spanish state RENFE network.

 

 

It’s great value and very efficient - €2.75 pp each way for an 18km journey. And unlike the UK, and as with the buses here in Spain, everyone is wearing a mask, as required by law once you climb aboard.

 

Once we disembarked, we made our way up the river to Mt Urgull, one of the two hills that dominate each end of the bay that makes up much of Donostia/San Sebastián. The modern city is pretty big, but as we wanted to visit the old town/Parte Vieja/Alde Zaharra, walking along the river made navigation easy, as we passed the Maria Cristina bridge, modelled after the Pont Alexandre III in Paris, in all its ornate glory…

 

 

Our reason for heading to the old town of course, at lunch time, was to feast ourselves on ‘pintxos’ – the local version of tapas… up to a point! In essence, the difference would seem to be that pintxos are never free and always very imaginative with ingredients (usually) on top of a slice of bread, whereas tapas, although not often free these days, are usually more straightforward fare – and cheaper!

 

We’d also read about the local wine, Txakoli, made from the Hondarrabi grape grown around here. It’s young, very dry, low alcohol and although usually white, Mrs B sampled the rosé whilst Mr B had the white – poured alarmingly from shoulder height like Asturian cider!

 

 

The wine and the pintxos were delicious, and we were soon stuffed. What we should have done was wander around the old town a bit more and sat and had a coffee somewhere…

 

Mr B however, was keen to get to see the ‘English cemetery’ at the top of Mt Urgell, imagining it to be part of the city’s Peninsular War history. (He’s a bit of a Sharpe fan, of Sean Bean/Peninsular War fame).

 

Which is why, as the sun continued to grace us with its warming (hot) presence, we started scaling Mt Urgull.

 

The views, both over the town…

 

 

and over the famous Concha beach…

 

 

were fabulous.

 

 

Arriving at the top, a little hotter than we had planned, we swerved the castle museum and headed off for the cemetery, now, thankfully, downhill!

 

 

The cemetery (clearly not part of the UK War Graves purview) was pretty neglected and mainly comprised a memorial to a Colonel in the Scots Guards, killed in the nearby battle of Ayete in 1836. So not the Peninular Wars at all!

 

But Mr B did learn instead that there was once a British Auxiliary Legion, raised from volunteers to fight on behalf of the Spanish liberals against the Carlists…

 

Sated (or saturated) with history, we made our way down the north side of Urgull, in the shade, noticing an area where free camping was clearly condoned…

 

 

and arriving at sea level to admire one of the two large metal sculptures that sit at either end of La Concha bay.

 

 

Heading towards the old town again, the sight of the sun dropping lower in the sky reminded us that we needed to get a wiggle on if we wanted to see more of the old town…

 

 

Looking back up Mt Urgull to the statue on the castle, we heaved a sigh of relief that the rest of the afternoon would now be on the flat…

 

 

With easy access back into the narrow streets via one of the old gates…

 

 

we had time for a wander followed by a cortado and chat, admiring the Basilica of St Mary, bathed in sunlight…

 

 

the understated city hall…

 

 

a fabulous old carousel…

 

 

until, realising that we should be making tracks, we ambled back to the Euskotren station, having loved our time in Donostia/San Sebastián enough to warrant a return trip; next time maybe to one of the 11 Michelin Star restaurants in the area! We’ll start saving now, then…

 

S&J

22.11.22

 

Ruta de la Plata Part 3 Days 47-48 A stroll through Salamanca UPDATED & OUT OF SYNC!

Another day, another city stop and what a stop this one was.

 

Salamanca has been on Mrs B’s bucket list ever since we first drove close by after taking a wrong turn en route to Portugal about 25 years ago and she was struck by how lovely it looked from the road passing by.

After our less than perfect day in Cáceres, there was a lot riding on this one…

It started well at our chosen campsite, camping Regio, a few kms outside the city. This very pleasant site is behind a hotel of the same name and shares the reception for check-in in low season. It’s an attractive set up, with a grand statue outside and intriguing tower in the grounds.

 

 

There’s even a bus stop in the hotel car park where campers can catch a bus that goes into the city centre, for €1.50 each way.

 

We’re loving public transport here in Spain; punctual, reliable, clean, publicly owned, reasonably priced and well used.

After settling into our new home, we decided our weekday trip the next day was to be a relaxed one and indeed it was. We’d planned to start the day at the famous Plaza Mayor, but passed by the huge indoor mercado on the way, and of course just had to pop in just for a peek.

 

 

The building itself is rather lovely, set on two levels with vaulted stained glass windows and same fabulous produce within. The ground floor was positively stuffed with jamóns and cured meats, hooked up overhead, displayed on counters and in cabinets and, tempted as we were to buy, as we were poised for a day of sightseeing, we enjoyed this fabulous feast just for the eyes and took photos instead.

 

Downstairs was a little less photogenic, so we’ll spare you the images of teeny tiny whole piglets, tripe, trotters, snouts, ears and faces, all neatly compartmentalised, and although we’re sure they’re all delicious, appropriately cooked - and nose-to-tail eating is very on-point at home these days, as it should be, we’re just not used to seeing the body parts so graphically displayed!

No photographs of the Plaza Mayor can quite prepare you for how grand it is in real life, it really is quite something. Not so photogenic on our visit as a temporary structure and book fair was just being dismantled the middle but very impressive all the same.

Next stop was the cathedral, or more accurately cathedrals, old and new, connected. We climbed the tower here for spectacular views across the city. There were a lot of steps…and bells…

And a look at the shell house…

And another church…

 

 

And the ‘old’ cathedral…

 

Then it was lunchtime and we opted for an outdoor sit down menu del dia, with a platter of Iberian cured meats to start (of course), although we were tempted by these sandwiches at a takeaway we passed just before, positively dripping with jamón…

Salamanca certainly seems to be jamón central. Much of the jamón that Spain produces comes from the Castilla y Leon region as well as from Extremadura, with the famous free range Iberico pigs producing the very best - and most expensive hams, jamón iberico bellota, from free range pata negra pigs. We’ve driven through some beautiful pig territory on the trip north, with rolling hills dotted with oak, grazed by cattle as well as pigs.

Our post lunch destination was Casa Lis, an urban mansion nestled in the former city wall, showcasing decorative arts from the Nouveau and Deco periods. This is an absolute must on any Salamanca visit, both for the building as well as its fascinating exhibits, from paintings to glassware to toys. We loved it!

From there it was a hop across the road to yet another Roman Bridge for Mr B and then time for a quick coffee before catching the bus back. But not before we’d spotted a rather unique take on convenience shopping Spanish style…

Salamanca, we thank you for a grand day out - in every sense of the word!

 

J&S

20.11.22