Bilbao, May 29

The instructions supplied by Camino Ways on how to get from the accommodation back to the route were nuts: Go to where you saw the sign, turn left before the motorway, then left again where you will see a sign to I-forget-where and go under the underpass.  While I was trying to figure this out in the middle of a roundabout where three major highways come together, I had the great idea to use Google Maps to get to the next town.  It was so easy AND it was the Camino!  

The walk to Bilbao was deadly dull except for one small section on a dirt path through trees.  This is not the nice part.  The nice part was before it looked like this:

Not a buzz was to be heard:

There was a lot of Bilbao to walk through before reaching the hotel. A shop specialized in selling these statuettes.  Don't ask!

Arrived at hotel at 11:30, not expecting to be let into my room, but not only did I get my key but the suitcase had already arrived. ¡Que suerte! (What luck!)  I asked about the password for the wi-fi, the explanation for which sounded muy complicado, so I inquired of la señorita if we could do it right there; she was willing.  But no success.  "Is this an iPhone?" she asked.  "Yes."  "Oh, well that is the problem.  They have an extra level of security." (Right!) Since the suitcase was there, I decided to see if the computer would take the password.  It did!  La señorita then told me that an IT guy would come up to my room to deal with the phone.  And guess what?  About five minutes later a knock at the door and dos (two) señores showed up and got my phone connected to their whackadoodle wi-fi system.

Most of the morning I had been thinking about having an ice cream.  As I made my way through Bilbao to the hotel I kept my eyes peeled for such a shop, but no luck.  Once settled in, I searched for the best ice cream shops in town.  One was right near the Guggenheim, so I was able to matar dos pajaros con un tiro ( kill two birds with one stone.)

The ice cream tasted as delicious as it was beautiful.  I had coffee with a dulce de leche topping while sitting on a bench working on the Spelling Bee.  No 👑 today for sure.  

Fortified and satisfied, I went to the museum.  Jeff Koons' Puppy (pronounced Poopy in Spanish, see just above) whose permanent dwelling place is just outside the museum is the star of the collection: 

There was a special exhibit for which you had to get a number and return in 45 minutes but in the meantime make sure not to lose the scan on your phone etc, etc. etc.  You go into this little room that holds about 4 people, where lights dazzle and reflect off the walls and floor and ceiling and you don't know where you are and you last about ten seconds in there.  It was CRAZY! The title is Infinity Mirrored Room, A Wish for Human Happiness Calling from beyond the Universe 2020 by Yayoi Kusama:

For a view that has no people in it, Click here

Michael Basquiat did this Moses and the Egyptians. I am not sure what he was trying to say but I am guessing it was not favorable! (Remember, you can click on any image to enlarge it.)

I chose to capture this Eduardo Chillido, 1996, for the title:  The Profundity of Air!  (I guess!)

Sorry, I forget who produced this, someone very famous, for sure: 

It fairly screams for some Woody Allen repartee, especially that little white blob in the corner. 

I loved the Claes Oldenburg Soft Shuttlecock:

See a better photo and read about it here

Roy Lichtenstein needs no comment, but feel free!

If you are into Richard Serra, you will get your fill in the huge room full of his huge pieces:

Dora Salazar, 2020, did this sculpture...it has nothing to do with the museum:

After arting for a while, it was time to hunt and gather, so off I headed to the the Corte Ingles, a department store that is usually reliable for good foodstuffs.  It was in a smart part of the city, and when I saw that the food emporium was on the 6th floor instead of its usual basement location, I started to wonder.  It did not rival Harrods but it was way more than I needed, especially the selection of spirits.  All I bought was a loaf of bread (very good), a jar of jam, and an avocado.

For my needs of the moment, better luck at the Eroski just around the corner from my hotel.  

One thing about Bilbao.  There are a lot of stairs to get from one part to another.  A problem with this is that Google Maps rarely tells you to "take the stairs," so you don't know what level of street you are on or are supposed to be on, and while Google Maps does supply the names of the streets, the streets themselves tend to remain unmarked. 

Fact: to reach the pedestrian walkway of the bridge nearest to the Guggenheim from my hotel, there are 16  flights of stairs.  There is also an elevator.

Larabetzu, May 28

Orange, Sea to Summit plate was not forgotten after all; it was in an outer pocket of the suitcase.  In real life it does not look as silly as it does in this picture...must be reflection or something.  Really, using a plastic bag as dinnerware is so not elegant.

Today's walk was a lot like yesterday's in terms of terrain: a combination of asphalt, mud + rocks and hills.  But it was a lot shorter, about 13 1/2 miles to the accommodation, a mile and a half or so beyond Larabetzu.  Today, though, the weather was perfect!  I should have lingered in town, but did not, so arrived at noon much to the innkeeper's horror!  I was exiled to the table and chair on the patio until 3:00.  Not that the lady was being mean or anything, it was just that is how long it takes to turn the place from yesterday's occupants to today's.  She supplied the wi-fi password; what else could one want?  

On the way, whom did I meet?  Why Liz and Steve from the other day, so we walked together for a few miles.  They told me that they had met a young woman who, walking without poles, had a bad fall along one of the mud + rocks section.  Alex, are you paying attention?  She—the woman— plans on picking up a set in Bilbao. Steve and Liz, probably in their early fifties, retired from banking early and are going to devote their lives to horses.  Yup.  That is the plan. 

For the cat lovers:

Goat scratching ferociously against a fence:

A little side hustle for an enterprising homeowner.  Honesty is assumed:

View:

Landscape looks kind of cockeyed, pero bueno.  Of a truth, the scenery has been ho-hum for the most part, and significant deforestation in some places definitely downgrades the surroundings.

A metal ant by the side of the road:

Don Quioxte or just some dude with a horse and a staff?

After bargaining about breakfast, again: "Please, please do not get up, just leave milk and sugar," I settled in.  (The nice lady left milk, salt, oil, an orange, a roll and jam.  No sugar!  But I found some in a drawer!)

Deba, Markina, Gernika May 25+26+27

In case you are totally into photos, stop reading now because I just deleted today's shots except for this one of a local crew team (looks more like they are training for positions in a Roman war ship).  

 Even the photo of the calf, so lovingly taken, disappeared.  How I managed this sleight of hand, I have no idea. A search on how to recoup vanished items did not help.  Honestly, today's shots were not  great anyway, except for the one of the one-eyed scarecrow.

The budget hotel in Zarautz has a 24/7 front desk, so Neddy was able to make me coffee at 5:30 a.m. It was nothing to write home about, even though that is exactly what I am doing, but two shots of caffeine are a necessity to prepare for the rigours of the day.  Speaking of caffeine, Zero Coke is available all over the place and, aside from Fanta, is about the only carbonated drink one can count on. 

At the start, a choice of routes again today.  I opted for the easier one along the coast, as opposed to the rugged inland route; they both meet up after a bit.  Almost 3000 feet of elevation (also yesterday and tomorrow) was enough para mí.  

Nothing to report about today's adventure except to comment on the isolated place of the booking....kind of like yesterday's but in the middle of nowhere, barely functioning wi-fi and absolutely no amenities except for a little terrace where I am parked at the moment. The digs are run by an awfully nice lady named Rosa, with whom I had to argue that NO she will not get up tomorrow to make me coffee at 5:30!  We settled on her leaving some sugar and milk (like for the cat or something).  Today am reliant on provisions bought yesterday, so a good thing the can of tuna made the final cut, although the mayonnaise did not. Add lettuce, onion and leftover avocado and you end up with a decent meal.  Bread, butter, jam, and nuts are staples.  So is chocolate. Note to self: do not keep jam more than four days lest it ferment, explode, and spill all over everything!  

Since I had time to spare, I purchased and installed a new eSim number as mine is a bout to expire. It seems that the plan is now renewable so I won't have to change numbers again, I hope!  A query to Customer Service is underway.

Back to the accommodation.  There are a bunch a cockadooledoers outside my window. They sure are a noisy bunch, but as if they have an internal clock they all stopped crowing at 7:50 on the dot!  A contest: who will get up earlier tomorrow, they or I? (I did.)

Today's "walk" was much like yesterday's: much severe uphill.  Actually it started with a steep downhill into Deba, as the B and B was about 40 minutes shy of the town.  The final section of this downhill was brick, but not as in the Yellow Brick Road, more like if these bricks were wet, the only way to navigate would be in a seated position.  Then without delay, the upping began.  Let's cut it short and say today's stretch was tough and long....about 18 1/2 miles. Fortunately it was cloudy and cool.  For a while it rained just enough to require rain gear.

The yellow-flower-studded-field is a last remnant of spring:

From the bottom to the top of them there hills:

Another way of looking at it:

A few miles from the finish, as I was figuring out whether to follow the yellow arrow or the GPS, a woman, who was confident of the route pointed me in the direction of the arrow.  I shadowed her and her two companions all the way into Markina.  There was a lot of fancy footwork involved as the path was steep, stony, and muddy, but it was such  comfort to have guides especially since there was another split in the route and I did not want to deal with that.

 The hotel, a good 1/2 hour walk out of town, is rather charming with stone walls, lots of polished wood, and an excellent shower, but the window cannot be opened by anyone under about 6'2".  I actually ate in the restaurant where I tried fried anchovies. Not bad, but not again.  A little tartar sauce would have helped. To get wi-fi, you have to go out to the hall and maybe you will be lucky.  There is always something to complain about, or one could say, note. 

Walk to Gernika was tough.  It was cool and rainy, not terrible conditions, but rain gear is cumbersome. Long day, lots of steep hills, lots of asphalt and cement and mud and rocks where the surface was neither asphalt nor cement, so it was slow going.  Left hotel at 6:30 and arrived at Hotel Gernika at 2:00, not having stopped once.  I was exhausted.  I am exhausted!  

The tour company had today's booking 45 minutes from Gernika by taxi. Forget that!  So Hotel Gernika is one of my three overrides.  Good choice!  Well located, plain but spacious room, mini frig, functioning wifi, decent bed, and very nice people at reception.  Bit of drama:  could not extract plug from wall this morning:  this was my clever grounded AC > UK > EU  contraption.  No one available in the hotel, so left a note, and even though I used the wrong word for plug (and I even knew it at the time), they responded to the message and the adaptor showed up with my suitcase. However, I left my nice, big, orange, plastic plate behind. I will find a replacement of some kind two days from now in Bilbao. (Today's "plate" was a plastic bag.)

I could not determine whether this was art, broken equipment, or something for kids to play on:

You know you are in Spain:

Doggums wanted to play:

Zarautz May 24

First official day of El Camino del Norte and I was rarin' to go. Left the comforts of Hotel Arbaso in San Sebastian where one night cost as much a three in Zaragoza, and even though the room was not much bigger, the niceties felt good.  Tonight I am back in super-budget digs—by any criteria—in Zarautz. But one must note that the most barebones room in Spain will always be spotlessly clean, and if the toilet flushes (if you do it just right) and the hand held shower dispenses adequate hot water, and the wi-fi works, and there is an outlet for your power strip, and bed is tolerable, well, you can't complain. (The bed was barely tolerable)

The guide book begins, "The route begins with a steep climb."  It certainly did.  Steep and long.  The down part was muddy and a bit tricky to work your way through—although one young woman passed me scampering along like a mountain goat—anyway, think Roman Road in a state of terrible disrepair for a couple of hundred years and you will get the picture.

I do not know what to say about this variety of tree:

This rebaño de ovejas (flock of sheep) was between the road and the bay!  Maybe it has to do with that thing about the salt water infusing the grass, which makes the sheep taste good...in their after-life that is, or maybe that has nothing to do with why they are there.

Every time I see one of these, I am so happy!

Yet another selfie:

Lone horse amid tall grass in front of tree and the bay:

This cat must have had a fiercesome itch because it (I really wanted to say she, but maybe she was a he) did not stop scratching or move an inch when I passed her.

Blackheaded ovines:

Crosses line the way along certain stretches:

And the landscaping accommodates:

Door (locked) in a wall

Near Zarautz, there was a choice of routes:  Shorter, along a major road that did not have a shoulder or a longer, more difficult, pretty route that promised stunning views.  I opted for the latter and it was beautiful. That projection you see is called El Raton (The Mouse).  Isn't it cute?

A perfect first day: challenging but not impossible, one could not ask for better weather (makes all the difference) and my suitcase showed up a few minutes after I arrived at the hotel where my room was actually ready.  It feels good to start the re-org upon arrival, but, to be fair, what with having a phone there is plenty to do if one is exiled to the town square to wait.

Overbought at the local Eroski given that tomorrow it is unlikely that I will hit the "supermarket" near Deba before 1:00 when it closes and Sunday all the groceries at the destination will be closed (I checked), but will I really try to pack the jar of mayonnaise, the salmon pate, and the chips? At a bakery, I purchased yet another delicious pastry: a lemon meringue tart, which paired perfectly with my last nectarine and a cup of lemon-ginger tea.  

A note about "things:" I was not sure I would like the insulated Miir mug I brought along, but I do.  In fact, it is an item I would highly recommend: holds 16 oz, keeps the beverage hot (of cold if that is desired) has a lid to allow for steeping, and will not break in the suitcase. When not in use, it can also store two small stax containers!

 

San Sebastian, May 23

 Up at 5:15, met pre-ordered taxi at 6:10, arrived at the ENORMOUS Central Bus Station at 6:20 where there was not a soul in sight.  Think GCT without a security guard, cleaning person, nadie.  Fortunately, the taxista told me to take the elevator.  Got on the elevator and there were four floors to choose from.  Chose #4, got off elevator, saw an electronic screen reading out departures, but mine was not among them.  There, in this enormous space, were about twenty turnstiles but no passengers, drivers, nadie.  Totally empty. Tried another floor, saw one big bus.  Went up to driver to ask for help, telling said driver that the bus to Pamplona was not listed on the board downstairs...well, it turned out that was because those were train listings.  Who knew that trains left from the Central Bus Station?  Bus scheduled to depart at 6:55.  At 6:51 a disheveled guy showed up, he got on the bus, fiddled with this and that, opened the luggage compartment and pulled out at 6:55 on the dot. 

Arrived at Pamplona, but Eduardo, the pre-hired taxista was not in the taxi zone; he was at street level. Without too much ado, we met, took off, and arrived in San Sebastian at 10:30.  A word about Eduardo.  He had a tattoo on his arm that provoked me to ask, "Do you speak Hebrew?" (Maybe he was descended from Conversos or something).  "No," he said, "I just like the way the letters look."  I told him how to pronounce the word, still thinking heritage; I am also thinking he is not up on world events or he might be wearing a long-sleeved shirt. (Last time I was in Spain I had a taxi driver who wore a Magen David "just because she liked the way it looked." She claimed she had no idea what it even was.)

                                

San Sebastian is one lovely city.  View from a bridge:

Gorgeousness interrupted:

Not a good look:

The following photo was inspired by Megan's Global Desserts.  These were the ingredients of my dinner, which was delicious:

In addition there was a pastry, bought later.  Think palmier + buttercream, enhanced by some blanched almonds I bought the other day.  Oh, so good!  

Zaragoza, May 22

Was all hyped to-day to get some hillage in by doing the Montes de Juslibol walk.    

Alas, it did not happen. That protrusion from the ground may not look like much—although it stretches out much more than the photo captures—and it is not as if it rivals Everest or anything, BUT it is littered with a warren of desert-like paths that are 100% scree, very steep, utterly isolated, and just pain scary.  "I am going to get lost and die here," I thought, so I turned around in defeat and retreat.

As I made my way back whence I came, I walked along a number of lovely riparian path segments where the birds were singing their little hearts out.  Major improvement!

The highlight of the day was a visit to the aquarium.  The signage was teeny-tiny and it was dark, so except for this one bit of explanation about the adorable marmoset, you will be on your own to figure it out! 

Uhh...what is a marmoset doing in an aquarium?

I thought the fish looked quite happy, if one is actually able to make such a determination:

So long as they stay away from this fellow:

He merits  two shots:

More pretty fish: 

Ooh, and even more (These may be from Indonesia, but don't hold my feet to the fire on that.)

An eel:

And some polka-dotted stingrays:

Can't forget the turtles, especially such a grandly colored one!

Fishermen on the Ebro, not in the aquarium!

That needle-like thing may be art because it does not seem to be an integral part of the bridge:

That needle made me really wanted to traverse that bridge, and on my way back, I did.  There were scratched lucite barriers along the sides, which took a lot away from the the sleekness.  Sometimes things are best experienced from a distance!