It was with mixed feelings that we bid our goodbyes to Getaria early this morning. We had certainly fallen in love with everything about this small fishing village: the Camino Norde trails leading to and from the village, the availability of fresh fish, the sounds and sights of families having fun, and of course the smell and the sound of the waves carried to us by the sea breeze as we fell asleep every night.
Our early departure gave us the freedom to visit the ‘Real’ Dragonstone before we dropped the car off at the Bilbao airport. For those of you who are not Game of Throne enthusiasts, our destination, Gaztelugatxe, is one of the key filming locations for this television series. Gaztelugatxe is an islet on the coast of Biscay in Basque Country, Spain. It is connected to the mainland by a very steep man-made bridge. On top of the island stands a hermitage (named Gaztelugatxeko Doniene in Basque, San Juan de Gaztelugatxe in Spanish) dedicated to John the Baptist, that dates from the 10th century, although discoveries indicate that the date might be the 9th century. Hikers reaching the top are instructed to make a wish and ring the bell three times. By the time I had reached the top, with much internal dialogue to the tune of “you can do this—don’t look down” and Laurel’s gentle encouragement, my head was empty of any great or important wish for mankind! Simply wishing to be back down safely was all I could whisper as I rang the bell. It was my trusty brother that made that wish come true as he allowed me to hang onto the back of his shirt all the way down. Although the return hike was under 4 km it took us 2 hours to complete it. It was a steep downhill from the car, steep uphill to the church and repeat. It was a good workout.
With the car safely returned to the airport and of course a cafe solo, we taxied our way to the old city center of Bilbao where Laurel had booked our next Air B&B. It is once again a perfect location for hiking parts of the Camino Norde and the sightseeing we want to do over the next 5 days. After dropping our bags off we headed out to eat lunch and tour a bit as our accommodation would not be ready until 4:30.
Bilbao is full of picturesque streets with many small restaurants and we chose to eat our first meal right on our street having many to choose from in a 2 block radius. After lunch we stumbled upon a museum that was free to seniors and although I may be the only one who qualifies, the ticket seller let all three of us in for nothing. The museum was amazing! It had on display many of the giant puppets that we had seen three summers ago as we passed through Spanish towns celebrating some one fiesta after another. It also housed many different historical artifacts and displays depicting Basque culture. Laurel, who is rarely seen without a map In her hand and certainly never without one in her purse, was really In her glory when we entered the final display on the 4th floor. The room was a giant topographical map of this Basque province.
By the time we returned to the ground floor it was time for siesta so we retraced our steps back to our new home.
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