We drove in the pouring rain from San Sebastian towards the little town of Plencia, where we are staying for two nights. Along the way we stopped at a very cool hiking spot called Gaztelugatxe Doniene (yes, I spelled that correctly….crazy Basque language!). Do not ask me to pronounce it. My take is Gassy-tell-lugnut-ah-choo Donny-ne-ne. Regardless, the rain stopped just in time for us to make the hike.
I figured to take a picture of the plaque rather than rewriting the history. Suffice it to say that this place is old!
According to our Airbnb hosts in Plencia, this site was featured in Season 7 of Game of Thrones. We need to start watching again!
According to local legend you are supposed to make a wish and then ring the church bell 3 times.
A panoramic view from the top. We were told that this trail is jam packed in the summer time.
This is definitely worth the trip. Just be warned that the trail down (and back up) from the parking lot is very steep. There was a sign at the top warning people not to wear flip flops or high heels. The sign must be for those same people that the tunnel signs are for.
We spent 5 days in San Sebastian, one of the most beautiful towns we have run across on this trip. The first two days we were here it was very stormy with very high surf, which kind of made the surroundings pretty cool!
La Concha Bay from east to west.
A shot of La Concha Bay from the top of Mt. Urgull.
The Itsasadarra River splits San Sebastian in two, and is normally very calm. The swells on the day we walked aruound the river were running directly into it, and the results were pretty impressive. I was surprised nobody was trying to surf these, particularly with all of the stupid things we have seen people doing on this trip. The waves were running up river at least 200 yards.
Here are the views from our Airbnb deck. This place was truly gorgeous, and I would highly recommend it do anybody coming to San Sebastian in the future. You can even see part of the bay from the deck and the living room.
The previously mentioned Mt. Urgull on a much sunnier day. A very easy hike with great views.
La Concha Beach, in it’s normal calm state.
Crazy surfers in the very cold water.
There are all of these short, fat old people on La Concha Beach going swimming in the middle of the winter. Very strange.
This jolly fellow (no relation to the short, fat old guy in the prior photo) is known as Olentzero. According to Basque traditions, he comes to town late at night on Dec 24th and drops off presents for the kids. Sounds suspiciously familiar….
This is the beach on the west side of San Sebastian.
This is a view from the entrance to the Queen’s summer palace. Beautiful spot with gardens all around. It was sold to the City by the Royal Family so it can be preserved and used for public purposes. Unfortunately they only do tours once a week.
I have no idea what this display was about, but it’s the first Tesla we’ve seen in two weeks.
I presume this is Custer’s Last Jacket? Not sure how the light sabers fit in.
It was pouring down rain on our last day in San Sebastian, so we decided to go to the Aquarium. It was nicer than either of us expected, with a very cool fish tank that you can walk through. I’ve seen that once before in Dallas.
The thick acrylic glass made it difficult to get a decent shot of the Tiger Shark.
Just like in Monterey Aquarium….very cool jellyfish tank.
I think these fish were singing “Baby it’s Cold Outside”.
I think they call this a Harvey Weinstein fish? Looks evil enough, with a face only a mother could love.
