San Sebastián is just over the border of France into Spain, but it is also in the Basque country, which comes with its’ own language! We loved this area because it is on the Atlantic Ocean with lots of great surfing waves, wonderful food (pintxos), and it’s also right next to beautiful mountains. It is the perfect combination of different outdoor activities!
We hiked through the mountains along the ocean. This area gets lots of rain, and it reminded us of the forest in the Pacific Northwest. It was lush, green, and smelled divine. We were so happy to be in the mountains again after moving from city to city for almost a month. It was literally a breath of fresh air!
We were lucky on this part of our trip to couch surf with an awesome guy, Fedé! We hiked into the hills with him on a lovely, rainy day and learned all about the Basque country, Spain in WWII, and the differences in our cultures. Brian was really hoping to catch some waves in San Sebastián, as the surfing is supposed to be great, but with the weather being cold and rainy he decided against it. One more reason to come back, not that we need any encouragement!
San Sebastián is the Spanish name of the town, but in the Basque language it is Donostia. Which is very confusing when you are trying to figure out trains! But, in order to preserve this very old language, the primary language used is the Basque language. The origin of the language is unknown, it is one of the few surviving languages of prehistoric Europe! During Franco’s rule in Spain, the use of the language was discouraged, but after the dictator died there was a rebirth of Basque, and it is now taught in school as the first language with Spanish being the second. It sounds completely bazaar and nothing like Spanish.
We hiked around the mountains for a few hours to some amazing lookouts and then headed down to the valley to another town, Pasaia. As you can see, the water is a gorgeous turquoise green. We wandered through the city and then took a bus back to San Sebastián.
Churros and chocolate! Unfortunately these have been our only churros and chocolate on this trip! But, hey, it’s another reason to come back! Churros and chocolate tour next time!
In Spain, they like to eat late, drink wine or beer, and share small plates. You can go to a restaurant and get a full plate of food, but many Spaniards like to eat a variety of different places in one night. It sort of becomes a tour of the town at night when you go from restaurant to restaurant. It is a fun way of eating dinner! Pinchos (Spanish) or Pintxos (Basque) are the perfect socializing food. We went to a few different Pintxo bars while we were in the Basque country, as these small plates are their regional specialty. They are slightly different from tapas, because the food usually comes on a toothpick or a spike.
This is the gourmet version of a Pintxo bar! All of the food was amazing, but the fresh smoked cod was the most delicious! You actually allow the fish to smoke on the grate and then you put it on the bread and voila!
We are taking our first night train to Lisbon, Portugal! We have heard so many amazing things about Lisbon so we decided to make the trek all across Spain to see this awesome city!
