Buses are the way to travel in this part of Spain as the trains are less frequent and take three times as long. It is only an hour from Bilbao to San Sebastian, so I was checked into my room and out wandering in the sun by midday. What a stunner of a day; sun sun sun and 23 degrees. People were swimming and walking with their shirts off 🙂 and dogs happily trotted behind their owners. Being winter there are not as many tourists as normal, so it was mostly locals out enjoying the day, making the most of their siesta time before heading back to work. I like the lifestyle of taking time out from work to enjoy the best hours of the day (1-4pm). It seems so much healthier than trying to cram everything into the end of the day. San Sebastian has three beautiful horseshoe-shaped golden sand beaches to choose from, cafes and restaurants right on the beach, and a very pretty city. It is also famous for its pintxos, reputedly the best in Spain, and I have a list of places that people have recommended to check out. This will be my last stop before heading back to the UK and I plan to soak up as much warmth as possible in the next few days before heading back into the cold. Hasta luego x
Joseba picked me up this morning for a coastal hike in Bermeo, a small town 30 minutes from Bilbao that is famous for its epic surf and the Gaztelugatxe island that is connected to the mainland by a zigzag walkway. On top of the island and up a few hundred steps is a small chapel dedicated to John the Baptist that dates back to the 9th or 10th century, and from the top you can see for miles. The coast is wildly beautiful in this area of Spain, and the wind was howling around up there. Joseba was trying to control his hair until my ponytail whipped him in the face and he laughed and gave up. His parents were married in this chapel 40 years ago so it is a special place for him. Joseba is 32 and has worked as tour guide for 8 years and he loves it. He trained as an environmental scientist so helping people to experience nature, history and Spanish culture is close to his heart. He created this experience through Air Bnb and I highly recommend you book it when you come, I really enjoyed it. Game of Thrones also used the island as Dragonstone (I’ve never watched it), digitally adding a castle on the top of the island where the chapel is, so a lot of people come to visit it for that reason. I just thought it looked beautiful and as the weather is good it’s nice to go for a walk. Hats off to his parents and their guests for climbing up here to get married, it is steep! Probably she wore flat shoes. Legend has it that if you ring the bell on the chapel three times your deepest wishes will be granted, and the local fishermen come up here to ring it to bring good luck for their boats and crew. Of course I rang it as well and sent my wishes off into the wind.
Wow Bilbao is a stunning wee city; the largest in northern Spain, home to a million people, surrounded by mountains, forests, beaches and rugged coastlines. It also has a Guggenheim museum (one of eight around the world), which has become a massive tourist drawcard since it opened in 1997. I went this morning and it was amazing, as much for the titanium, stone and glass building and the art installations around it as for the work inside. It’s only 10 euro for a ticket, or there are a lot of sculptures outside that you can experience for free. Inside, the exhibits are quite interactive and you’re encouraged to walk through and touch several (but not to take photos). My favourite was a giant maze of long thin translucent plastic ribbons that you can walk through, using your hands to part them as you slip between them. Outside is a giant puppy made of flowers, a fire fountain that in the evening shoots flames from the water (I’ll go back to see this later), a giant spider called Maman (which means mother in French), and (my favourite) a fog sculpture that fills the pond on the river side of the museum with thick swirling fog every hour. It would be well worth coming to Bilbao just to go there, plus the city is really lovely, it’s flat and easy to walk around, the pintxos bars are full of tasty things, and the high today was 18 degrees 🙂 So nice.
Today the sky alternated between constant drizzle and torrential rain, and Santiago looked pretty miserable. At least the streets are not marble 🙂 and everyone has an umbrella, even babies in strollers. I had a late flight so walked around as much of the city as I could without getting too wet and found a cool photo exhibition in the park with amazing pictures that capture the feeling of the people and this place. I took photos of the photos (below, covered in spots of rain 🙂 ). Not many hikers around today that I could see, and any out on the camino will be pretty wet. At siesta time (when things close for 2-3 hours), I retreated to a restaurant to read my book and have a slow lunch, then toured the cathedral museum which has a collection of religious relics dating back to the 1200s, before collecting my bags and heading for the airport. If I return here again it will be at the end of a long walk 🙂 Hasta luego Santiago.
The weather was not great today so, rather than risk being caught in a downpour on a 9 hour round trip to Finisterre, I decided to hike part of the camino that heads in that direction. It’s a 90km hike from Santiago, which people usually do over 3 or 4 days. I tackled the first 7km, then returned on the same path when the clouds started to darken, and just made it back to the city as the skies opened and I got thoroughly soaked. It was worth it though, what a gorgeous path. Winding through back lanes, past small villages, over streams and through forests, this part of the camino is lovely. It is a very peaceful thing to wander about like this and I think I would enjoy doing the full 700km hike in warmer weather, as you’d only need a change of clothes and it would be better if they could dry overnight. This part of Spain has quite high rainfall; at least 13 days per month at this time of year, and the forecast looks wet wet wet for the next 10 days. Not much fun for the few hikers I saw on the path today in their plastic ponchos. Luckily there are plenty of pintxos bars here in Santiago, so if it’s wet you can pop yourself down for some good food, good wine, and good company. Tomorrow evening I’m flying to Bilbao for a few days before heading to San Sebastian and some more beach time. It’ll be nice to explore that part of northern Spain and I have to admit I’m looking forward to being warm again 🙂
The scallop shell is the symbol of the camino
start of my hike, not hard to spot these signs 🙂
I had a small companion for a while 🙂 🙂
gorgeous
the side of this house is covered in scallop shells
pan con tomate
raspberry mousse
delicious tapas
El Papatorio tapas & brasas is lovely and great service, highly recommend if you come here
Being a small town the bus depot in Braga is easy to locate, but finding your bus is like spotting a white cloth in a snowstorm. There are 23 bays for buses to arrive in, the numbers and destinations on them bear no resemblance to the detail on your ticket, and the drivers get off and wander the crowds asking people (in Portugese) if they want to go where they’re driving, while the passengers also wander around waving their tickets in the air. Madness 🙂 A friendly older man saw my confusion and wandered over. Unfortunately he was deaf and spoke no English, but he took a look at my ticket and tapped his watch, and wandered into the crowd of drivers and passengers to see if he could find my bus. I wasn’t too worried as I was early, but he was on a mission and enjoying himself, returning every now and then to shrug a bit and tap his watch and then he’d do a little mime to update me on his progress. Hilarious. After a while he waved his hand at the people and said ‘pah’, patted me on the shoulder, and stayed to chat. I only know a few words in Portugese so I threw a few of those into the conversation with a few hand gestures even though I didn’t know what he’d said, but he seemed very happy. Hopefully I haven’t agreed to marry him 🙂 🙂 When my bus finally arrived he spoke with the driver and did a little dance, and then waved to me from the window while we drove off. It’s the small things that make your day 🙂 The temperature in Santiago de Compostela is quite a bit cooler so I’ve dragged the woollen things back out of the bag. Being a Sunday nothing except a few restaurants are open, so I took myself to one of them and sat at a long shared table with loads of families and had a fabulous meal. Santiago de Compostela is the final destination for anyone walking the Camino de Santiago (from France, Spain or Portugal), and a few people arrived at the cathedral while I was admiring it. They marched to the middle of the square, put down their bags, lay on the ground and looked at the sky, before taking smiling selfies and celebrating their 600-800km trek (depending which route they took). I’m keen to do the walk one day (when it’s warmer), and it is cool to see where it ends. If the weather is good tomorrow I might go and check out Finisterre, which means end of the earth, and marks the spot where the Romans believed the earth ended because of the vast expanse of ocean they could see that surely nothing lay beyond. Buenos noches x
Camino walkers arriving
Santiago de Compostela cathedral
you can buy a cookie with your face on ha ha ha
my room with a view
menu del dia
pork fillet with roast potatoes, almonds, pistachios, cabbage and carrots
I didn’t realise the Portugal football cup final was being played in Braga today, but there have been a lot of clues around if only my Portugese was better. Turns out the locals were not just out yesterday enjoying their Saturday, they were gearing up for a big game 🙂 with Braga playing in the final against Porto. Everyone I have met in Portugal has told me football comes (only just) second to church, and everyone has a favourite team. I watched last night’s game on the TV with the other hotel guests, and it was nail-biting ! No goals were scored until the final minutes of penalty time when Braga pulled off a spectacular play and shot one into the net. Even though the football stadium is a few kilometers away I could hear the shouting from here, and the excitement was contagious 🙂 Then it was final whistle time, and the celebrating, singing, honking of car horns and cheering lasted well into the night. How cool.
There was nothing on the agenda today other than wandering around Braga. The sun was out, the scent of oranges was in the air, and being a Saturday everyone else was out doing the same thing. What a beautiful place to spend time. A quick Google search will show you the best things to see here, and I did have a look at the places that were recommended, but this is a compact place, so even if you just followed your nose and stopped when you found something interesting you would have a great day. This guide is pretty comprehensive if you are stuck for plans – https://porto-north-portugal.com/braga-portugal-guide.html. First stop for me though was the pastel de nata store which is just around the corner from my hotel. These are the best I have tasted so far in Portugal, the custard is still warm, and the pastry is flaky and fresh from the oven. Breakfast of champions 🙂 Tomorrow I am heading north into Spain to stay in Santiago de Compostela, so will turn off my basic Portugese and switch back into Spanish. Muy bien 🙂
Braga is only 75 minutes from Porto by train and it costs 3 euro 20 to get here, and it is gorgeous. Not touristy at all, gorgeous architecture, 19 degrees when I arrived, old men blow kisses at you when you walk by 🙂 and it has a nice bustly vibe. I like it 🙂 I felt like stretching my legs so walked 5km out of the city and uphill to the Bom Jesus do Monte (which means good Jesus of the mount), and the stairway that climbs 116 meters to a cathedral said to be the final resting place of one of the 12 disciples, with many many many stairs. Like a stairway to heaven. It is a highlight in Braga, a UNESCO protected site, and well worth a walk (or you can catch a bus there) for awesome views across the city, and lots of photo opportunities. Plus you’ll see how the town is expanding, with new developments rising amongst the traditional old casitas with their tiled exteriors and vegetable plots. I don’t often mention my accommodation, but I have to give the Hotel Moon and Sun a special mention because their customer service is the best I have ever experienced. It’s not an expensive hotel, but their attention to detail and making sure you are enjoying yourself is amazing. I have just been delivered a slice of banana caramel pie (didn’t order it, came to my room) in case I want something before dinner. When I checked in a bit early, my room wasn’t ready but I was given a glass of port and a comfortable seat, and nothing has been a problem. You can come to Braga on a daytrip from Porto, but I’m looking forward to spending a couple of days here and not rushing.
Tomorrow morning I am checking out of my Porto apartment, but until late this morning I still had not decided where I was heading. I think bringing my return date forward created a raft of decisions I hadn’t had to think too much about; what countries could I squeeze in, should I return to France, maybe the Greek Islands would be an exotic diversion, or the Scottish highlands, or back to London…..too many decisions 🙂 and none of them bad. In the end I decided not to decide, and to stay in this area where it is lovely and relaxing 🙂 so in the morning I’ll catch a train 75 minutes north to Braga and will slowly wind my way across the top of Spain. Perfecto. No need to hurtle around on planes or try to cram things in when there is a long long long journey soon enough. I went out to buy a train ticket for the morning, and to celebrate I collected another pair of earrings to add to my ever-growing collection 🙂 and then on to lunch at the Majestic Café which I have been walking past but had not gone into. Opened in 1921, the Majestic is a beautiful art nouveau cafe, dubbed one of the most impressive in Europe, that has retained all its glamour and sparkle. There is someone whose only job is to open and close the door, carefully managing the flow of customers (there is always a line outside), and greeting everyone with a nod and a tiny smile. Inside, waiters in crisp white and gold uniforms take your order and make everything just so. Specialities include a delicious French toast with an egg custard, dried fruit and cinnamon which is what I ordered, paired with a 10 year tawny port 🙂 and a small plate of local cheese and pumpkin jam. Yum. If pumpkin was the only thing left on earth to eat I would die because I hate it (tastes like feet), but in a jam it is transformed and I love it. JK Rowling apparently sat in one of these leather booths to write her famous stories, and it would absolutely be an inspiring place to sit and write. For my last night in Porto I am going to listen to Fado in a 16th century chapel. Fado is traditional Portuguese singing, quite moving in a melancholic way, a bit similar to Flamenco (but don’t say that out loud here). Check out Amalia Rodrigues online, she is apparently Portugal’s best of the best Fado performers.
local cheese with pumpkin jam
French toast with port and egg custard, sultanas, pinenuts and cinnamon
