San Sebastián

San Sebastián is referred to as Donostia by the Basque people. It is on the northern coast of Spain - the Bay of Biscay, a big mouth of water connected to the Atlantic Ocean.

Our apartment was great. We were in the old part of the city between the beaches and below the outspread arms of Jesus. It was a 3 minute walk to the surfing beach and a 5 minute walk to the beautiful La Concha beach (shaped like a sea shell).

We split our days between hiking and swimming and surfing. There are mountains and huge parks in and around the city.

Swimming and surfing were exhilirating. The waves are a lot bigger than the waves we are used to on the Mediterranean Sea and on Lake Michigan. We drank so much water and ate so much sand, we didn't need lunch.

At night, we went for Spanish tapas in the old city on Bilbao Street. After we returned to the apartment, Matthew read in his tourist book that you should avoid Bilbao Street at night because there may be terrorist activities there. Hmm. It didn't seem very terroristy to us. We went back the next night just in case we missed something.

San Sebastián is in Basque Country. I hadn't paid close attention before but there is more than one definition of Basque Country. There is the Spanish autonomous community of País Vasco (Basque Country). There is also the Basque Country or territory which includes País Vasco, the Spanish autonomous community of Navarre, and a chunk of southern France. This is the Basque Country that wants to be its own country; they want independence from Spain (and France). The Basque people are an ethnic group that decended from natives (tribes) of that area. They speak Euskara, a language that pre-dates Roman times.

I don't know enough about the history and the people to have an opinion (though that usually doesn't stop me). If I were in politics, I would just agree with the person who gave me the most money. I'm joking. Actually, I tend to go for the underdog. I don't like governments telling people what to do and how to think. I also don't like violence. Can't we all just get along?

We really enjoyed San Sebastian. We climbed the mountains, we went to church (at the cathedral), we swam the beaches, we ate the sand, we walked the parks, we ate the food. We loved it. We left San Sebastian knowing that each one of us would be back some day.

More photos from San Sebastián:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/abrownell/sets/72157606774759962/