Vertiginous Gaztelugatxe

Today was the day to shake free the shackles of the city... Hire car picked up (an ‘upgrade’ to an automatic BMW crossover type thing - not driven auto for 15 years which took a bit of getting used to) and off into the Basque countryside.

Gaztelugatxe is perhaps best known these days as Dragonstone from Game of Thrones. It’s a stunning location, the steep walk down to the causeway and back up well worth the effort.

Today was the entire reason I’d taken the 500mm lens here with me, and a Firecrest pair on the ascent back to the car bodes well. First attempt at a Walk was thwarted by poor (I.e. non-existent) signs, so there was a nice walk through some woods, but without a promised sea view end.

From there trips to two villages that were described as breathtakingly beautiful was shown to be clearly an exercise in hyperbole by the guidebook writers. So we turned back for Urdaibai bird reserve.

I always feel guilty dragging Mel to places like these, but in our short stay in one hide there was at least a distant Spoonbill, and then a Marsh Harrier, to keep interest.

The drive was an exercise in appreciating the strikingly hilly landscape. Twisty routes up steep ramps up and down keeping the drive constantly interesting, taking my mind off the fact there has been no lunch!

Heading back into town to drop off the car a combination of rush hour traffic + a football crowd influx to see Athletic Club de Bilbao play Olympique de Marseille saw traffic I’ve not had to drive through since a charity rally we took part in took us into the heart of Turin. Then, as now, roundabouts became a muscling-in exercise. When in Rome. Do as they do, and trust that no one is going to hit you...

Now drying off after a sudden downpour, waiting for the rain to pass, then out to see what becomes of the city when there’s a big game taking place (a few years ago in SAN Sebastian we watched fans of the local team and Bilbao, the big local rivalry, heading to the ground together in a way that would never happen back home). I got a (subtle) Bilbao too on the stadium tour yesterday, so will be showing my support against the Marseillais!