Today we swapped France for Spain. We left Saint Sylvestre-sur-Lot and decided not to take the highway all the way, but to stick to major roads which are much more a joy to drive on. We drove through massive forest on our way to the Pirineos. Just short before we could see the mountains we switched to the Peage and drove in a straight line towards San Sebastian or Donostia as the Basque people say. The navigator of the day (Eddy) did not do his homework which meant we drove the most difficult way to camping Igeldo crossing some hilly suburbs switching forward and back and driving through center of town. In the end we made it on time to catch the 14:30 bus into town. As soon as we saw the sandy bay which the city is built around, we jumped out the bus and walked on the beach towards the old part of town at the other end of the beach. Obviously walking the beach is a popular thing to do as we just joined many others.

The old town of San Sebastian is small and not so old as it looks like. This part was only build in the 19th century, but the narrow car-free streets are nice to walk through. We had a quick look here before we climbed Mount Urgull which lies just behind the old town. On top is an old defending battery with an outstanding view over the ocean and the city. A huge Christus statue is overlooking it all which gives San Sebastian the nickname Rio de Janiero of the Atlantic for a good reason. When we descended from Mount Urgull and strolled into the old town again we were looking forward to the Pinxtos. Tapas Basque Country style. We know the principle as our favorite restaurant in Amsterdam sells them, but this is the real deal…for half the money! Together with a Vino Blanco we enjoyed the night.

Next day we left the city already. Not only because the mountains were calling, but although camping Igeldo is comfortable…31 euro for the night is just too much.

We left the camping eastwards towards Orio driving on the ridge enjoying the vistas on the mountains left and the ocean on the righthand side. It was a fun drive and as we continued, the mountains on the background were getting bigger and bigger. We made a quick stop in Pamplona (Iruna in Basque language) to see where the bulls run around through the narrow streets of the city before ending at the Pamplonian Bullring. We continued our way and wanted to visit the in the 9th. century build monastery San Salvador de Leyre, but exactly on this day because a VIP was visiting, it was closed for the day. Rain was pouring down in the meantime so instead we visited Castle Javier and learned about San Francisco Javier and his missions around the world. From Javier we drove into Vallee d’Echo and finally arrived in the Pirineos.