Euro-Bounce, First.
So I moved on out of Pamplona, Spain for the coast by bus to San Sebastian. I was hoping it wouldn’t be so busy but being only an hour or so away from Pamplona a lot of over flow went there and Bob Dylan was playing there the night before I arrived. Needless to say, it was packed. I walked into a hostel and the Aussie at the reception explained that they were full up but could hop on line and see what was available. He did and he found me Luca’s Hotel for 100 Euro. It was more than I wanted to spend but my choices were narrowing and the sun was setting. It’s what I equate to the desperate hour when you take what you get and suffer the financial consequences without remorse. Unfortunately the Aussie pointed me in the wrong direction and off I walked. I ran into an interesting foursome, one woman with her ex-husband with his wife and her new husband. I didn’t ask a lot of questions but they were in the mood to help me out since they were going towards the same direction for good food and they were right. The narrow streets of old town are literally packed with bars that serve food on the counter and copious amounts of alcohol of every variety under the Spanish sun. My hotel was on the same street on the 3rdfloor overlooking the alley and the boisterous crowd singing and dancing in the street. Almost like clock work a mobile garbage can would be tipped over and emptied into a bigger one. The clank of glass was as common as the church bells around the corner.
Unfortunately Luca didn’t have room for me at ‘this’ location but he did have space in another hotel 10 minute walk away which was really 20 but so what. I walked with him and some young Spanish princess to the other hotel where I dropped my bags and proceeded out into the night to eat, drink, and try and find Mary. I ate; I drank and laughed with a pair from Australia. The woman lives in San Sebastian and her cousin and I ate, drank and they explained pretty much everything I would need to know for the next couple days.
I sound of the waves drew me to the beach and to another Bistro on the waters edge. I sat with two French men and had a lot of laughs about the combat surfing sessions they had gone through over the last four days. They also said that the waves weren’t as good as they had been during the last storm, still overhead but more of a wall than a break left or right. It was getting late and I made my way back to the hotel room and didn’t bother opening my bags since I was going back to the other hotel the next night. I actually slept a great sleep with waves crashing through my dreams. It reminded me of spending time in Coronado as a kid at my grandpa/ma’s place across from Star Park. When my parents would ditch me there I’d wake up in the morning and if I could hear the waves then I knew it was worth getting up and hustling to the beach because later there would be a stack of people. I would grab my fins and skateboard and press on down to north beach, which was at the south end and have waves virtually by myself. Growing up there off and on when my folks would take trips abroad and with my ma chucking me in the Hotel Del Coronado salt water pool as a 4 year old and swimming on my own by 6, this was a no brainer. San Sebastian took me back that far in an hour of sitting in the sand and watching the city light up the white lip of the waves, the shimmering curl and the anticipation of the inevitable crash and froth all on a seemingly eternal level. I just get to see and hear a fraction.
Tea in the morning is a staple for me as coffee is for others. Before the mob of people arrived on the scene I sat next to a group of four old men who never engaged me but knew I was within earshot and glanced periodically. They giggled and each told a story and all laughed, and repeat, and repeat. I didn’t understand much nor care. I have some other ways of understanding people that includes body language, hand gestures, and eyes. I didn’t need the details these guys had known each other since grade school or before.
I went back to the beach to watch the locals get up and go while the tide was right but it crowded up pretty quick and still the locals seemed to be able to pull off a lot of the waves where the outsiders kind of surfed scraps for awhile. And one kid, a great surfer on a little board played hard on the smaller inside waves with great cuts and a good edge or enjoyed launching over the top and playing it out.
I went for a swim and the water was more comfortable than Alaska water where you get hypothermia in about six minutes depending on your body mass and fat, give or take a few minutes or the water at Stinson Beach where I grew up with the Great Whites and Sea Lions just outside. We still shivered after being in the water after an hour. No this water at San Sebastian was comfortable but most of the folks surfing wore thin wetsuits, just enough, but for playing in the waves for half an hour, no problem.
I grabbed my gear and moved to the other hotel and showered and got ready to go explore the town. There are a lot of beautiful buildings and bridges to see in San Sebastian but the local people are the true highlight all generous, courteous, and genuine. Once all my stuff was in my second room I did a quick roam around old town and then on up to the statue of Jesus on the hill for a look about and wandered off to sort out my next move, Lisbon, Portugal. I went to the bus station and thought better after trying to talk to them both of us with raised shoulders and hands out not knowing what the other wanted. I moved on to the train station which was considerably closer and sorted out a ticket for the following day.
The night was loaded with singing and bottles clashing as they fell into bigger dumpsters. By the way, they take their recycling very seriously and there are at least three cans nearby at any point. The food at the bars is wonderful and there’s always a conversation going on. I walked into a sports bar and watched the Wimbledon tennis finals in London. Congrats. See you in Lisboa, Portugal. Lisbon, Portugal for those who don't know how 'they' spell it and only follow western English without knowing the difference.
