Pais Vasco- the Basque Country

San Sebastian and the Basque coast line july 2013

La Concha bay, San Sebastian

I rarely go south of Scandinavia in july, but as my youngest was attending a summer school in San Sebastian, we took a family trip for a visit. I have previously only been to the neighbouring Cantabria, another part of the Costa Verde in Northern Spain, so it was new ground for me. We flew to Bordeaux and drove south through the Basque country on the French side, and then over the border at Irun before entering San Sebastian (Donostia in Basque). 

As expected for late July, the city was crowded and with a lot of nightly activities going on. This is a very touristic place, and a hot-spot for the Spanish on their summer holiday. The climate here along the Gulf of Biscay is much more pleasant than the interior or the Mediterreanen for that matter. The shoreline is probably what makes the city quite spectacular, with long, sandy beaches within the city. We stayed on the eastern side of the Rio Urumea, but as the city is not very big, it is easy to walk over to the other side and continue on the beaches of the bay of La Concha. All in all, I think it was a pleasant experience, taking into account I am not a "city man".

Basque coastline

Another aim for me was to see more of the Basque coastline, so we had a one day drive along the coast, ending at the bay/Ria of Guernica (Gernika). This is the estuary of the Rio Oka, and is seen as the most important bidring area in the Basque country. The area is a mosaic of mudflats, sandbanks, cliffs and pasture. However, this is not suited very much for birding in July; there are to much people both at the beach and in the estuary itself, and for me this would seem more as a hot-spot under migration and for wintering birds.

A basque for a Norwegian

We then drove south, driving through the town of Guernica/Gernika. Most people should have heard of this town; it was bombed by the Germans under the Spanish Civil War and more or less completly destroyed. Based on this, Picasso made on of the most known paintings in the world; Guernica. Sorry to say, we did not find the town very attractive, so we just had a short stop and then drove back towards San Sebastian. I would summarize my impression of the coast line and country side to be a type of mix between Scotland and Switzerland! The green, rolling hills, the cliffs and tidal flats and the houses that seem to be inspired by the Alpine architecture. 

More pictures here