We have made it from the Atlantic coast to a small hill town in Navarra.
Our first day took us 20 miles from Cap de Higuer through Hondarribia (lovely small old Basque town with a a big stone castle, narrow streets with timber balconies brightly coloured and filled with geraniums, by sunbathers on the beach (VERY tempting), along a motorway in blazing sun and in to a town called Irun (not very attractive) and then out the other side in to the mountains. We made it to Vera de Bidasoa on the first night - arriving about 10pm VERY tired.
Day 2 took us from Vera to Elizondo. Another long day in the green hills winding around the valleys. There are numerous concrete bunkers dotted around the hills - Im not sure if these are from the Civil War or the Second World War.
I have never seen countryside with no flat bits. Even the Lake District has some valley bottoms but not Euskadi! It is either UP or DOWN - and very steep. However, it is a very beautiful place - very green, with beech woods, oak trees, ferns, lots of sheep, cows and farmhouses. We have had big showers in the afternoons but sunny mornings and evenings. Plenty of cloud cover too so it has been good for walking.
So now we are in Elizondo, a lovely hill town in Navarra. Here are some photos. We were going to press on today but it rained a lot last night a weather warning has been issued for today. The river in town is high and we decicded to give ourselves a day off to soothe our (very) sore limbs. It will be good to have time to look around town and see the sights. We had a good meal in a restaurant last night watching pelota on the tv. Pelota? It´s the Basque national sport. Bit like squash but with only a front and one side wall. And no racquet! Mmm...
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1 comment:
All sounds good. The first day must have been tough. I think I may do that over 2.
How is navigation going so far? I hear it's not marked out to well at the begining section.
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