25. Irun to San Sebastián

 Waking up in a large Spanish municipal albergue is an experience all on its own. At 6.30am the hospitaleros switch on all the overhead lights, and music is piped over the sound system. It’s as if a marching band has entered the building and it’s clear no further sleep is to be entered into. Prepared by past experience for this event, we threw our things into our packs and left in search of coffee and tostadas (which, happily, we found!).

We were on the path by 7.30am and walked solidly for the next three hours.

Early on, the way went by the estuary and then up through a woodland.

As the sun rose, the light was warm and beautiful.

Looking back towards Irún, tucked away in the Bay of Biscay.

And because we haven’t climbed enough hills, we took the high road variant. This afforded us fantastic views and, surprise, surprise, there weren’t many others on this way!

At the top was a large grassy saddle, with amazing views of the Atlantic and a real sense of expansiveness.

Several defensive towers were ranged across the top.

Horses too, helpfully eating the brambles and keeping the path clear.

The descent off the saddle was muddy and rocky.

It was also quite long, but eventually we emerged into the tiny port village of Pasai Donibane.

It had some ancient looking narrow lanes, a bit like a miniature version of The Rocks in Sydney. And to our delight, this was the point at which the Camino involves a short boat ride across the inlet/harbour.

Disembarking after about 3 minutes, we enjoyed an early lunch pintxos of tortilla in bread and two glasses of rose (we really are in Spain!!). We saw big fish in the waters below the wall on which we ate, and a large ship coming the narrow inlet.

The last part of the stage began with a killer climb up rough stone stairs from the harbour to a height of around 250m.

After around 7km, we descended once more to sea level and to Donostia (San Sebastián), one of the most famous and most beautiful Spanish coastal cities.

Sarah’s walking pilgrimage is complete and we are looking forward to two full rest days here. We’ve begun exploring the city, relaxing and delighting in the prospect of a couple of days to reflect and share this time. 

Already we’ve enjoyed more pintxos, though dinner (on Spanish time) is still a distant prospect! We’ll post again tomorrow and, again, thank you so much for your interest and encouragement for our journey. 

🐟 🐟 🐟 🐟 🐟