We docked the ship in Bilbao, Spain (I use the word “we” rather casually. I had almost nothing, ok, absolutely nothing to do with the docking of the ship. But we did find ourselves docked in Bilbao when we woke up. For this day I had booked an excursion to the costal town of San Sebastian, Spain.
This seaside town is a combination of the old town (Parte Vieja) and the new modern parts of the city. This city was made popular in 1896 by Queen Regent Maria Christina. Today the city is a relaxed family resort and home to an International Film Festival every September. It was apparently going on when I was there but evidently, they did not want me showing up, so I was not made aware of this.
It was lovely hour or so drive from the port to San Sebastian. We are today in the Basque region of Spain. Evidently the regions of Spain are glad to be a part of the Spanish Nation, but they also are proud of there individual history and language. The people all speak both Basque and Spanish. For example in Basque the name of the city San Sebastian is Donostia.
I walked from the drop off point near the beautiful beach to the old town and the Church of St. Vincente, the oldest structure in town dating from the 12th century. It was rebuilt in the 16th century. It is incredibly beautiful.
I strolled (huffed and puffed a bit) up the winding road to the top of the hill in the old town that looks over both the bay and the ocean. It was quite nice. I met and talked with several folks and helped take pictures for the couples.
I walked back along the beach that surrounds the bay. It is a lovely sand beach that had a couple of artists making sand art at low tide and will make like an etch-a-sketch and high tide will wipe the canvas clean.
It was a very good day.
Traveling with Ray Owens 
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