Sabriñita is the earth under our feet. Beño is a whisper on the wind.
When I woke up the morning after Arantzazu, I gingerly flexed my foot under the covers. It was still tight, but much improved. I could now slightly move my toes, and walked to the bathroom with only superficial, overly-cautious limping. I was so relieved; I’d been quite worried that our hiking plans would be scuppered by a tweaked tendon. Even though we weren’t heading out on a big hike, we did have a long day planned in San Sebastian.
This is part of the trip that I’ve looked forward to for a while. Early on in the planning, when I was still trying to keep pace with Sabrina’s research efforts, my brain latched onto a claim in a couple travel guides: the Basque region, and San Sebastian in particular, has some of the best food in the world. I’ve heard about spanish tapas and Aragonese meat platters, but my imagination had flown away about what the Basque are cooking up that is so special and unique. After a pleasant drive (until Sabrina had to use a parking garage), we merged with the sunny Sunday crowds. Our first stop was Tabakalera, the charmingly bizarre cultural center.
Lonely Planet had promised a constantly packed calendar of cultural goings-on, but our main concern was wifi. The connection at our hotel felt medieval, and we were getting desperate to book our final hotel night in Barcelona (we’d seen prices climb and options dip). Hallelujah, a quick registration was all it took and we were back in the 21st century. A few online errands out of the way, we turned to the important matter at hand: finding our first eating trough.
We didn’t have to walk far. The fifth floor of the Tabakalera had a gastronomy nook called “LABe.” The restaurant had a sunny patio overlooking a park, and it was currently open for brunch. Peaceful, unhurried, and above the sounds and stimulation of the city, LABe was a good first stop.
One tiny caveat to an otherwise lovely restaurant: you have to pay by scanning a QR code and using some 3rd party app. I grumbled about it for days.
Yeah you went into a bit of an old man rage for sure.
What we ate: Cafe con leche, juice (strawberry & orange), spanish omelette, yogurt cake.
Our impressions: the coffee was needed. The strawberry juice was very sweet, and was much improved when Ben combined it with the orange in a very Sabrina move (“I have nothing left to teach you”). The omelette was REALLY good, the cake was dense but okay.
The Spanish omelette was like a cake full of caramelized onions. I need to learn how to do that.
Since Sabrina zonked really early the night before, I had time to research some tapas –errr pintxo in Basque– places and map a route. So for once it was me leading the charge across the river and into bustling old town. Here the dark stone buildings seem to lean over narrow, twisting alleys choked with locals and tourists alike. Seemingly three out of every four storefronts was an eatery or some kind, and all had bars loaded with temptations. We had about a 3 hour window to gorge ourselves before the siesta. After that, we had a few options including a coast walk to the nearby town of Pasaia, just lounging on the massive central beach, or strolling through a large park.
Our plan was to max out the 1-4pm lunch hours. We rolled into old town just as the tall tables lining the alleys were beginning to disappear behind small groups of standing diners.
We did a quick recon of the first street, following our noses toward the sea. But before we got there, we stopped for something better: our first set of pintxos.
Location: Donostiarra
What we ate: seafood skewer and bacon-cheese-jam on bread.
Our impressions: I found the tiny octopus on the skewer a bit fishy but otherwise decent.
I liked the squidy, but it wasn’t anything I hadn’t had before.
The cheese one was creamy and richy luxurious.
Location: Betitai Berria
What we ate: shrimp and smoked salmon on bread, cream cheese and octopus
Our impressions: The big cream cheese one almost seemed like a cake.
Yeah, they gob it on really thick. Everything is rich here. The shrimp and smoked salmon is a good example as well. Decadent!
We thought it was time for a change of pace so we made our way to a highly recommended bakery to split a big slice of cheesecake. We sat on a shady bench and took turns taking bites with a tiny spoon.
Location: The Loaf
What we ate: Basque cheesecake
Our impressions: Light, almost fluffy with no crust, just a browned exterior. Absolutely delicious.
Not too sweet! This one stayed in the running for my favourite all day.
Location: Portaletas
What we ate: pork taco with something pickled and pineapple salsa
Our impressions: Corn tortilla was a bit crumbly, but the salsa gave the savoury meat the perfect lift.
It was also nice to have an ingredient change from all that seafood and cheese.
Location: Gandarias
What we ate: sardine and anchovy; beef and turnip; mushroom bacon
Our impressions: The fish one was kind of a dare because Sabrina wasn’t initially keen. They were salty but I think we both liked it. Sabrina had her revenge, however, as she got all the beef on the next one.
It was a mistake I didn’t mean to I just bit and when I looked at the bread, the meat was gone! But for the record, was delicious and tender.
Location: Txakolina
What we ate: tomato and egg on tall biscuit
Our impressions: We got it because it looked a bit weird, and it was. It was kind of a breakfast inside a Yorkshire pudding. Not our favourite but not a regret either.
I was expecting the egg to be runnier and the bread to be flakier. Just wasn’t what we expected but still decent.
Location: Zumeltzegi
What we ate: mini hamburger; cod & shrimp skewer in garlic butter
Our impressions: After losing out on the last beef one, I was looking forward to this slider. Really generous hunk of juicy beef. Loved the flavour on the seafood, particularly the big scallop.
Despite the fact that we were getting full, this was one of our favourite stops because we found both things so delicious.
We were getting pretty waddly. It was hot. Restaurants had stopped replenishing their tapas offerings and were gradually emptying. We decided to hit one more place and saw some enticing cold desserts on the sign outside.
Location: Bardulia Jatetxe
What we ate: lemon sorbet and champagne
Our impressions: This was the perfect choice. Surprisingly generous amount of champagne in the float.
Super tasty and refreshing.
We needed a siesta. This is a thing the Spanish have taught us.
My foot had loosened completely so that hike wasn’t off the table. But it was getting hot and our eyes were seeking shade, not sweat. So to the park we went, to join the many families there who were celebrating birthdays, walking dogs, reading and feeding the peacocks (my favourites were the four old women who squished onto a bench together and gossiped enthusiastically for hours).
I unrolled the hotel’s white towel and laid down on the grass while Ben read on the bench beside. Why he wouldn’t prefer to stretch out is beyond me but we passed a few happy hours there relaxing and reading and passing the foldable keyboard back and forth until the sun had lost some of its fierceness. We weren’t yet hungry, but we were no longer stuffed so obviously that had to be immediately rectified.
Rejuvenated and cooled, we set out to find supper. There were a few restaurants that are highly praised. The first was closed, so we walked along the terrace above the mile-long beach. The evening sun cast a dazzling streak of shimmering white on the ocean. We sauntered through the crowds, pausing to watch street performers. Eventually we got to the restaurant right on the beach. It was very fancy, but they didn’t seem to be offering the full menu anymore: just drinks and overpriced sandwiches. We didn’t want to be driving in the dark, so we decided we’d just brave a few more quick pintxos and call it a day. We ambled back to old town.
Location: Zumeltzegi
What we ate: potatoes and beef; smoked salmon and cream cheese; ham cheese and egg; foie with onion
Our impressions: We were too full to order these at lunch, but they were worth the wait. Powerful flavour and really satisfying.
Location: Bardulia Jatetxe
What we ate: breaded cod and shrimp; ham, tomato, and roasted pepper
Our impressions: The ham one was really tasty, the fish was generous but nothing special. Just a lightly battered hunk of cod and a little shrimp. I liked the fish a bit more than you. Nice herbed batter and the fish tasted fresh, not greasy.
We drove back satisfied with our tapas experience. The next day, we’d do the first stage of our journey back to Barcelona; the end of the trip was on the horizon.
It was a four hour drive to the small town of Torla in the Pyrenees Mountains. I poked around on Komoot to find a 2-hour trail at the halfway mark to stretch our legs. It had photos of a canyon and some nice-enough-looking desert cliffs.
Out of Basque Country and towards the hot, dry lands around Pamplona. As soon as we open the car door, I hear that particular buzz of desert insects. Wind turbines stand motionless on a ridgeline and the hard caked ground radiates the days heat up through our shoes. We start along a slow green river, following the bed of an old rail line, track and ties long gone.
The tunnels were long enough that I understood why some commenters had recommended having a light with you, but we managed well enough. Plus, the blotchy darkness added to the eerie “otherness.” Well that and the dank smell of piss.
Outside of the tunnels, birdwatchers pointed binoculars at the sky. I’m surprised they weren’t blinded by the glare shining off my heavily sun-screened shoulders. The canyon part was neat, but over too fast. Maybe the walking estimates were set by the birdwatchers.
We are suckers for a loop. Even if it is easier and more scenic to just hike back the way we came, we are always temped by something new. So we toiled up switchbacks to the top of the bluff, avoiding spiky plants and pausing in every bit of shade afforded by the scrubby vegetation. We received a modest reward in the form of a better overview of the country and the winding river. To the buzz of insects was added the buzz of a high voltage transmission line that we briefly followed. Then it was back down to the car for the second half of our journey.
We passed the turquoise waters of Lake Aragon and drove through a short downpour before turning north to wind and climb into the mountains.
The Picos roads were a trial by fire; the Pyrenees roads were roomy by comparison. Still narrow, but slightly less twisty and had a few centimetres of shoulder whereas the Picos had negative shoulder (which is what I called the jagged rock wall that seemed to poke into the space where a vehicle should go). Still, we were ready to arrive by the time we pulled into the blessedly normal parking lot outside the hotel. We’ve seen some pretty gnarly parking spots around these mountain towns and I did not feel like getting divorced while Ben stood behind the car, taking full advantage of his lanky arms and signalling like he was guiding a plane through a storm. I saw one van parked on a ledge that a golf cart would have found tight.
Regardless, we’d arrived. Our second set of mountains were looking moody, but we were grateful.
Mostly BS 
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