The Cannon Family's travel blog

Today we bid adios to Bilbao and head along the coast before wandering into the Picos de Europa – the large mountainous national forest that I have imagined being the Spanish equivalent of the Cairngorms or Adirondacks. The day was still grey but dry as we head west on the coast road. We were leaving Basque Country which meant no more street signs in multiple languages with lists of k’s and x’s.

We made a quick stop in Santander to see what was there. I can see where it is an appealing place for a holiday but it seemed to us very much like Bilbao with a beach so the appeal was limited. Full disclosure: we spent 90 minutes wandering the waterfront on a cloudy day so I suspect that we didn’t get the best impression.

After a stop for petrol and drinks, we resumed the trek into the mountains. And of course the only road has been torn up in half a dozen places along the 30km stretch. It was slow going as roadworks required one lane to be closed for long stretches in multiple places. The slow pace meant we had lots of time to appreciate the scenery: lush and green, with stony outcroppings jutting through the low clouds.

Finally we reached Potes, the medieval village we had hoped to use as a base for doing some hiking. We managed some walks about town but the terrain and threatening skies deterred us from venturing up any nearby hills. So we ate and wandered. We grabbed some lunch and experienced local cider: strong, flat, and sour. Box checked. Then we wandered the adorable town founded in the 15th century where two rivers meet, there are cobble stones and bridges everywhere. And adventure travellers- canoeing, climbing, and horseback riding are big here.

I confess it was a little more touristy than I had hoped- souvenir shops everywhere – but we enjoyed the environment nonetheless. The hotel was a VERY different experience from our trendy adults only hotel in Bilbao: a small local hospideria with no AC but plenty of bikers as guests. 😳 Not sure what appealed to me when I booked it but it was clean and technically a suite with a small sitting room. Of course the staff didn’t speak English so the kindergarten Spanish came in handy again.

After much exploration, we decide that a big dinner late at night wasn’t particularly appealing so we opted for the pizza place across from the hotel which advertised “Tenemos pizza para celíacos”. Sold! A few Mahou HF beers and a yummy pizza with everything was just the ticket. And we finished just in time for massive thunderstorms to roll in. The light show was spectacular and was an amazing way to cap off the day.

Memorable moments:

• Walking on old cobblestone streets is tough on the feet and requires stopping for refreshment often. Even if we only did 13k steps.
• The beach is nice but mountains and forests feed my soul in a way sun and sand never will.

Well we knew it could happen and if it did, the north coast would be the place. We awoke to a lowering sky and no sunshine in sight. But we are adaptable so we had breakfast, grabbed our rain jackets and headed out into the city.

We started with La Ribiera market, a large indoor food market similar to Pike Place in Seattle but much more modern, all gleaming steel and glass. Apparently it has been rebuilt several times after flooding – it sits right on the river. Once we had our fill of fish smells, we headed back out to the old town.

We wandered many of the same streets in old town that we had traipsed before but the daytime vibe was very different. More shops open along with the bars (!) and people everywhere smoking cigarettes. So. Many. Smokers. We really were not prepared for the prevalence of it in Bilbao. Maybe it’s the concentration of the urban setting but for us it was a tad overwhelming.

Eventually it was time for some culture so off to the cathedral we go. We took the audio guide that came with our ticket, which we don’t usually do. And we were promptly overwhelmed by historical and architectural details that I couldn’t really process and now can’t remember. And that is why we usually don’t bother. Our ticket also included a visit to San Anton’s church where we eschewed the talking stick and just wandered the building. Much more our speed.

By now we were hungry and though it was very early for lunch, it is never the wrong time for pintxos. We headed to Ahoan, a pintxos bar on the Plaza Nuevo that has a large variety of GF options (the owner is also Celiac) so I got my first real pintxos experience. An assortment of 5 offerings on the amazing GF bread they offer here. Add a glass of txokoli and the experience was complete!

A tad more wandering after lunch led to the beginnings of a blister so quick stop at the hotel for a plaster and then we were off to enjoy some street art. We found a few interesting pieces but nothing like what we have in Aberdeen.

After enjoying art on the walls, it was time for art in a museum so off to the Guggenheim we go. We generally aren’t good with modern art – nearly got chucked out of a museum in Ottawa! – but we continue to try to learn. As usual we were mostly confused or underwhelmed. Except for the Barbara Kruger exhibit. We were quite sure what to make of it at first , especially the bits in Spanish and Basque, but as we spent more time in the exhibit, the impact was pretty incredible.

After our last dose of culture, it was time to get to work: cooking! We joined a mother and daughter from Portland to learn how to make pintxos (not really hard) and drink txokoli (even easier). We learned that Bilbao txokoli is not fizzy but the version from San Sebastián is. We learned tips for poaching shrimp, making mayonnaise, and other things that Mikel our Basque chef-teacher thought relevant. Unfortunately they didn’t seem to have told him about my GF status so there were a few things I had to pass on. But I did get delicious Basque cheesecake for dessert instead of the bread pudding I didn’t really want. So score one for me!

Highlights of today:

• Lots of walking! 23k steps for just over 11 miles. Very sore feet.
• A very urban experience compared to most of the trip. After Bilbao we are in much smaller places – hopefully with better weather!

Our last morning in tiny picturesque Laguardia. We had another scrumptious brekkie before heading north again. Today’s destination: San Sebastián- a name that brought smiles to everyone we mentioned it to. Apparently all of Spain loves the beach there so we must investigate.

The drive to the coast was beautiful- the scenery was much greener than we had previously seen and there were LOTS of mountains. Our little Fiat struggled to get over some of the hills but we managed. Eventually even the road builders must have gotten tired cuz they switched to tunnels – I swear we passed through at least a dozen. And that’s probably how many time my ears popped!

We arrived in town about noon, parked the car, and commenced touristing. The old town is lovely with shops and pintxos bars. We toddled about picking up some souvenirs and necessities (Frank really needed a hat to protect his scalp while driving. Do NOT say thinning hair! 😂) We got a little culture visiting the Church of Santa Maria before deciding it was time to eat.

We stopped for pintxos and a glass of txacoli – the slightly effervescent white wine that is like vino verde no matter what the Basque folks tell you. Since so many pintxos are bread based, I opted for the tomato salad: a large bowl of tomatoes, greens, burrata, and tuna. Absolutely yummy!

Then we decided that it would be a shame to visit a beach town without spending time on the beach. Our swimwear was in the car so back to the parking garage where we proceeded to change behind the Fiat in the garage. Yup, it’s exactly what you are thinking. Then off to the famous playa la concha for an hour or so of splashing about in the beautiful water. A lovely ice cream (in a GF cone!) to top off the afternoon and we were back out on the road to Bilbao where we would be spending two nights.

More hills and grey clouds greeted us on the drive and we arrived in the very large city with very overcast skies. We got checked in to our very funky adult-only hotel – which provided condoms in the room in a packet marked “Let the games begin!” 😳 This was 180 degrees from the quaint Spanish hotel with the four poster bed that we just left.

But we adapt. A quick showers to get rid of the sand and a change out of our swimwear, and we were off to explore. Our hotel is right on the Nervión River across from the old town. The neighborhood behind us did not look like a place where tourists went so we crossed the river to find somewhere to eat. Our choice was suboptimal: unfizzy tzakoli and over salty paella but we made do. Then more wandering past mostly closed shops and busy bars before calling it a day

Highlights of the day:

• Noticing the Basque language everywhere now that I know it’s a thing. Every sign is written in both Basque and Spanish. (Hint: Basque is the one with the Xs and Ks)
• Watching kiddies play on the beach. I don’t care who you are, you have to love the joy of small children digging in the sand and jumping in the water.

The abundant air conditioning in our room made for a very good night’s sleep. We enjoyed a lovely breakfast – including yummy GF bread! – to start our day. Today’s big event: wine tasting!

Our guide, Martin, collected us at 10.00 and we climbed into the air conditioned van for our first winery stop. Javier San Pedro Ortega is a relatively new winery where we tasted one white and three reds. We learned all about the Rioja labeling system; we tasted mostly green labels which are young or signature wines. Two of them were okay and two I liked very much.

Then it was time for a short drive to a viewpoint to take in the whole valley and learn more history of the area and geographical stuff. I didn’t realize that Laguardia is officially part of the Basque country and as Martin is Basque, we learned a lot about the region, people, and something of the language.

Next stop: Ostatu winery. A much older family run winery, we learned a lot about terroir, old Spanish wine production laws, and the grapes that are common to the region. Here we tasted two whites and two reds – all of them green labels which and all of them delicious! Accompanied by cheese and chorizo, it was a great experience. We purchased a bottle of red to enjoy on our last night in Spain.

Last stop was a more traditional winery that produced more traditional Rioja wines. It was a very busy and somewhat impersonal tasting room. No one from the winery talked us through anything: they just poured and handed us a piece of paper with information- in Spanish of course. We did enjoy all the wines: Crianza – red label, 6 months in oak; Reserva – purple label, 13 months in oak, and Gran Reserva- blue label, 24 months in oak. They were very typical of the Rioja style and reminded me of what we can buy in Tesco.

Official tasting over, it was time for lunch – with wine of course. We went to a local restaurant that obviously caters to such groups. We started with the Burgos-style Morcilla, which is made with rice and is GF so I had no excuse for not trying it. (It was okay). We also had white asparagus and a mixed salad before the main course of lamb chops and roasted peppers. Yum! Another red and white to “taste” along with patxaran, an anise flavored liqueur that Frank really liked – as in way more than was good for him.

Luckily we had siesta to look forward to. Martin poured us out of the van with effusive goodbyes and we headed to the hotel for a much needed nap.

Several hour later, we ventured back out into town for a final wander of the picturesque streets for another meal (seriously nothing but eating!) and time to watch the town clock perform before calling g it a day.

Highlights from today:

• Learning so much about wines in the region and chatting with different knowledgeable people about the wines we’ve tasted in different parts of the world.
• Tasting a wide variety of wines and refining our palate just a little more.
• Spending most of the day in air conditioning so we didn’t have to shower twice for the first time this trip.

Our quick stop in Burgos had come to and end. We breakfasted and thought we’d take a quick walk through what would surely be quiet streets after the night’s revelries. But there was no quiet here. By 10am the bands were back out playing and bars were beginning to open (on a Sunday no less!) so it was time to move on.

Back through the rabbit warren of access roads to get us out of the old city and on to the road north. Destination: Laguardia, a medieval town in the middle of the Rioja wine region. This trip would involve backroads and villages rather than motorways. The sun was scorching and the scenery expansive.

We reached our destination to realize I had not correctly interpreted the descriptor “medieval” correctly- it is in fact a walled city with no room for cars. Finding a parking spot outside the city was a challenge- there seemed to be a LOT of people doing the same thing. We squeezed our little Fiat into a space on the side of the road and made our way into town to find the hotel.

Where we found out that today is the end of the local festival and we were just in time for the running of the cows. Not quite Pamplona, there were half a dozen or so small bulls set loose to run down the main street several times. Along the route it seemed to be a thing for local men and boys to try to touch their horns. Interestingly but very odd.

After watching the cows, it was time to get settled in. The hotel had a garage outside the city where we could leave the car safely. Then some lunch in the shade – caprese salad for Frank and a local bean and chorizo soup for me. We spent a little while wandering the city and watching how the locals celebrate: at one point there were dozens of people sitting at tables in the street partaking of the largest paella I have ever seen!

Then, of course, siesta. Given the obnoxious heat that has settled over many parts of Europe, it was very nice to escape to the air conditioned hotel for a few hours of kip.

The new routine then continued: wake up, shower (again), change (again), go out and get sweaty (again). We opted to break with local tradition and have dinner at 20.30 instead of 22.00. We chose a winery/restaurant that had lots of GF things on the menu. It was a lovely meal with local steak and wine made in the building where we ate. We even got a tour of the cellar from the winemaker himself.

Heading back to the hotel at 22.30, we watched as the last of the festivities continued in the streets. There was still music and dancing for an hour or so before we said good night to Laguardia.

Memorable moments from today:

• Another set of local traditions with traditional dress. And music.
• A mere 14k steps, mostly within the walls of the thousand year old city.
• More English spoken by visitors here than in Burgos.

Today we say adios to Madrid and start our trek north. A taxi to the airport car rental company then half an hour of waiting and paperwork and we were ready to head out of the city in our Fiat 500 convertible. Tiny car, no roof. That’s how we roll. And we were rolling with no sunscreen because it turns out that was left behind in the hotel in Madrid. 😖

But we persevere! A quick stop along the road (where my kindergarten Spanish proved mildly useful) and we were back on the Autovía Norte. We arrived in Burgos just before 14.00 and proceeded to experience Google maps hell. Our hotel is in the middle of the old city so the driving directions were a bit inscrutable. The now annoying vocal cues kept telling us to turn onto what looked like a pedestrian plaza. Given our history with foreign traffic violations, we were loathe to take that turn. After five spins separate attempts involving lots of traffic and a large roundabout we took the plunge.

Guess what? There was an access road through the plaza! But the plaza and the road were PACKED with people. We spotted another car trying to plow through the crowd so we made a convoy. The revellers were all dressed in purple and white, enjoying mas bebidas, and cheering as we honked our horn at their insistence. We eventually made it to the hotel where we learned that this weekend started the festival of Saint Peter and Saint Paul and that it would be one big street party. 🎉

Once checked on, we joined the party! There were THOUSANDS of people milling about the streets in the hot sun. We eventually found a spot to eat at a place called Flor de Scotia – yup, a Scottish themed pub with Brewdog on tap and all. We wandered the old town marvelling at the number of marching bands also parading through the old city.

Eventually we needed a break from the heat and the people so it was time for the main attraction- the Burgos Cathedral. Eight hundred years of church history with both gothic and baroque architecture, it is a massive structure that is firmly embedded in the city and dominates the landscape. (For those playing along at home, the stained glass obsession got its first feeding!)

After ogling the gilt and statuaries while enjoying the cool interior, it was time to venture back out to the town. The crowds had thinned considerably and we decided it was time for siesta. Back to the hotel for some kip and a showers to freshen up. Then we joined the now enormous throng of people who had returned for the party. There were bands playing at various stages in squares and even in car parks. They often battled with the marching horns that would pass by. People were everywhere , dancing and singing. Kids filled squirt guns from local foundations and battled it out while mom and dad enjoyed caña and calimocho (a mix of red wine and cola- very yummy!)

We also indulged in some beverages while enjoying a performance by Nacho Pistachio before finally looking for something to eat. The massive crowd made this challenging but we eventually snagged a table just before 10pm to enjoy dinner and people watching. Frank tried the local delicacy Morcilla – a kind of blood sausage- and some Spanish BBQ ribs. Both were deemed tasty. I opted for a salad which was also delicious. Thousands of people were still milling about the streets; young people (read:those under 30) were toting plastic shopping bars with boxes of vino tinto and bottles of cola. At some point my crowd tolerance was breached and we decided to call it a day. We made it back to the hotel just shy of midnight.

Highlights for the day:

• At least 6 marching bands observed
• Just over 20K steps taken
• One fan purchased
• Almost no English speaking tourists encountered
• Overwhelming sense of joy and community experienced