San Sebastian, Sans Sunshine

I traveled to San Sebastian for the weekend to help Iain Nicolson celebrate his birthday, it was either San Sebastian or he was going to hire a magician and buy an ice cream cake. Oh well, I guess we can get a magician next year.

Iain and me upon arrival in San Sebastian

Andy, Iain, Mira and Rob

Iain's brother Andy was there along with Rob, a friend from school who was working at the Hostel we were staying at. That night most people were out on the streets partying for it was St John the Baptist day, the only day of the year they allow bonfires on the beach.

The seaside ablaze

My first real look at the bay was at night, which although very different is no less beautiful.

San Sebastian at night

Matt and Jen in the plaza

Matt and Jen were a couple from Adelaide that got all tangled up in our shenanigans. I'm not sure if it was just because they were from Adelaide or they were just good people but I've never felt so comfortable with new people so quickly as I did with these two.

Jesus watches over San Sebastian

Looks like putting a great big Jesus statue at the top of a hill is the thing to do in Spain. It was a long, dark and treacherous walk to the top but the big guy and a great view was the reward.

Bahia de la Concha in the night

First time in Spain and feeling the lack of dinner I persuaded Iain and his Canadian friend Juju to go to a Tapas Bar for some wine and pinxtos.

Iain and Juju in the Tapas Bar

There are many of these bars in San Sebastian where the bar counter is covered with Spanish snacks, you pick what you want and pay for the number of pieces at the end. It relies on a trust system, they trust you'll tell them how many pieces you've eaten and you trust your not going to get sick from the food. Not that there's anything wrong with the food but considering the bars are open for lunch and it was 1:30am when we got there, the food might have been sitting out for a while.

The pinxtos or tapas

San Sebastian is in the Basque county, which could almost be a separate country as it has its own language and distinguishes itself from the rest of Spain to the point of despising it.

The rain in Spain falls sometimes in this lane

When we awoke the next morning to take a look around, we found the weather had turned from blue skies and sunshine to drizzle and mist. So much for summer.

Santa Clara Island in the middle of the bay

I was determined not to let this stop the fun though, which is a little bit hard when everything in the town is based around enjoying the summer.

Boats

No boats

We returned to the Hostel to get the others and do something with the day instead of just hanging around inside. Once we had decided to go to the Aquarium and were all ready to go the heavens opened up an no one was going anywhere.

Disbelief strikes the people moving house that day

The rain did eventually ease up and we got to the Aquarium some time later.

Ray says hi

I didn't expect much from this aquarium, but it turned out to be a real highlight instead of just a distraction from the bad weather.

Shark eggs

By far the best Aquarium exhibit I've ever seen is this display of shark's eggs, backlit so you can see the sharks wriggling and squirming, trying to escape their capsules. It was strange feeling watching it, the alien science fiction appearance of it mixed with the fear of sharks and the reality of it.

Sardines have never looked so cool

There were a lot of innovative ideas in the Aquarium, this was a hypnotic display of a school of sardines perpetually tracing concentric circles in their cylinder of water and glass. Stare at it for too long and you'll probably fall over.

Spun out Jellyfish

This exhibit has Jellyfish swimming in water that is always spinning around, so even the dead ones are always moving. That's show business.

The Hostel kitchen, laundry and common room.

Returning from the Aquarium and having filled our bellies we indulged in the most underrated of Spanish traditions, the Siesta. I think its why Spanish people seem so happy all the time.

The Tardis

We decided on a cooking a seafood pasta for dinner, with perhaps a little Spanish wine to wash it down and maybe later have a few drinks. This little room somehow held six or seven people while people were cooking and never felt crowded. Well somehow the group seemed to grow, the wine began to flow and before we knew it were caught up in our own momentum and were conducting our "wine tasting" until we got kicked out of the kitchen. There was a severe lack of glasses, and everything that could hold liquid was considered a potential drinking receptacle and relocated to the Hostel's biggest room where the party grew.

Big room, big trouble?

Somehow our quaint little wine tasting had now become drinking games, and at this point my recollection of events becomes a little hazy.

I don't know why that guy has a blanket on him

Just when we had recovered from the eviction from the kitchen, we were given an ultimatum from the Hostel manageress that led us to take the party onto the streets.

What can Spanish wine do for you?

The photo above, I'm not sure if its a group photo or whether all those people are just trying to stop me from falling over. The look on my face might be related to the killer hangover the next day.

The Sunday was Iain's birthday and the day I was leaving, so he woke me up to head down to the bay for a surf. If it wasn't for the huge headache, I couldn't have imagined a better way to start the day.

When I left the group at the bus station, it was not even two whole days together yet I was getting a bit misty at the thought of leaving the folks behind. It was great to be back in the company of old familiar faces and generally good people.

Well Iain, hope you had a good one mate.

I know this guy, and it was his birthday