SPAIN - La Concha

So it was time to leave Bilbao and in effect start my journey home but don't worry we have a lot to do still, all I was doing was travelling east to San Sebastian. I caught the Basque government Euskotren for the 2.5 hour journey. It's not actually that far - around 60 miles - but the train takes a circuitous route along river valleys to avoid the hills and makes frequent stops. It's also a metre gauge line, much narrower than normal, which means that train can use tighter curves but then by definition travels much slower.

Once in San Sebastian it was VERY hot and as predicted too hot to do anything. Being a weekend the town was also busy. We therefore pick things up the following day when it was overcast, a little cooler and much quieter.

San Sebastian or Donostia in Basque is famous for its almost completely enclosed bay (think Lulworth Cove with a city next to it !!) and wide sandy beach known as La Concha or The Shell. The city's heyday was at the beginning of the 20th century when it was very much a place to be seen in and was popular with royalty, the rich and the famous. Today you still take the air and promenade along the sea front but it is now very touristy compared with say Bilbao.

Up early to avoid the heat

On one side of the bay is Mount Urgull which has some fortifications and is topped off by a chapel and a large statue of Christ.

Once again the path to spiritual enlightenment contains many steps - and the chapel at the top was closed !

On the other side it's Mount Igueldo, this time with a funicular to take you to the top, and even better views of the bay.

When the tide comes in a lot of the beach disappears

Set back from the large seafront properties and hotels is a small old town with a number of churches of which St Vincent's is the oldest.

St Vincent's Church

In the churches here you will often see a statue of a man with several arrows sticking out of his body. This is St Sebastian an early Christian martyr who fell foul of the Roman Emperor Diocletian (If you have been to Split in Croatia you should know all about him as his palace is there).

Diocletian sentenced Sebastian to death by firing squad - archers in those days - hence the arrows. According to legend the arrows didn't actually kill Sebastian, who once recovered went to remonstrate with Diocletian. The Emperor of course was rather annoyed that he had turned up again and got the job done properly second time round - Yet another example of someone who should have quitted while they were ahead!!