San Sebastián 2 – Igueldo

For lunch I went to the barrio of Gros where a bit of searching turned up a place serving a menu del dia, which was a merluza dish, accompanied by a glass of white wine. After the siesta, it was raining again, so I went to the CD store and bought a handful of CDs. I hoped I had enough pesetas left for the last few days. I walked past the Teatro Victoria Eugenia. There were people lining up for the theatre. Nothing of interest. At this point the skies suddenly cleared. The weather here was fickle, you had to take advantage of breaks quickly.

I caught a bus to the base of Igueldo, the other hill that flanks the bay on the west, and walked up the road, passing expensive houses and tennis courts. It was not as strenuous as going up Urgull. The visibility was good and I wondered if the distant coast was France.

As with Urgull, there was a good panoramic view of La Concha. There were youths at the base and also near the top, near cars with stereos blaring away. A couple was necking in a car. Nobody took notice of me so I didn't feel out of place.

I watched a couple of cars race up the hill; it seemed to be a local sport. Other traffic on the access road included motorcycles and scooters.

The air was humid, yet skin dried quickly, perhaps due to the breeze. I returned to the promenade where colours were desaturating and shifting towards the purple end of the spectrum. A frisky alsatian was playing on the beach.

By this time it was around 2200 and the globes on the promenade were lit. I found a pizzeria where I was served the best pizza of the whole trip, with large prawns, shellfish and tuna. Worth every peseta of the splurge. The cappuccino was not Australian style; the milk was not steamed.

I was still the only guest in the annex. I read into the small hours. By 0200 cats were wailing in the alleys and garbage collectors were clinking bottles. I didn't mind staying up as I was trying to preadjust to the forthcoming timezone jump.