Ireland day 1133. Monday 04 November 2024- San Sebastian 2

Today’s summary	A wonderfully leisurely day relaxing in and around San Sebastian. Managed to fit in a swim in the sea, and an alfresco tapas lunch, as well as looking round the museum and seeking out Christopher Columbus. Dinner in the Parador restaurant in the evening, then packing for return to Manchester tomorrow
Today’s weather	Another warm, dry and sunny day. Light northerly wind. Appx 22c

Today’s overview location (The green mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The orange line shows where we walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): San Sebastian Stroll

Commentary

At last! A day off.

We had no walks scheduled today, so elected to have a leisurely late breakfast and then eventually set out from the hotel for an afternoon’s exploring at about 11am.

After clambering our way down the innumerable steps to the town centre, our first stop was the Archaeological museum of La Gomera – which gave us a fascinating insight into the lives of the Guanches, who inhabited these islands in the pre-Hispanic era (which started in the 15th century). The museum is right next door to the main church, so we took a quick peek inside at the elaborate woodcarvings and statuary while we were there.

We weren’t quite done with ancient relics yet though, because next on our list was the statue of Christopher Columbus, which we duly located occupying pride of place in the Plaza de la Constitucion. From there we took a quick look at the “Mile Zero” start point for the GRs131 and 132 in La Gomera, and then went on to the Fred Olsen offices to check in for our voyage to Tenerife tomorrow.

By this stage, we were beginning to feel somewhat hot and sweaty so Val and I headed down to the shore for a quick dip. It’s a fine wide and shallow beach of black volcanic sand, and certainly seemed much more inviting than the rocky shores of Playa de la Guancha yesterday. I’m not sure if it’s natural or if the sand has been imported. Anyway, we enjoyed our dip and the opportunity to relax in the sun while we dried off afterwards. We need to stock up on some of those rays to see us through the Irish winter!

By the time we had dried out and warmed up, we were ready for something to eat so sought out “La Tasca – Tapas y Mas” for an alfresco lunch on the main Calle Real (which means royal street, and indeed it had been visited by King Don Juan Carlos and Queen Dona Sofia in November 2006). It was an excellent lunch which we thoroughly enjoyed, though I did pay the price in terms of a thick head later that afternoon, the revenge of the red wine which accompanied the meal and which had seemed like such a good idea at the time.

After lunch, we took a quick look at the 15th Century Torre del Conde which is set in its own park and which is quite interesting though scruffy in parts. We thought more could have been made of it in terms of a landmark for the town.

By this time, we felt we’d had enough of sightseeing so dragged ourselves back up the hill to the Parador. There was just time to squeeze in one final dip in the pool, before dinner and packing for an early departure back to Manchester tomorrow morning. I must say I think dining alfresco and swimming in a clear blue warm(-ish) sea in November really suits me.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


*This giant Euphorbia* became something of a landmark on our treks up and down the hill to the town**	In the Archaeological museum, right next to the church of the Assumption (featured in the banner image)

Various exotic fish enjoying the limpid warm waters of the harbour	Exotic swimmer enjoying the limpid warm waters of the harbour

In the Tasca “Tapas y mas” bar for alfresco lunch	Torre del Conde, set in its own park. It’s striking but has definitely seen better days

With my amigo and fellow explorer Cristobal