We decided to leave the sunny beach of Comillas to explore the unknown beaches of the Basque Country. According to Tom Tom it is a nice 2 hour drive. 8 extremely frustrating hours later we arrived at Vittoria-Gasteiz, an inland town. Basque is very mountainous on the coast. Most of the coastline is treacherous and cliffy, and the few beaches that are accessible are choc a bloc with Spanish tourists...none of whom are stupid enough to try to get there in a motorhome.
The stupid f£|¥#^%~% bitch in the Tom Tom dragged us up mountain ranges, and down mountain ranges, along windy narrow cliff lined roads...pretty enough but we were well and truly over 'pretty' and just wanted beach, sun and sleep. Through tunnels we went, along green mountain roads past hilly farmland with the sea tantalising us in the distance, but like a mirage, disappearing as we neared it. We were directed to a beach that was actually not accessible as it was just a rocky cove at the bottom of a cliff, but holiday makers were sunbathing on a grassy knoll at the top! Another couple of beaches were at the end of a nerve wracking drive through a narrow cobblestoned town, only to find that parking was impossible for motor bikes let alone a cumbersome motorhome full of idiots. The strange looks we were getting told us to actually f... off out of there and head inland. We did.
This road went for hours like this, mostly steeper, through middle earth much to our annoyance and frustration.
Basque Country was interesting. The language is completely different and all the signs are in basque. It looks like some lost Inuit tongue with lots of x's and z's. the people are supposed to be direct descendants of cro magnum man with different genotypes and blood groups from the rest of Spain. They guard this jealously as well, and there has been much unrest politically and blood shed over the years. I can see why the Spanish have not conquered this land. The inhospitable terrain would have made it impossible to invade. It reminded me of middle earth, which we nick named it, and not surprisingly the capital is called Bilbo.
We made it to Vittoria-Gasteiz just before sun down and were greeted by Gandalf himself who not only showed us where the toilets were, but showed us how to flush the toilets and how to clean the toilets! He was as eccentric as hell, but very sweet and kind. He looked after us and made sure the taxi driver who took us to town for a meal also picked us up and took us home again. Just as well, the place was dead as a doornail at 1130...very odd for Spain. But then again, this was middle earth, not Spain. Gandalf gave us advice on where to visit, (which we accepted with good grace then promptly ignored, as we were not in the mood for AFM...another f...ing museum) then bid us farewell with namaste and prayer hands. He was a Himalayan pilgrim as well, it seemed, and was rapidly starting to remind us of someone.
We headed for Burgos the next morning, mainly because the camping ground had a pool...no other reason. It turned out it also had a river with a beach which was nearly as good as a real beach. There was also a beautiful cathedral built by Ferdinand and Isabel. We took a photo of it and headed for the tapas bars.
We found some lovely places to eat. Tony again demonstrated the capacity of his stomach and prowess of his digestive capabilities, so much so that the tapas bartenders soon knew him by name...Antonio. "Ah here comes Antonio for another round" they would laugh. Of course, things were going swimmingly until tony asked the two bartenders if they were father and son. They weren't of course. Probably old school pals. At least they laughed about it.
This morning we packed up and left for Madrid. We parked in Burgos for one last feed. We found a little hidden tapas bar called Gaona Jardin at the end of a dead end street. It was gorgeous inside with rubber tree vine indeed an open roofed bar area and restaurant at the back. Moroccan tiles lined the walls and the tapas was outstanding.
These two guys came in and got breakfast at the campground cafe while we were having our orange juice and coffee. They had ham and eggs and a bottle of red. No kidding.
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