Let’s discover a part of San Sebastián

At half past seven I took the doggies down for a nice walk. The weather was lovely; on the streets we peacefully shared the space with children and young people heading to school, adults heading to work, and owners in pajamas and bathrobes quickly taking their dogs out. What a great way to start the day! Upstairs I fed the "kids" and after I got myself together, I went up to the hotel’s first floor to have breakfast. There was a varied selection of hot and cold, sweet and savory foods, mueslis and yogurts — or you could taste them all one after the other. I started with yogurt topped with berries. Then came scrambled eggs, which were very tasty — not dry but juicy, just perfect. I also took some vegetable rice with it. Finally, with my coffee I chose two mini croissants with orange jam and fresh pineapple slices. Mmmm... I needed the energy for my plans.

Since I didn’t know how far the oceanfront was, I decided we wouldn’t risk it and we’d go by car. It wasn’t far, but there are so many one-way streets that it also gave me the opportunity to — well, not get lost, but — see at least part of the city. I liked it a lot. Lots of pedestrian streets, many trees, cafés everywhere, restaurants, shops, beautiful buildings, well-dressed people. Finding street parking is impossible, but the city has many underground parking garages. We parked in one of these, close to the shore.

This part of the city is also very lovely and charming; you immediately feel at home. Many people were walking along the seaside promenade and many were down by the water. Some walked barefoot in the sand, some were running with their dogs, some chatted with acquaintances, and some were just working up the courage to take a dip in the waves. And no, not just young people! I saw quite a few gray-haired, older men and women who clearly enjoyed the big waves washing over them. They just went on and on, undeterred. What freedom and strength there was in that sight.

Down on the sandy beach I let Gerbeaud off the leash too; Panka was without a leash anyway — I love that she has become such an independent “young lady,” but of course in her great independence she always keeps an eye on where we’re going. If I call her, she reacts immediately. Bless her heart! Gerbeaud immediately looked around to see who was on the beach, whether there was someone with a ball. Whether there were nice dogs he could have a big run-around with. I made a lot of videos of him because he’s so cool. He loves the ball and can run insanely fast. Often an owner throws a ball for their dog and Gerbeaud catches it. In the past he would run off with it and “laugh” when I tried to ask/take it from him. Now I can stop him nicely; he lies on his back in the sand and I simply take it out of his mouth. He ran a ton, made friends, played ball — he really enjoyed all of it. Panka was more around me, but sometimes she also joined in a bit of chasing. We met a young female Vizsla named Sarah. Her owner was a young Polish woman who works in Barcelona, and she spent four days in San Sebastián with her partner. We had a nice chat. Her dog is from a breeder in Poland; Vizslas are very popular there. In Spain, however, they’re considered a rarity and people always stop her to say what a beautiful dog she has. And then when they pet her (the dog, of course), they swoon over how silky her coat is. Well yes — the Vizsla is a fragrant silky wonderdog.

We said goodbye, and up on the promenade we walked all the way to the other end of the bay. There we went down to the water and walked back all the way to our starting point, near the parking garage. Well, this was a more complicated adventure, because there was a rocky section where the bigger waves, so to speak, broke in, and we had to time the “crossing” well so we wouldn’t get soaked. By then I was barefoot, my shoes in one hand, the leashes in the other, my bag slung over my shoulder, the dogs free. The three of us were doing great until Gerbeaud ran across a big rock, on the other side of which there was a “Mariana Trench” that he didn’t notice and he sank into it completely. The real Mariana Trench is located in the western part of the Pacific Ocean, about two hundred kilometers from the Mariana Islands. This is the deepest ocean trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped, about 2550 km long, 69 km wide, and its deepest point is almost 11 kilometers. Okay, I’m exaggerating a bit when I say Gerbeaud fell into that, but he sank into this one the same way, as if he had fallen into the Mariana Trench. Luckily, with three strokes of his front paws he was able to swim out and then he was already running on. Nothing puts him off — what an incredible character.

We walked on the shore for almost two hours, then went back to the car and I decided we’d take the car back to our own parking spot and come down to the shore again on foot; in the meantime we’d stop somewhere and I’d have lunch. I found my way back to the parking garage very well; I didn’t even need GPS. This city seems very lovable and livable.

My lunch was delicious calamari Andalusian-style with a glass of nice cold beer. The dogs were doing fine, although Gerbeaud was sometimes annoyed by the proximity of a pigeon or two; I think he saw them as cleaning competition.

When we got back to the waterfront, I had an idea and told the dogs, “Come on, let’s climb that mountain over there and take a closer look at the big white statue on the top.” They didn’t object. On the way we found such a great human-and-animal drinking fountain that I even photographed it. Its genius lies in its simplicity. You don’t need much brains for it — just to be animal-friendly. People drink from the top, the excess runs down into a bowl formed at the bottom of the fountain, from which dogs, cats, birds, etc. can drink, and from there the final excess flows into the drain. I’ll put a picture of it here — I love simple and great things like this.  

I really liked the mountain we climbed — lots of greenery, lots of shade, little resting spots, detours, photo opportunities, and at the top of the mountain a huge white Jesus statue. Moving and powerful. It makes you think about what would have been if. If love and kindness had really won. The world would be a different place, that’s for sure.

I took a lot of pictures; it’s a real challenge to choose from them. On the way back, from the promenade,  above the sandy beach we could admire the creations of “sand-painting” artists on the beach. I congratulated them and tossed down a few euros, which they thanked me for. That’s how it works here. Like street musicians, except they’re visual artists.

I bought a big serving of ice cream, and, accompanied by Panka’s watchful eyes, I ate almost all of it, but then my heart softened toward them and in the end each of them got a few licks of the cooling treat. Then we walked home. By then my legs were starting to hurt from all the walking on asphalt. Altogether I took 26,671 steps today. No wonder I can feel my legs. When we got home, I fed them, and I watched a few minutes of Schwarzenegger in Spanish, then some English movie also in Spanish, and the news in French. In each case I relied more on the visuals; this is what I managed to figure out: the first was half horror, the second a crime film, and the news was about the war with Iran. Pure happiness and cheer. Yeah, right. I turned it off and surfed the net a bit instead: I only read what really interested me. In the evening it was just a quick visit to the grass and the trees and then off to bed — each to their own.