San Juan de Gaztelugatxe

While in Salamanca, I met a Chinese American girl who lives in Bilbao. When I asked what's to see in her province, she recommended San Juan de Gaztelugatxe which is known to be the Dragonstone in the HBO series Game of Thrones. Now, I have only watched until around episode 2 of Season 2 (what a loser!!! But I am already in Book 4...) so I don't really know much about the series settings and such. I cannot call myself a fan although I am really awed at how GRRM weaves the different strands of stories into a grand narrative. Like, wow! It can beat Chinese classics for its number of interesting characters! Or even Eiichiro Oda's One Piece!

So as soon as I arrived in Bilbao, still sleepy from the night bus, I went straight to my hostel, left my backpack there, and headed to Plaza Moyua to wait for the bus that will take me to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. It was a Saturday and the Bilbao-Bermeo route is out of the question even though this was what the hostel staff suggested to me. No choice but to do the Bilbao-Bakio route which requires hiking of more than 2 km to get to the foot of the famed ermita of San Juan.

It rained intermittently that morning. When we finally arrived in Bakio, there were only five of us doing the hike. The four were two couples. (Life throws me a lot of cruel jokes!) So not really sure if I can do it alone, I invited one couple to hike with me. Of course I had to observe first because I didn't want to be with sissies. Turned out the couple was recently married. They are from Belarus and so I learned a lot about Eastern Europe from the lady who talked to me about the politics, the economy, the difficult life in their country, relationship problems, etc.

I had fun with the two. They told me they were lucky to have been with me because they have been traveling around with no photos together. I offered to take their photos, and in exchange they also did mine. It was a win-win situation. So finally when we reached the island, the sun was shining bright and so I was dead tired hiking back to the bus stop because of the heat. Still it wasn't that bad. I liked the trees and the sea breeze. This is one of my most memorable things in Spain. Perfect environment, nice weather, and good company. 

Me ringing the bell thrice for a wish.  

The view of what you hiked when you finally get near the chapel.