Hiking the Basque Coast: San Seb to Hondarribia (Almost)

Though Lonely Planet advises doing the hike in two days, we dreamed big, anticipating a 10 hour hike when we set out in the gray, early morning light, before most of San Sebastien was awake. We had the big, indoor market to ourselves, stocking up on sweet figs and peaches, fresh bread, and bottles of water.


From the maritime walkway in San Sebastien, we hiked a narrow footpath along a steep cliff, looking back at the city covered in cloud and fog, the ocean crashing into rocks beneath us. The terrain traverses pine forests (filled with blooming hydrangeas), the rubble of old military forts (look-out points and watchtowers from the Spanish-American war?), grassy hills covered in wildflowers, and craggy cliffs overlooking incredible seascapes. The contrast between these incredible natural landscapes (to our west) and the Basque industrial port towns (to our east) was striking.

After three hours, we descended stairs into the port city of Pasai San Pedro where we boarded a boat-taxi to take us across the channel to Pasai Donibane, a small and picturesque fishing/ship-building town. This spot is definitely worth a visit, full of history, friendly townsfolk, and beautiful waterfront houses, draped with fluttering Basque flags. We stocked up on snacks from one of two shops in the village. We walked by Victor Hugo's house; apparently the guy camped out here and wrote Alps and Pyrenees.

As we continued the hike, we passed a crazy man waving an umbrella and screaming about Santiago de Compostela. Or maybe he was warning us about the weather-- the gloomy grey clouds had not lifted after we walked through rainshowers-- but we paid him no heed. We walked along the ridge-crest, following red and white trailmarkers, and large wooden signs for the pilgrimage route of Camino de Santiago de Compostela, past a few watchtowers and herds of sheep, their shit everywhere.

The wind screamed across the mountaintop. The fog descended. Suddenly the sky opened and we were in the middle of a dark, raging storm, the hail pounding us and the wind almost blowing us off the mountain. It was impossible to see even 10 meters in front of us. We had to shout over the noise, and make the decision to turn around and head back to Pasaia. Slipping through the mud, totally drenched despite our rainjackets, we walked back two hours in the rain where we collapsed in a cafe and warmed our icy fingers with cups of hot chocolate and cafe con leche before boarding a bus back to San Seb. What an adventure.