Driving north thru unbelievably beautiful lush green Basque mountains, wooded, and some cultivated to the top, with hay fields and picturesque cone shaped hay stacks, we see people cutting hay with a sickle, gathering it with wooden rakes, and men pitching it up on an oxen pulled wagon where a woman packs it down. We drive on, thru San Sebastian and to Fuenterrabia where we are able to get a room in the Parador that is a remodeled old castle. Our room is up three flights of stairs (no elevator), but with a breathtaking view of the boat harbor and white houses with red roofs in France across the water. We drive to a pleasant place for a picnic lunch then on thru Basque villages in beautiful river canyon country. Back at the Parador we have a so-so dinner, far from excellent.
After breakfast we drive up into the mountains for a view of the bay, ocean, and cities but it is too hazy to see much. Down by the shore at Pasajes de San Juan we walk narrow streets and see fishing areas with nets spread out to dry, and women repairing them. In San Sebastian we see the beautiful beach with wall to wall people and dirty looking water. We have a wonderful lunch at the Arzac Restaurant, before trying to drive into France. At the border they ask to see our “green” card, and we don’t know what it is, so turn around. Later we find one in the rental car papers, showing evidence of insurance coverage.
It is a fast drive to Bilbao on the freeway, and then slow going to Santander by pretty hills with haying, and beaches at the base of mountains. After driving around Santander we eat a picnic lunch, and continue to Altamira. The Paleolithic art in the caves has fantastic pictures of bison and a horse. (Entrance to the caves is limited in ‘75 and we understand they are now closed to the public.) We try to stay at the Altamira Parador, but it is full so we have dinner there and stay at the nearby Hostel Emerador which is new and clean and nice, but the room is very small.
After breakfast at the Parador we head south over mountains with deep ravines and valleys. At first there are many villages, then few; hay, then grain and many grain elevators; desert like in spots, then beautiful little green valleys. At Burgos we just get in the lovely Cathedral and they chase us out and close. It is hot as we have a beer at a sidewalk cafe, then drive on thru Valladoid to Salamanca. It is a big day of travel for us! We stay at the Hotel Gran Feudal, walk with big crowds in the Plaza Mayor, and eat a good dinner in the hotel.
It’s a day of mostly rest in Salamanca as we awake with a little “tourista” that our pills soon take care of. After noon we visit the very beautiful and oldest (1218) University of Salamanca, and later see the very interesting and lovely new and old cathedrals. We also buy a lace Spanish shawl that Betty still occasionally wears at formal affairs.
Then we leave Spain and drive to Coimbra to continue our ‘75 trip in Portugal (#7), but now we need to go back to Leyre to pick up our ‘87 trip where we dropped it coming from #16 SW France.
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