27 Before 27: Spain

After just two days at sea, I arrived in Bilbao, Spain, on Friday morning. I must admit – I’ve had reservations about visiting Spain as part of the summer voyage. I have been to southern Spain (specifically, Granada) once before and did not have an enjoyable experience. My long weekend in Granada consisted of being yelled at repeatedly for not being proficient in Spanish. Not a fun time and I was hesitant to return to the country after my initial not-so-friendly welcome. Secondly, I have been wondering “why are we going to Bilbao?” There are many nice port cities in Spain like Barcelona; why are we going to somewhere I’ve never heard of before?

Well, I must say my fears and hesitations of Spain were quickly dashed away upon arrival in Bilbao. We docked in a small city called Getxo (pronounced “get-cho”), which is located about 25 minutes from Bilbao. Around the turn of the 20th century, Getxo was a seaside getaway for Spain’s elite. Think Rockefeller-level, only the Spanish version. The small city is full of huge old mansions that have been kept up very well even though they were built 100 years ago.

Bilbao is a nice city that has been forever changed by the building of a Guggenheim modern art museum in 1997. The city was dirty and forgotten but the museum has revived Bilbao and it’s now a destination for foreign tourists and Spaniards alike. I spent my first day in port in the Guggenheim viewing exhibits by Georges Barque and Yoko Ono.

Guggenheim in Bilbao, Spain.

My second day in Spain was spent on a SAS field program to San Sebastián and Hondarribia. Hondarribia is the first city in Spain when traveling south across the French/Spanish border and had a medieval feel. San Sebastián is a popular beach-town and most SAS students made their way here to catch some sun.

Sopelana was my destination on Sunday. Sopelana seemed like somewhat of a suburb of Bilbao and had a festival celebrating Saint Pedro that included a parade and traditional Basque dancing. Bilbao is located in the Basque region of Spain, the people are particularly proud of their Basque heritage and the Sopelana festival was an example of this.

Finally, I spent my last day in Spain horseback riding on the beach. The horses were a tad feisty for my taste but I managed thanks to all the horseback riding I had to do on vacations when I was younger (thanks, Cady). Plus, what beats riding a horse along the beach?! So pretty!

Spain was a success and I’m glad I gave this country another try. I very much enjoyed myself in Bilbao and the surrounding Basque region. Up next – Scotland!