Wednesday 18th September. I woke up early with the intent to complete a hike. I was given the idea by an American couple from Seattle the evening before.
And so I awoke, made myself some chocolate spread on toast and re-read the blog posts to plan the journey… to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, AKA. Dragonstone. George RR Martin’s, Game of Thrones location for the Targaryen throne.
As Daenerys remarks, upon entering the empty throne room, gazing upon the throne of the Targaryens and after a short moment striding right past the throne and entering the Chamber of the Painted Table.
“Shall we begin?”
As mentioned in the opening paragraph I was planning my journey around 7am in an attempt to arrive at 10am. Though, looking through the Journey notes I had written, it looked so complicated and my confidence speaking Spanish had taken a bit of a knock, as apparently no-one could understand my Spanglish accent.
I almost bottled the trip.
I built up the courage, thinking I have to do this. I wanted to travel solo, I can’t bottle trips just because they look too difficult. So I packed my small backpack and went searching for the bus. This was actually the most difficult part of the trip. Fortunately, I had taken my diary with rough plans written down, and other bus drivers wrote in my diary too to assist. Good ol’ paper and pen.
I eventually found the bus well after 10am, and a stop later a group of Americans boarded the bus and a super friendly Rachel sat next to me, who happened to be from Minnesota. It’s a long story, but I’ve been to Minnesota and let’s just say it’s not the average holiday spot for a Brit, so we talked about the randomness of the trip.
The bus was about forty-five minutes long and we pretty much talked the whole way, so I asked to join her group. Rachel agreed and introduced me to the seven others.
Now, from previous experience, a group this big is fairly bonded and don’t need strays, so I’m super appreciative of this acceptance.
An hour walk didn’t seem so bad to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, there turned out to be some preeettttyy steep hills to climb.
Although the route was incredibly tough, the views were just as incredibly beautiful! Walking past a beach, up over steep hills, through farmland and forest landscapes, past small homes and eventually reaching the gate for San Juan de Gaztelugatxe. We saw glimpses of the small church as we made this trek. I should mention at this point, that unfortunately there isn’t a vast, formidable fortress upon the outstretched peninsula, but a small church dedicated to John the Baptist.
The climb was sweaty but made enjoyable by my fellow American companions.
Walking across the man-made stone bridge to the small island brought on a feeling of excitement. Damn, this is where Jon Snow dropped to the floor, terrified, as Drogon flew over his head!!!
Before traveling to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (Dragonstone), I had read that it was a tradition to make a wish in front of the church and ring the bell three times. I thought about my wish throughout the more silent parts of the hike – well the bits where the conversation stopped and was replaced by huffing and puffing.
I think I made an appropriate wish and so I rang the bell three times.
We admired the views at the top of the island for a while. I shouldn’t have laughed, but a man dropped his bag of Cheetos and hit his head on the edge of the church roof as he stood up. It was pure comedy at it’s finest. He sat down rubbing his head looking all grumpy, but he was fine.
We made our descent down the island, back across the man-made stone bridge, which is stupendously impressive and makes you wonder how they managed such a task, so long ago. We then climbed to the starting point, where there was a restaurant.
The restaurant was real good and much needed. Steak and chips for € 7?
Yes, please!
We also shared sangria and kalimotxo – a mix of cheap red wine and coke. Yeah, sounds weird, but surprisingly decent.
We finished our feast, let it go down whilst we chilled in the children’s playground, yeah I know, we’re a little old, but they never get old. Once ready, we carried on with the remainder of the hike back to the bus stop.
We stopped by the beach on the way back, and the cold water was so rejuvenating for the ankles and feet.
Unfortunately, that’s the end of my Dragonstone story; however, something more inspirational happened that evening and I wish to share it with you.
Alec, one of the American lads was participating in a beer-pong competition and this was no minor contest. Over thirty teams were participating.
So I arrived at this bar and met the gang. A few more of their friends had joined for the evening and I was introduced. One lad was in a wheelchair and you can call me a judgmental prick, but judging people builds a successful social life and helps to keep you alive in certain circumstances. Judging others only goes wrong when you make a statement.
So anyway, I didn’t say anything, but the last person I expected to be playing beer-pong was the guy in a wheelchair. I mean how could he stand and throw a ball accurately, right?
Boy was I wrong. Alec and Shay were on fire. When I get my YouTube going, you’ll be able to see these guys’ beer-pong skills.
They were dominating opponents and were taking victory shots during and after each game!
They reached the final. Thirty-odd teams had been knocked out and we were watching the best the evening had to offer. Shortly before the game started, Shay turned to me and said,
“I’m concentrating more on trying to stand up, than score cups.”
However, using his tall barstool to lean on for support, Shay was scoring as consistently as before. The game went down to two cups to one and you guessed it. Shay scored the final cup winning the competition.
I think it helps to be there in person, but to watch someone, who can barely stand due to a disability – and alcohol, and throw a ball accurately into cups, where so many people fail was simply inspiring.
Anyway, that’s all from me for today guys! I’m working on a farm in Spain, without electricity or Wi-Fi, so I’m having to walk to the local pub to write up my memoirs. They will be slow to publish, but I will catch up eventually.
“The Pessimist Sees Difficulty In Every Opportunity. The Optimist Sees Opportunity In Every Difficulty.”
-Winston Churchill
How to get to San Juan de Gaztelugatxe:
You can check this website for detailed information, however, I think the buses may have changed since it was written, so I have written my notes below too.
Take the Bizkaibus 3518 from Bilbao, Plaza San Jose (roundabout) to Bakio.
The buses are every two hours.
I hiked from Bakio, and it’s fairly straightforward, but it is fatiguing. There are taxis, but I’m not sure about their schedule.