Hondarribia
Yay classes cancelled! This was the first USAC-planned excursion (not including the whole Madrid tour). I still had to be at school pretty early, a difficult task for those who had celebrated Pintxo-Pote the night before. Luckily, I am used to my early Friday mornings.
First, we went to Hondarribia, a city near the coast of France. We explored the old part of town, which was enclosed in castle walls. Because of it’s proximity to France, Hondarribia experienced its fare share of battles during the 16-18th century.
San Sebastián on the left, Hondarribia on the right
Posing with this guy who has a sick hat and a saw
The streets of Hondarribia
After wandering the narrow streets and visiting a church (I have a feeling this will be a common theme), we toured a castle-turned-hotel located on the eastern side of the city. From there, we could see France, separated only by a beautiful harbor filled with boats.
That's me, in Spain and behind me, France!
After seeing the old town, we made our way to the newer part where the fisherman’s village is located (cue comment from Dad about Ryan being the luckiest fisherman). It was a bit quieter than usual because it’s winter and there weren’t many people on the streets. The buildings are very colorful and I can imagine how lively it looks in the summer with flowery trees and open fish markets.
Fisherman's village
Zumaia
After a quick pastry stop, we all loaded back up onto the bus to Zumaia, a city further east of San Sebastián. I was a bit exhausted and tired of being in the cold, but promises of a delicious meal kept me motivated.
At first, it seemed like we weren’t going to make it inside because none of the doors would open. Thankfully after the entire group walked all the way around the restaurant, we were able to get inside and enjoy the promised meal. Our first course (yes, courses because lunch is the largest meal in Spain) was a dish called alubias rojas, which means “red beans.” The beans are cooked with chorizo, bacon, onion, and other delicious things, resulting in the consistency of a thick soup. Our main course was cod (I swear it’s all they eat over here) and for dessert we had flan and leche frita (fried milk). I didn’t take any pictures of the food, but I assure you it was delicious.
Zumaia to the left, San Sebastián centered, and Hondarribia
After lunch, we split into groups and then were led by a geologist along the coast. This particular stretch of coast is very important to geologists because they can read the exposed layers of rock like a book dating back over 50 million years ago. When the Pyrenees were formed, the land was forced upward, exposing the different layers of sediment. Geologists can study these layers to see what was happening on earth during that particular period of time. For example, before the dinosaurs went extinct, the soil was full of many different kinds of fossils that are otherwise not there afterwards. It is visible on the rocks, a dark stripe of dirt, when the extinction supposedly took place. Scientists looked at the particles found in this area in order to hypothesize that a meteor was responsible for the mass extinction and the resulting dark cloud covering the earth caused many plants and animals to die soon after. Despite the cold, I thought this experience was very interesting and cool to see!
Flysch Rock Formation
Allison and me
Layers
Steph, Allison, me
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