Basque Country Trails

Our Prior Hiking Adventures

While it’s difficult to pinpoint an exact event that led Eliott and I to become avid hikers, our first hike through El Yunque in Puerto Rico likely ignited our desire to explore the world more deeply in this way. In 2019-20, when we took our “Travel Sabbatical”, we hiked more than 200 miles on four continents. We completed at least one hike in each of the 10 countries that we visited and, in some cases, such as Cinque Terre (Italy) or the island of Mljet (Croatia), hiking was the primary purpose of our visit to a region.

We returned to DC in March 2020, just as the world was shutting down. For the next couple of years, hiking became our only form of travel and primary escape from the city. We always paired a hike with a visit to a winery or brewery, as these were both places where we could explore, relax, and practice social distancing.Once the world reopened, hiking remained a key part of our travel lives. It should come as no surprise that we’ve chosen to see more of Pais Vasco through its hiking trails.

Hiking Bilbao

In our first three weeks in Bilbao we took two hikes. Temperatures have been higher-than-average for January and there has been less rainf than usual, making hiking a wonderful way to spend a weekend day. Both of the hikes that we’ve taken were accessible by public transit, which can unfortunately not be said about the hikes we often take near DC.

When we initially started walking we saw other hikers exiting the trail with very dirty shoes. Others struggled to remove mud that seemed to be caked on their feet. It hadn’t rained for a few days, so I wasn’t expecting to  encounter these conditions. Unfortunately, as we moved along the trail, I realized that I was wrong.

The trail was often quite narrow and very soggy. In some places there was no option beyond stepping in a giant puddle of mud. At one point I tried to navigate a particularly sloppy patch and came within inches of falling on my ass into a giant mud puddle. Fortunately, another hiker witnessed the near disaster and advised us that another nearby trail was much less treacherous. We took his advice and were able to continue to appreciate the views while encountering a bit less mud, but we were still pretty much covered in it by the time the trail rejoined the road.

This was supposed to be an eight mile loop hike, but we were quite nervous about the conditions on the rest of the trail. In the end we decided to skip the second-half of the suggested route. We stayed along the road and instead stopped at Playa de Barrika for a snack before exploring Plentzia a bit and taking the metro back to Bilbao. We hiked 6.3 miles and desperately needed a shower. [But we still stopped for a zurito and a pintxo in the Plaza after returning to Bilbao!]

We again took the metro from Casco Viejo towards the coast. This time we disembarked at Santurtzi and wandered through a neighborhood before finding the trail. The first half of the trail was a paved road between houses built into the hillside. We encountered quite a few other hikers, bikers, and runners as we made our way up the mountain. Once again, we were stunned by the views. Along the trail we could see the Port of Bilbao, the cliffs and beaches of the Bay of Biscay, the Puente Colgante in Getxo, and, as we hiked higher, the heart of Bilbao, including Estadio de San Mamés.

At the midpoint of the hike we had two choices: return on the paved road or continue on the trail. We chose the latter, which was often narrow and in certain places quite steep. On this portion of the route we encountered all kinds of livestock, such as cows grazing on the mountainside grass only a foot or so from the trail. We were nervous about disturbing them, but they completely ignored our passing. The biggest threat they posed was having previously marked the trail with their droppings. We needed to watch our steps very carefully to prevent a second hike resulting in shoes that desperately needed cleaning. 

It was a warm day and there were some steep elevation gains at times along this trail. We were sweaty and hungry as we returned to civilization. We had hiked 7.2 miles and were very grateful for the bar immediately next to the Kabiezes metro that was still serving pintxos and zuritos so that we could refuel before riding the metro back to Bilbao (for more pintxos and zuritos).

What’s next? In August 2019 we hiked to Pagasarri with a guide. This hike doesn’t even require a metro trip. It starts in the Bilbao neighborhood of Mirbillia, which is very near where we’re staying until we move into our apartment next week. We think we’ll repeat this hike on our own this weekend. I’ll provide an update if we do!