HONDARRIBIA, ESPAÑA Y HENDAYE, FRANCIA
- Hannah McDonald
- Jun 17, 2017
- 4 min read
I was lucky enough to talk to Joey, Mom, and Dad this morning, after wishing Dad a Happy Father’s Day. Turns out my sense of time is a little off. Father’s Day is tomorrow. It bought me a ticket to video chat them though.
By 9:30, Makaela and I were off to the plaza to meet the group for today’s excursion: Hondarribia, Spain and Hendaye, France. Unfortunately, not everyone in the group arrived on time, so we missed the direct bus. Instead, we took a bus thirty minutes later that stopped along the way. Standing for some and sitting for some, we arrived in Hondarribia just over an hour later.
Hondarribia is a mediaeval town, so we started by walking around the wall that isolates the city. Moving past the wall, we saw the small fisherman town it is now. There are lots of restaurants, shops, and markets right next to the bay. I’m sure you can’t guess where Makaela and I went first: the market. We found some Go-Go Squeeze applesauce snacks and the plastic forks, which I would need later for my lunch. After briefly walking through the main part of town, we went down to the bay. We watched the water and boats and had some snacks. I then walked down along the bay to where fisherman had several fishing poles lined up with lines in the water. Walking back through town, we saw a market set up with bread, veggies, and plants. The small town was quite busy this Saturday afternoon.
Returning back to the meeting point, the group made our way to the boat. It was a very quick ride across the bay to France, five minutes or so.
Now in Hendaye, France, we headed to the beach. This is where we had lunch, hung out in the sand, and wadded in the water. It was a nice day for the beach, although the ocean was marked as a little rough. We were only there a short while, but I managed not to get sunburned, unlike some of the others. On our way out, Makaela and I grabbed some fruit smoothies from the stand just above the water. Although they were more like juices, they were delicious. The woman I ordered from initially greeted me in French, then switched to Spanish after I spoke to her in Spanish. It was amazing to see the initial language switch after just a five minute boat ride.
Needing to catch the train back into San Sebastian, the group started walking toward the train station. It was a much longer walk than I expected. In reality though, I never really know what to expect because there is so much walking here. Along the way, we got a nice view of some more boats and stopped for a group picture.
This time, we all arrived to the transportation on time and boarded the train. I dozed off on the way, but it was only a forty minute ride. It is crazy to think that I am only forty minutes from France right now.
Back in San Sebastian, Makaela and I got our bearings, then said goodbye to the group. We then went back to Makaela’s host family’s apartment to rest up for a couple hours before going to dinner. On our way to dinner, we stopped by the market, of course. I had run out of snacks. In that shopping area, there was a concert going on with lots of people around. The city is busy on Saturday nights. For dinner, we tried an Indian restaurant. Arriving just after 8:30, the restaurant was almost completely empty. People really do eat late here. I had a chicken and rice dish, and Makaela had a chicken dish. Both were delicious with naan bread to top it off.
Exhausted, we thought about just heading back to the apartments. Makaela wanted to get an ice cream first though, which turned out to be a great choice. The line was too long for ice cream, but we did come across a festival going on by the water. It was called Ame & Art Market. After paying our one euro to get in, there was live music, food trucks, and shopping. It reminded me of Rhythm on the Rails in Niwot, except with more shopping. There were all sorts of vendors from jewelry and clothes to wall decor and lamps. The food trucks consisted of a wide variety of food, such as, French, Tex Mex, Costa Rican, and Brazilian. That might have been the most food-variety I have come across here.
Seeing the sun beginning to set, we headed to the beach to watch it. This time we went to the surfer’s beach, not La Concha. There was a soccer field set up in the sand and surfers in the water. It was a beautiful night. We watched the sunset as birds flew around us.
With the little glowing light that was left, we began our walk home, leaving our footprints next to the bird’s in the sand.
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