Getxo, pronounced Getcho, in northern Spain (Basque country) is the port for Bilbao and it’s a lovely place. It’s easy to see that the town was incredibly wealthy in the past, and it’s not at all shabby nowadays.
There’s an esplanade which is over a mile long and I must admit that it’s a lot more scenic than Kirkcaldy’s mile long esplanade. The rich people in times past built huge mansions, all in different styles on the edge of the esplanade, obviously taking advantage of the sea views, and vying with each other as to who could have the grandest house.
After our morning and early afternoon in Bilbao we went back to the ship for lunch and then walked into Getxo and had a drink in one of the bars. We dodged the tapas which was all very fishy (I’m not a fan of fish) but more importantly it was a very hot day and the tapas dishes were just lying out, not chilled. I can imagine that if you’re a local and are used to eating it then it would be fine but I reckon it would have just about killed us if we had chanced it.
The photo above is ofour ship Black Watch and her sister ship Boudicca is moored just behind.
People in Spain seem to live a sort of split shift life. The shops don’t open until 11 am then close at 2 pm. Then it’s lunch and siesta time and everything opens up again at 5 pm until 8 pm. THEN they open again at 11 pm until 2 am. I was particularly amazed to see that even a shop selling candles and fancy soaps as well as things for kiddies was open from 11 pm until 2 am. Presumably people must actually go into the shops at those times otherwise they wouldn’t open up, but I was left wondering if it was errant husbands who had been out on a longer than expected drinking binge who were the customers. Maybe they feel the need to go home with peace offerings for their wives.
So again, we didn’t contribute anything to the town’s economy. except for the amazingly cheap drinks, 3.60 euros – because it was only the bars that were open!
We in the UK take it for granted that shops open from 9 am until 5.30 pm but I know that Peggy was surprised that our shops closed at 5.30 apparently they open until 8 pm in the US.
It was another gorgeous hot day, about 27 centigrade, very unusual for the time of the year and the locals said we were very lucky as it rains all the time there! That must account for it looking so green and verdant.
Beautiful mansions and palaces in your photos, and I’m admiring afresh the most elegant lines of your ship – she’s so graceful. I hope she was stable and rode the waves well?
Valerie,
Black Watch is an elegant ship, unlike those massive ‘blocks of flats’ that the bigger ships look like. I really enjoy being thrown around by rough seas so I was quite disappointed that it was mainly a flat calm while we were sailing.
Those mansions have an art deco look to them; had I not known I would have guessed they were somewhere in the UK. Not at all what I would expect in a Spanish port!
How interesting about the opening hours. I knew about the afternoon closure but not how late the shops open in the mornings and certainly not that opening shift over midnight. The rhythms of life must be utterly different to ours here.
The ship looks majestic. I’m always awed by the size of these cruise ships. And I’m with you on avoiding the fishy tapas!
Sandra,
The guide on our tour bus did say that the mansions had been built by wealthy English people, presumably people who were making money from business and sailing, but I couldn’t find any mention of that online and I’m not sure if she was just trying to throw in an English interest to what she thought was a bus full of English people, when we were mainly Scots!
Those are some pretty fancy mansions! I can’t imagine going out to shop so very late at night! Shops in my part of the US close at 9 mostly which is convenient when the only time you have to go out and run errands is after work but shopping at 2 a.m.? I am sounds asleep (I hope!)
Stefanie,
I suppose as they still seem to have an afternoon siesta then they are on a completely different time scale from us. Very strange but obviously it’s normal for them. Supermarkets here are usually open late at night or sometimes even 24 hours, but most shops are shut at 5.30. Do shop workers work from 9 am to 9 pm or are they working shifts and taking turns at doing late nights?