Smoky, Dingy, Dungeon...

San Sebastian, Spain

December 7, 2007
N43°19.542
W001°59.064

Due to the holiday weekend we had to switch from our comfy, clean pension in the town center of Bilbao to a dingy, smoky room about 1 KM from Parte Vieja, or the old section of town.

It was a long night; the thin walls did little to absorb noise from inside or outside the hotel. It sounded like the street sweepers were doing laps at 1:30 AM, right under our window, and a loud group of guys were having fun at a local hole-in-the-wall bar until at least 3:00 AM. Breathing wasn’t easy either… the ventilation in the room was so bad, at times it smelled like someone was sitting in our room smoking, the smell of cigarette smoke from adjoining rooms filled the halls and permeated the entire building. I think the place goes down as the shittiest places we’ve stayed for the money, also know as, shit-hole to dollar ratio (SH:$).

Luckily, we only had to stay in the den for one night and moved on today; thanking the heavens we pre-booked accommodations in San Sebastian, and hoping we wouldn’t have the same fate.

The local train from Bilbao to San Sebastian made at least twenty stops along the route, taking over 2 ½ hours. However, the 2 ½ hour ride allowed us time to really enjoy the Basque countryside. A light rain fell as we stared out the window at sheep and goats munching on the damp grass of the mountains, dark green rivers ran through small villages, and the final golden leaves of autumn fell from twisted branches.

Now the good news… when we arrived at our pension, we were stunned by the gorgeous views from our room. The room has a large sliding glass door that opens to a balcony overlooking the Bay of Biscay and waves crashing on the rocks and sea wall, shooting water into the air and splashing tourists strolling along Paseo Nuevo. Plus, the room is smoke free.

We’ll fall asleep to the sound of waves tonight instead of rowdy drunks… what a difference a day makes.