| The harbor at Hendaye had a good many sailboats at anchor, and looked like a pretty little town to stay in for a few days |
| Erin's San Sebastian Journals 6-21-02, Part 2 Anyway, there was no locker area for our big bags, so we had to carry them everywhere. After lunch across from the station, we started walking and stopped nearby to see the World Cup match, in progress right then USA v. Germany. We saw the 2nd half of the game, and were disappointed to see them lose in this quarter final game. Lots of violence in that one! After, we got directions for an internet spot (the local library) and started off. It was pretty far, but we did find a post office and managed to convey that we needed new stamps for our post cards, as we'd not managed to mail them in Spain but already had Spanish stamps on them. Bah. Then we found the library where we'd been directed, but found that the rate was too expensive (.20/min!), so we just sat and wrote journals and read until it closed at 6:30pm. Kicked out, we wandered a few blocks away to a park we'd glimpsed, and found a nice semi-shaded area to put our bags down and rest, not far from a nice view of the bay, filled with boats. It was a very nice town, from the looks of it, and we figured we'd stay in Hendaye next time, rather than San Sebastian! As we sat in the park, an older couple approached to ask if we were looking for the start of the 49-day mountain hike that starts in town, as they could direct us. (I must look a lot stronger than I am!!!) We thanked them but said no, we're just waiting for a train. We got to talking - this couple travels all over Europe in their camper van, stopping to do immense hikes like the mountainous one that starts in Hendaye, for 6 months every year. The rest of the year, they spend camping around England (home) and visiting their kids & grandkids. They were both so fit and seemed to get as much enjoyment out of life as could be had. Glenn and I were both struck by their energy and enthusiasm for life and exploration. We want to be looking that good when we're in our 60's too! Roy and Kritchlin (sorry, don't know the correct spelling!) were a load of laughs and philosophy and made 3 hours fly by for us. Around 9:30 we figured we should find dinner before heading back to the train station, so we said our farewells and walked 2 blocks up to a pizza place we'd passed. We split a large pizza and a couple of sodas while watching the sun set, then made our way back to the station, where our train was already boarding. We got on as soon as we could get through the security line, hearing stories from other passengers of the 2 hour delay on the main line train from San Sebastian! This had caused several people to miss their earlier trains from Hendaye (this was the one we would've taken!), so we felt glad we'd taken the slower train and gotten out early. The train left Hendaye on time, at 11:15pm. We had almost the entire 1st class car to ourselves, so we each had 2 seats. I promptly curled up on mine and went to sleep! |
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