Gaztelugatxe & Bilbao

As we travel on, clouds appear and the weather becomes a bit more chilly. It’s the perfect weather to visit Gaztelugatxe, or “Castle Rock”. Gaztelugatxe is a cinematic little island that was used as a filming location for Game of Thrones (Dragonstone), but only at times of gloomy weather to add to the series’ vibes. Or so Tim told me as I have never watched any episode of the show. :) I can attest to it being a beautiful place though. The island hosts a little church and is remarkably attached to the mainland by a man-made zigzag bridge. Unfortunately at the time of our visit the bridge was closed for maintenance and we weren’t able to walk the 241 stairs to the island. Luckily it was also very rewarding to do a hike around the area with great views of the castle and Bay of Biscay.

In the afternoon we visit Bilbao. We park our campervan at a secured camper parking on top of a hill, providing a nice view of the city at our feet. Taking a bus down town we visit the famous Guggenheim Museum - both the outdoor and indoor art is worth the watch - and we explore the streets of the old quarter by foot. I thought San Sebastián was a great place to be, but walking through Bilbao I enjoy this city even more! With about 15% of its population being students there’s a certain buzz to it; it’s a lively and beautiful city. We again avoid the task of cooking in a campervan as we can’t resist to also try the pintxos in Bilbao before taking the bus back to our scenic parking lot.

So far we are enjoying the camper trip: we are finding our way in the little van and get more and more organised both in placing / finding our stuff and having each our own tasks “in the household”. Tim is the main driver and is informally responsible for stuff like filling the water tank, changing the bed to sofa and vice versa, and finding ourselves the nicest spots for the night. I on the other hand take care of things like getting us ready to camp vs drive in terms of indoor organisation, cooking, doing the dishes, identifying the touristy hot spots on the way, and being the emcee to our road trip playlist entertaining Tim along the way (any favourite road trip songs you’d recommend?!). Including some pics of the sleeping spots we’ve had so far!Read more