San Sebastian, Spain
Sunday, August 6, 2006
Arriving at 9 something in the evening in a foreign country and not having a reservation is just a rookie error, and I've done it twice in as many months! My first hour in Spain was spent wandering around San Sebastian calling all six of the "Low End" hostels mentioned in the Lonely Planet and, pretending not to have noticed the "Full" signs outside, knocking on a few doors too. At 10:30, with no luck and empty stomach, I dined on the matter. By the time I resumed my search the streets which were bustling an hour earlier were starting to empty and a sense of foreboding began to creep in. The "Mid Range" hotels, i.e. the ones that are well out of a backpacker's budget, were duly called and they delivered the same reply: "Esta completo" (It's full). By 1:00 in the morning, the streets largely bare save for a few drunks, I had resigned myself to the fact that I was sleeping in a plaza or on the beach. By 1:15 I realised that sleeping outside with all my luggage was just a ridiculous notion, that I might as well attach a strobe light to my backpack for the muggers to find me
. (San Sebastian seemed like an exceptionally safe and clean town, and it was, but I likened my situation to a tourist that arrived in Cape Town and wandered around Newlands before deciding to sleep in Kirstenbosch Gardens for the night.)
Around 2am I checked myself into a "Top End" hotel. I felt violated when I handed over my credit card.
The luckless start notwithstanding San Sebastian was an amazing place. It's a beautiful town rich with history and architecture, very clean and quite hip too. The town hugs an arched bay with a small island in the middle and a wide promenade runs the length of the beachfront for pedestrians, runners and cyclists alike. I'm hoping the rest of the country is as nice as this.
