San Pedro, San Juan & Hondarribia

A tour through three coastal towns with some things in common and many differences: one where they build ships using techniques from four centuries ago; another that seems like a Basque branch of Venice, and the third is so special that even The New York Times declared its infinite love for it. Anything else? A journey along one of Spain's highest coastal roads.

Crazy Ship Builders

The first stop will be powerful: we'll arrive in Pasajes San Pedro (located just opposite Pasajes San Juan, which has that Venetian feel) and to Albaola, a traditional shipyard that builds wooden replicas of ancient Basque vessels. It's rare to find someone whose mind isn't blown by how a handful of engineers and carpenters use centuries-old tools to build a 16th-century whaling ship! With the same techniques used to build a whaling ship...in the 16th century.

Independence Port

Knowing that Pasajes San Juan is very tempting, we'll approach this town with only one street (we're not exaggerating!) in the fastest way possible: aboard a small motorboat that serves the locals. In a few minutes, we'll immerse ourselves in the atmosphere of this town with medieval roots, alleys, and tunnels overflowing with stories of sailors, whalers, and pirates. Did you know that Victor Hugo, author of Les Misérables, lived in Pasajes San Juan? And that the Marquis de Lafayette embarked from Pasajes to the United States to participate in the American Revolution?

We'll travel to our next destination via the longest (and most beautiful) route: the scenic road of Mount Jaizkibel, the third highest coastal mountain in Spain and one of the areas of the Cantabrian Sea with the highest biodiversity.

Hondarribia: Two-Faced

The advantage Hondarribia has is that it's one town but seems like two: one is a fortified medieval borough located at the highest point (with walls, cobblestone streets, slopes, wooden balconies full of flowers, a palace of Emperor Charles V’s hiding tapestries based on Rubens paintings...), and the other is a typically Basque fishing village (white houses, colorful windows, a large tree-lined esplanade where fish used to be sold; tiny bars with dreamy pintxos...) now turned into a gastronomic attraction. Because of the former (being fortified), Hondarribia has witnessed dozens of battles; because of the latter (its fishing port), Hondarribia has witnessed something much better: how its bars and restaurants became a world-renowned gastronomic reference praised even by the New York Times.