Call it Fuenterrabía or Hondarribia, but enjoy it
With the Cantabrian in front, of that imposing navy blue that only exists in northern summers, It's easy to think that maybe it's true . It may be true that some summers are a matter of hours, but the next 24 that we are going to spend here will remind us that there are also days that last forever.
We are in Hondarribia . As a context: 20 kilometers from ** San Sebastián ** in the direction of France, a small Gipuzkoan city located at the mouth of the Bidasoa river looking at Hendaye , which has known how to stay true to itself, to its red and white colors, to its pintxos, to its Virgin of Guadalupe and to the richest fish soup in the world regardless of the passage of time. Hondarribia fulfills everything you expect from it and maybe it will surprise you with something else.
And it is that when one travels "to the north" one does not expect the combo of beach bar and beach. When one travels north open your lungs, he puts on his sweatshirt and napkin, learns to admire the thousand shades of gray in the sky and realizes that against him all other colors win.
The new, the good and the best: Hondarribia in five keys
THE WICKER BASKET
This first epigraph may surprise you (as Hondarribia will) but the store that we are going to discover is something you did not expect. Located in the Domingo de Egia street , on your poster you will read: Rosario Berrotarán hardware store.
And why do we make you come to a hardware store in the middle of this charming town? because it is a small temple of local crafts . The baskets, bags and shoulder bags that hang from its entrance give a clue of what we will find inside.
A family business from over 150 years (Rosario is the third generation and has been behind her counter for 30) where we can find all kinds of handcrafted baskets in Azpeitia (another Gipuzkoan town) from chestnut wood.
We will also find whales carved in wood, blown glass globes, brass cowbells, golden trumpets and bugles, and kitchen utensils from the Ibili Basque house. Good quality and good prices in a store that will forever change your concept of holiday souvenir.
The wicker "hardware"
WHERE TO EAT
Eat, pray, love in the Basque version it will be your main activity while you are in Hondarribia . And when you have tried all the pintxos that you have to try in the San Pedro street (whatever bar you enter, you'll like it) you'll still want to go back on another bridge to start over. Eating in Hondarribia is about experimenting three sensations that we cannot skip :
- The classic pintxo. Choosing just one is like telling a gardener to choose the most beautiful flower on the rosebush. In a summary exercise, we have the following. The Hondarribia pintxo, in the Gran Sol _(Calle San Pedro 65) _ is a smoked cod toast on foie gras and piquillo pepper, from the kitchen of the winner Bixent Munoz.
- The basic pintxo. They say that the most certain way to reach someone's heart is through his stomach, and something as simple as omelette it can be what conquers you. The perfect tortilla pintxo, yes. try it on the bar enbata _(Zuloaga Street, 5, with access also from San Pedro Street) _.
- The epic dish. Rarely does a dish become an institution. But the Fish soup of the Brotherhood of Fishermen _(Calle Zuloaga 12) _ it is. The building was built in 1631 to store the locals' fishing nets and the restaurant opened in 1947. Since then it continues to make its famous fish soup, the recipe of which is closely guarded. you have to try it.
The essential pintxito of Hondarribia
WHERE TO SLEEP
It is impossible to talk about Hondarribia and not do it Hostel . At the top of the town rises the castle of Charles V , a 10th-century fortification now converted into a hotel, through which kings and Napoleonic troops passed. However, on this tour we are not going to sleep within its walls, but in a house, Villa Lorenea , to feel like in ditto.
“Villa Lorenea was a family home. After a fire, Rosina, the owner, decided to move to a smaller house. Very sad to sell the house, because she had raised her five children there, she decided to turn it into a hotel with her little daughter as director”. She tells us precisely White Mazarrasa.
She continues: “This project did not start from scratch but to give a new life to my family's house. The concept was clear to me from the beginning: a quiet place with good attention , where every detail counts and with the scent of jasmine and magnolia. Here there are no huge rooms or great luxuries, but yes transmits tranquility and a certain elegance ”.
The result of the reconstruction was a small six room boutique hotel that maintains the architectural essence of the traditional houses in the area (with oak beams and friezes) with a turn “hip”.
Prices, between 77 and 136 euros ; and pleasure: a catered breakfast from start to finish ”, with fresh products. From the experience of many work trips, this is a great trick to get an accommodation right: if your breakfast is good, the hotel will be too.
Villa Lorenea
THE PHOTO
Hondarribia is full of things that are going to want to photograph. Their houses, its gastronomy, its view of Hendaye . But if what you want is one of those photographs of the immensity of the sea with which to put a phrase from your favorite song on Instagram, then you have to go to Higuer lighthouse.
From here, and bordering the Mount Jaizkibel , you have a very accessible walk of an hour and a half with views of the sea and leaving aside the "El Molino" cove to the fort of Guadalupe, which dates back to 1900 and was the defense of the Pyrenees on this side of the coast. A little further on is the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, from the 15th century.
Hondarribia, photographable to the fullest
THE WALK
The best of Hondarribia is that once you've beaten all the pintxos you've been able to do on Calle San Pedro, you have a golden opportunity to lower the food a bit by climbing up to the historic part of town: a succession of cobblestone streets of the Historic District , decorated with the typical wood frame buildings.
Enter through the Puerta de Santa María and go up the Kale Nagusia or Calle Mayor , passing by the town hall, the Church of Our Lady of Manzano and until you reach Hostel.
The sea of Hondarribia