Yesterday we had dinner around 9:30 p.m., we are improving on our meal times. Charming little restaurant on a street in San Sebastián: several shared starters (garlic prawns, salads (with higo (figs) from certain cacti), fried squid, gazpacho for Louis and we also shared a fish “vieja ", but I don't remember the exact species, it was written by hand on the meal sheet for fish of the day. For dessert we had cake with palm honey, we had to taste it. We bought some, honey, to take home, but we didn't know what it tasted like until last night.
Today, we take it more relaxed, it's the last day with Max and Andy. We will therefore have lunch in a small restaurant in the central square. You order something and it's a bit of a surprise what you get because the waitress sometimes misunderstands what you wanted, but it's part of the trip so there's no stress at all.
We go for a walk in the city, on foot, we love it! It's beautiful, it's a bit like an old European village. It's great because you find it authentic with the wooden doors and windows. It is not transformed for tourists (my opinion). There is a church, souvenir shops, other art shops, restaurants, hairdressing shops. Everything is close and on foot. We even go for a walk to the municipal market. There is an interior courtyard with fruit and vegetable merchants, a pastry shop and a fishmonger. I love the place. If something is missing, there is even a market right next door. There is also a great park for training with machines with weights outside. It doesn't really rain here in the summer and from October to March it's an average of 5-6 days of rain a month. It's perfect for outdoor equipment. There is also a running track and bars of various heights and uses which makes this outdoor gym perfect.
We return to the boat at the end of the morning to put on sunscreen (sun obliges). The guys are going to swim in the pool nearby. Louis wants to do lengths at the beach next to the ferry as the beach is less beautiful, it seems (according to the guys). Me and Andy stay on the boat, Andy wants to do chores on the boat and I want to write the blog. We'll go swimming later. Andy oils the wooden platform at the back of the boat. It is so much more beautiful with oil. She also removes rust from the back of the boat and cleans the cockpit. An angel while I'm working on the blog and the guys are off to eat. They bring us a salad just at the right time. How good are they!
It's almost 4 p.m.! Louis tries to operate the barbecue which hasn't worked for a while. Max asks him not to blow us up. Reassuring! Or the humor of guys who have known each other since high school.
Andy and I are going to walk to the grocery store, it will get us moving a bit. Louis can pick us up when we're done. All the small market of fresh fruits, pastries, fish market that we saw this morning is closed, but the supermarket adjoining the municipal market is open. Really a nice store, with a nice quality of fruits and vegetables. You can see a lot of people there too. The lady at the fish counter who makes us our sea bass fillets, the one at the charcuterie counter who slices our bacon, they are super nice. We also see an elderly lady shopping for groceries, with her back slightly bent, in her burgundy dress and sandals. I find it good to come and do grocery shopping. I then see her elastic bandage on her right knee and toes. I have never seen toes that go so far in all directions: on the sides, on top of others. Let's be clear, I'm not saying this to laugh at her, quite the contrary. I only say this so that you can experience the trip with me, but above all because we often complain for nothing. It puts everything into perspective when you see people experiencing certain difficulties and who continue all the same. Hats off to this lady!
We wait so long at the checkout, we are not sure if we can go to the checkout at the end of the row because in Quebec (Canada) this checkout is reserved for, say 10-12 items and less. We also see boxes to pay with cash or with a credit card, so we stay in our line, the longest. We look at each other and think that at home people would probably lose patience, but we are on vacation so there is no rush. We also realize that the cashier is new because she asks for all the codes from another colleague further on. We therefore decide, almost at the checkout, to change the checkout to go with an employee who knows the codes better because we have a lot of fruit. So we go back in line elsewhere. And there, the gentleman in front of us pays into a machine with coins. He drops some on the ground, I help him pick up his money. It's long but ok, he has the right to pay with his change. Then I see on the cash register that it is 0.30 euro to pay and I realize that he is paying with his 0.02 euro. It's gonna take a while. He gets to 1.70 euro this way (85 times of 0.02 euro change in the machine) then he pays with bigger coins and I don't know how he ends up paying then but it's ok more quickly. Again, I'm not laughing at the man, I think it's great to be able to use your currency in this way, but after all the time online, we can't wait to get out. We do it very quickly, I'm going to get our bags and my backpack that we had to leave in a locker at the entrance. That's a good idea too. I have my locker key so it’s safe. I pack as I go. Andy suggests that we don't call Louis for nothing and are able to manage with everything by simply walking to the boat. I'm not as convinced as her but ok. So I pack the cans and other smaller, heavier containers in my backpack, the fruits and breads in a bag and a 5 liter of water in the other hand. Andy walks with the 6x1.5 liter water bottles in a bag hanging from her shoulder, the 4 ice packs in a zipper bag and a 5 liter water in the other hand. We walk for a while, we cross the park and I ask her if she wants to take a break. She thought the same. So we take 2 minutes in which she sees that Louis asked us if we were ready for pick up for the return. She writes to him that we are coming on foot and we are reorganizing. She puts the two 5 liters each in a bag, each on one shoulder, then the other two bags in her hands. She therefore carries more but it is more comfortable, better distributed. I have one less bag so I change hands from time to time. We finally arrive at the boat, Max tells us that Louis has gone to get us. So we tell him to come back. That's very nice of him, but Max was sure Andy would want to walk back. Our exercise is done.
So we clean the fruit, we put the new foods and the ice cream in their place and we eat bread and brie to relax a little.
Oh, before we forget or the wind increases because it will increase a lot soon and until tomorrow included, we want Andy to raise the 60 foot mast. To encourage her and show her how to do it, I go up first. So far only me and Louis have made it to the top. The others stopped earlier. There is no shame, it is very high, but I believed that Andy can do it. So I put on the harness and Louis ties the knot. A gust of wind passes. I hope there will be no others during my ascent. In fact I have no idea because I was too concentrated but Max said it was windy when I climbed. I go up a little, then I give my glasses to Louis, I don't want to drop them from up there. I'll spare you a few details because this text is starting to get long, but I'm going almost non-stop until the end. Louis tells me a few times that I can take breaks but I don't want to. My heart is beating, I don't like heights, I just want to go up and down. Arrived at the top I say hello to them then I go down again when Louis is ready. It's a little harder than going up
because less comfortable with the harness close to the neck, but it is done well all the same. Andy isn't sure she wants to come up anymore, but she steps forward anyway and climbs the mast. Arriving at the 2nd spreader, she takes a break.
We say to ourselves that she is almost there, she must continue and that is what she is doing.
Well done Andy!
It's time to come back down. Let's say that we felt challenged in the legs and arms after having brought back the groceries before.
We then prepare the fish supper (yummy!) with vegetables and fruit salad with melted chocolate on top for dessert. Louis is watching the winds for tomorrow, a lot of wind. We will think of them. Max and Andy will leave in the afternoon with the ferry to be able to relax one night at the hotel before their flight the next day.
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