Northern Spain Road Trip – Day 3 – Travelling renders you speechless then transforms you into a story teller

San Sebastian is famed for it’s golden beaches, forested mountains and great food via it’s unrivalled pintxo scene – tasty morsels held together with a cocktail stick. The sun is shining and the weather is set fair for a scorching 30 degrees. It’s the perfect opportunity for us to drive down to Playa de La Concha and get the paddle boards up and ready for a 750m paddle out to Santa Clara Island. It’s just after low tide and the island gains its own tiny beach at this time so we don our wetsuits and start paddling. The water is cool, turquoise and almost crystal clear. There’s a slight breeze but it’s not a difficult paddle. We land on the beach and have a late breakfast of pastries and lay out on our boards catching some rays.

You can climb the Island’s forested paths to a small light- house and a tourist boat from the other side of the bay delivers day-trippers. It’s too hot to wander up in our wetsuits so we give it a miss. The paddle back is slightly more complex as the wind has now got up and the tide is coming in. Initially all is ok but then I fall in after trying to be too clever with my go-pro. Brownie comes to my rescue and steadies my board whilst I haul myself back in. Once again I thank my lucky stars that I’m wearing a life jacket. We constantly see so many paddle boarders not wearing one when out on the water and can’t stress highly enough just how important they are. Anyway I digress, the wind picks up again and we have to paddle hard to make it to the shore and are very relieved to finally haul our boards onto the beach and peel off our wetsuits for a lounge in the sun. It’s been a great paddle and here’s to many more. We return to our hotel for a shower and siesta, we are after all in Spain.

Tonight we walk into the Old town to sample some of San Sebastián’s famous pinxtos. With 15 Michelin stars in and around the city, San Sebastián is one of the foodie capitals of the planet. The city is overflowing with bars so we’re hoping that we’re going to be spoilt for choice. We stop en-route to take in the glorious sunset.

Our first stop is for chilled Rioja and Brownie chooses iberico ham, goats cheese and mushroom. I opt for sardine, creamy cheese and jam. They are both delicious. We’re loving the alfresco dining well alfresco bar hopping such a contrast to chilly London where outdoor dining requires an overhead heater and multiple layers. We wander the Old Town and continue to sample a variety of delights. It’s brimming with tourists and sadly the mixed quality of some of the Pintxos reflects this. We continue to quaff chilled rijoa whilst balancing on bar stools or windowsills.