A River Runs Through It
I got blisters on both my feet! But I’m (kind of) happy about it, so thats ok. After sleeping the entire previous day, I had the energy and the health to go exploring while Alex and Eugenia went to Castro-Urdiales to do a bit of flat-hunting. We figured some times off and I went out with them and then headed down the river towards the Gugenheim.
But I didn’t go in. I still had five hours left to go and I wanted to explore more than I wanted to wander in an art museum. Also, I have a bit more difficulty with modern art because I have less anchors to attach my perception to so I just sort of stare blankly at the canvas for a little bit and move on. I figured I had more than enough time later in the day anyways. I had a map of Bilbao and a pretty good understanding of its overall layout and its boundaries, so I proceeded to get thoroughly lost only periodically orienting myself to the map. After awhile I got bored and decided to do something Eugenia suggested. I got on the metro to Portugalete (very user friendly!) and was off.
I was here to check out the Puente Colgante which is this crazy bridge who’s entire goal was to get traffic across the river without messing up the water traffic. It’s actually a pretty cool solution and I’m surprised this is the first one I’ve ever seen. Sadly, the lift to the top-level walkway was closed so I was forced to wander more. I headed inland along the river remembering that I’d passed some burned out buildings in an industrial sector that looked like they had a lot of graffiti. So I figured I’d walk past this large warehouse-factory that I could see and see what I could see.
To my surprise the wall surrounding the factory was already covered in graffiti. Eugenia suggested there might have been some sort of sponsored competition, which makes sense… all the pieces in the most visible locations were very polished, often with several by the same artist, one of them with their own website proudly advertised on their piece. Figuring I had had some good luck I kept walking after taking some photos.
Eventually I got back on the Metro, but I got a good look at the outskirts of Bilbao (their own cities by rights, but considered part of ‘Gran Bilbao’). By the time I got back to the Gugenheim it was time to head in and make dinner for my hosts. After some rather average spaghetti (no mushrooms and I bought a can of puree tomatoes, not whole) I proceed to lose at Carcassonne due to Alex cottoning on to my farmer strategy and then on to a game of poker where Eugenia proved that there is no such thing as probability.
The next day I get on the train to Guernica (Gernika-Lumo in Basque and post-merger with Lumo). On the train I realize what I really need on this trip is downtime. The tourist busses understand part of the formula: Let tourists do touristy things, before they get too overwhelmed scoop them back into the bus, and then let them get comfortable again. Part of what works there is that the downtime lets you relax and absorb what you have just seen or done. Now I’m not endorsing such tourist entrapments, I think a hot/cold approach like that is only good for ensuring you always need tour operators, I’m just saying I see the need for *some* downtime now. My plan is to get a hotel in Guernica and just hide there for two nights. I’ve had to push back my arrival in Madrid (an entire story in of itself). During the day I will spend maybe half exploring the sites and if I feel like it maybe biking into the surrounding hills. If not, I’ll hide in my room. In a very real way, couchsurfing hosts provide this downtime without making you feel antisocial so I’m just having to do it with no one in Guernica to host me.