Bilbao

I arrived in Bilbao this afternoon.  The atmosphere - weather, people, buildings, food, even the smells - reminded me of Paraguay.

I took public transit from the airport to a downtown stop, and then took the metro to the old part of town where my pension (hostel) is located.  Upon arrival, I was exhausted.  I threw myself on the bed and took a 2 hour nap.  Then I showered and ventured out to get a quick glimpse of what many people had suggested is a wonderful city.

For dinner I found a place with not too many people, and ordered some bocadillos and a beer.  The interesting thing for me was that I ate dinner at around 7pm, a normal time for a meal for me, but for the Spaniards this was extremely early.  Many of the other customers in the restaurant (well, technically it was a bar) were getting a light snack on their way home from work.

Below are a few pictures I took.  It's a nice and tranquil city, at least that's what it seems like to me.

Tomorrow is going to be a busy day.  In the morning I want to go to the post office and send some luggage ahead of me to Santiago.  This luggage I will need after my walk is completed, and when I  visit Juan in Pamplona.  After the trip to the post office I want to go see the stadium of Athletic Club Bilbao, one of the historical fútbol teams in Spain.  I think that along with Barcelona and Real Madrid, they're the only team that has never descended to the 2nd division; and this, using only local players from the Basque country.  Impressive!  Towards the end of the day I need to go to the bus station and catch a bus to Irún, my starting point for the Camino.