On our last day in the South Georgia Islands, we were given a choice. We could either replicate Shackleton’s route to the Grytviken whaling station, starting from Fortuna Bay, OR we could take a zodiac ride. You’ve probably guessed which one I chose, but in case you didn’t, here’s a visual.
Climbing into the zodiac
Boris, our cruise director, was quite specific in his description of the hike: “ It is about 4 miles long, and VERY steep. You will be ascending about 1000 feet. You can take water with you, but no food. And there are no bathrooms, so control your water consumption. Once you get dropped off, there is NO turning back, so be absolutely sure you can make it. The boat will pick you up at the whaling station”.
My interpretation, although he didn’t specifically SAY it, was “you could die”. And I probably WOULD have.
The start of Shackleton’s trail. The hikers are the orange and blue dots.
Despite his dire description of the event, 30 people signed up for the hike. After sleeping on it, six people changed their minds, so 24 of my cruise mates, including my hero Paul, (who helped me up when I fell, on an earlier hike,) and my kayak buddy, Marc (who is my age) made the trek.
They made it!
As for me, I went on an absolutely fantastic zodiac cruise, where we saw waterfalls,
Macaroni Penguins,
Here’s a close up of these adorable little guys
fur seals,
Equally cute, so they get a close up too.
and elephant seals
No close up for THESE guys
It was a perfect zodiac cruise. Once again, we were blessed with ideal weather. But wait, there’s more…
While at the Grytviken whaling station, we toasted Shackleton at his gravesite,
visited the museum,
Baby albatrossArtifacts outside
and were able to send postcards from the only post office we had encountered, so far.
We set sail for the Falklands in the afternoon, and spent the next two days at sea.
I’m not going to describe the seas as rough. Let’s just say I was extremely grateful for my patch.
If you think this post is covering a lot of ground, you’d be right. In just two days, we have visited three very different locations! The header of this post is a photo of the group as we started our walk on el Camino, but I’m getting ahead of myself. Before that…
En route to Pamplona, we stopped in the charming seaside town of San Sebastián.
Although the morning started out cloudy, before too long, the mists disappeared, just in time for us to thoroughly enjoy our walk along the beach.
The Miramar Palace, where former kings and queens spent their summers, overlooks this big, beautiful beach, and is now an events center for weddings and conferences.
We didn’t crash the wedding—just the photo shoot
I’ve seen elaborate sand sculptures, but this was the first time I saw sand “art” being created.
We had just enough time in San Sebastián for a delightful multi-course lunch at The Morgan Kompany, ( no, that’s not a typo, and yes, it is a restaurant). I barely had enough time to find a Christmas ornament for my sister. It’s one of my travel traditions— to find something Sue can hang on her tree from every country I visit.
We arrived in Pamplona late in the afternoon, checked in to the hotel, then walked through the nearby gardens. Notice how clean everything is?
Our stroll took us to the city wall, where we were able to enjoy this panoramic view.
Spaniards eat dinner around 9 or 10 PM, which according to my American digestive system is FAR too late.
We didn’t spend much time in Pamplona, because the next morning we traveled to Roncesvalles, where we started our El Camino experience. The mountains in the background of the header photo are the Pyrenees which form a natural border between France and Spain. In that photo, some of us are holding our El Camino passports aloft. We collected three stamps on this walk.
I didn’t have a walking pole, so I brought my umbrella, which helped me cross a muddy, slippery stream.
For our last afternoon in Pamplona, we met Gonzalo,
who has run with the bulls multiple times. He finally hung up his running shoes after his injuries resulted in a 10 day coma.
As we walked the half mile route from corral to bull ring, he filled us in on little known facts (at least to me) about the Festival of San Fermin. That’s the official name for the insane practice known as running with the bulls.
Six bulls per day do the run, accompanied by six steer ( castrated bulls)
The same six steer do the run for SEVEN consecutive days, but the six bulls change every day, because they get finished off when they reach the bull ring. This festival is the only time bull fights are held in Pamplona.
Before 7 AM, runners congregate in front of the statue of Saint Fermin (maybe he existed, maybe he didn’t) to sing a song three times at prescribed intervals before the bulls are released at 8 AM.
According to Gonzalo, runners need to arrive early to get a good spot for the run. If you are interested in viewing the madness, and hearing the song, here’s the link to the YouTube video. https://youtu.be/hDyQ0cUXk9g?si=rN20ZM45hAZ_CW_i
During the 7 day festival 42 bulls run. Each one costs between nine and fifteen THOUSAND Euros.
It takes the frightened bulls about two minutes to run the half mile route. No runner is fast enough to do the entire route, because once the bulls get in front of you, you’re done with the race.
If a runner gets gored or trampled all medical care is free. If you are NOT a runner and fall down because you’re drunk, you are responsible for the medical costs. And let me tell ya, there is a whole lot of drinking during those seven days!
This is as close as I will ever get to a bull run, because I KNOW what would happen!
Our last stop was at Hemingway’s favorite bar, where we enjoyed churros and chocolate.
Destination NOW 