A Little Bit of Westeros
Guided tours have never been a great draw for me but since I haven’t found an easy way to get to some of the more remote parts of the northern coast, I decided to look for help. Many of the tours available were in the city and involved drinking and eating pintxos, not something I wanted to spend a lot of money on, at least not yet, but the Game of Thrones-themed tour definitely caught my eye. The price was reasonable for a whole day’s worth of sightseeing so I took a gamble and signed up.
On a beautiful Sunday morning I took the metro to the Zazpikaleak station and then found my way to the San Nikolas eliza (church) in front of which I was to meet the guides. It was fun to be out and about on an early morning when the city was still very much asleep … I don’t often get glimpses like that, being a rather late-riser myself. I got there with a bit too much time to spare and had to wait a while, but eventually an SUV pulled up and a couple of women got out. They turned out to be my guides but we did have to wait for another couple (visiting from Madrid) to join us. Once they did, we all piled into the car and headed out of the city.
The tour itinerary included three sites where Game of Thrones episodes were filmed as well as a castle and a town as an added bonus. On the way to the destinations one of the guides, M., showed us pictures and clips of the scenes which were filmed at each, as well as provided bits of local knowledge of the shoots and some behind-the-scenes trivia. It was all a bit goofy, but I enjoyed it anyway. I am not one of those people who pay attention to movie trivia nor do I remember details obsessively like some, but I did recognize the scenes and I have to say it was cool to, at least partly, walk in the steps of Tyrion Lannister, Daenerys, Jon Snow, and others. The locations we were visiting were all used in Season 7 and were, rather aptly, mostly representing Dragonstone, Daenerys Targaryen’s home, and partly King’s Landing.
We started in Barrika, north of Bilbao, the background for the beach where Davos picks up Gendry while Tyrion is in a secret meeting with Jaime at King’s Landing, in episode 5, Eastwatch. For those of you who have no idea what I’m talking about, don’t worry, it’s just a short(ish) scene with some amusing dialogue in a series most people have already forgotten, at least until the prequel starts soon. I can see why this beach was chosen; it is beautiful, with massive cliffs surrounding it. As it is normally a nudist beach, we didn’t get too close to the actual shoreline, plus there were too many rickety stairs down there and we had very little time, so I had to be happy with some photos. I did manage to get yelled at by some naked guy who thought I was taking pictures of him and his friends but honestly, they were all 50+ and definitely not my type, plus the last thing I wanted was a bunch of bare assess in my photos. The rocks were cool, though.
The next stop wasn’t an actual GoT location, but it fit the theme, I guess. Butrón Castle, in the town of Gatika, has been around since the Middle Ages though it only got its current look in 1878, after a total rebuild. What’s interesting is that it was built to resemble a fairytale castle, a hobby for its then owner. It was meant to be something visually spectacular rather than something in which people could actually live. In fact, it proved to be quite inconvenient as a home. For example, the towers have little useful space and various parts of the castle have issues and are not particularly well adapted for the wet Basque weather. It’s a huge shame, to be honest, because it is a very cool structure, but after years of neglect, the castle is a sad shadow of its former self. It is currently for sale and has been so for quite a while. I guess it would take a lot of cash to make it presentable, never mind liveable. It used to be possible to enter inside but for a few years now it can only be admired externally. Which is what we did, we admired it from all angles. As a bonus we also had the option to play a little dress up: the guides brought along some capes and swords to stage a mock duel … which I found a bit kitchish but the other couple took to it wholeheartedly. And good for them … they seemed to have a blast and I got some cute photos.
The next place was definitely the highlight of the trip, even if we didn’t get to visit it as closely as I had expected. San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, or Gaztelugatxeko Doniene, is the iconic introduction to Dragonstone, at least in the world Westeros. In Bizkaia (Biscay), it is an islet near the town of Bermeo, connected to the mainland by a man-made bridge, with a hermitage dedicated to John the Baptist on top of it. It was built in the X century though it may have been even earlier than that. Nearby is another small neighboring island, Aketx, which is quite picturesque too. In GoT, the path to the hermitage plays a major role, as this is where Daenerys makes her entrance into Dragonstone, her CGIed castle. Of course the castle and the islet it sits on appear much bigger in the show. If I had had a bit more luck, I would have been able to follow in her footsteps but, unfortunately, there was a landslide here back in January, most likely caused by the storm Philomena, and the approach path that leads to the stairs was damaged and made impassable. With my luck the repairs will be completed as soon as I leave this region.
We had a couple of hours at this location, but because we couldn’t descend to the hermitage we had to spend it all at a large viewing area above. There were a lot of people there, some having picnics on the lawns overlooking the sea and some enjoying views from the restaurant while eating pintxos and drinking claras. Oh wait, that’s what I did. As disappointed as I was, I could still appreciate the amazing sights and of course I had to make yet another pledge to come back.
The next place we went to was the town of Bermeo, where no GoT filming was done either, but it was a very nice stop anyway. I honestly believe that the three show locations aren’t enough for a whole-day tour so the extra two stops, here and at Butrón Castle, were fillers. It’s a good thing then that both location were interesting and worth the extra time. Bermeo is on the other side of the northernmost point in Spain, where the lighthouse, Faro De Matxitxako, sits on Machichaco Cape (Cabo de Machichaco). The town is considered by some to be the most important fishing port in the Basque Country; it was even the capital of Biscay from XIV to XVII centuries. It’s a very picturesque town and there were many restaurants I could have eaten a proper meal at, but, once again, my luck was running a bit low, and I couldn’t find any free tables anywhere. Undaunted, I walked out along the jetty, and then strolled around the port area. I may not have eaten much but I did get some nice photos.
From there we headed towards the last stopo on the itinerary, but first we drove through the one place I had hoped to go to on my own: Guernica, or Gernika, the inspiration for Picasso’s stunning painting that hangs in the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid; I’m sure you’ve heard of it. As it was, we just drove through the town so I didn’t really see much. Guernica has a connection to Game of Thrones, however. The Tree of Guernica is a symbol of the traditional freedoms of the Biscay (and by extension, Basque) people and it is rumoured that George R.R. Martin was inspired by it when he came up with the Tree of Life or Weirwood in his books. Unfortunately (again), I have no picture of said tree though I’m sure it’s cool.
The final stop was, Itzurun Beach and its amazing Zumaia Flysch, probably the most unique beach in the world. Zumaia is the town this beach belongs to, but the flysch is something else altogether. A flysch is a sedimentary rock formed by the alternating deposits of thin layers of silt and sandstone, found near shorelines that were rapidly experiencing changes in sea level. The one near Zumaia is the world’s longest set of continuous rock strata and it was created over a period of 100 million years. The collision between the Iberian and European tectonic plates exposed these sediments about 50 million years ago. It’s easy to imagine why the Itzurun beach was used in Game of Thrones: its otherworldly appearance could easily stand for the shores of Dragonstone, awaiting Daenerys’ arrival. The rock formations really are incredible … and very difficult to walk on. The caves on the western side of the beach were also used in the show, though they do get flooded with the tides and were so when I was there. There were quite a few people on this beach and the restaurant above was large and full of visitors as well. We spent a bit longer at this location allowing me to get close to the flysch and, later, grab a clara.
To be honest, I didn’t really care all that much about the various GoT references and tie-ins: I am a fan of the show but I’m certainly not a superfan … I was just happy to see these beautiful locations and would have done the tour without the references as well. The northern coast of Spain really is very beautiful, its ruggedness somehow symbolic of the ruggedness of the Basque people. As we headed back to Bilbao, I enjoyed the mountainous landscapes and winding roads — roads I can’t wait to drive myself one day. There are also many lookout spots along the coast and I’d like to check them all out. So, as you see, I have lots and lots of reasons to come back here. (skip photos for more…)
Once back in town, I said goodbye to the GoT aficionados group and walked back through the Casco Viejo back to my favourite tram stop, right in front of the Ribera Market. It was a really fun day and I’m very glad I decided to spend the money on the tour.
