Saying Goodbye to Bilbao
Saying goodbye to this city wasn’t going to be easy and before I could do that, I needed to make a visit to one of the parks located high in the hills surrounding Bilbao. I had noticed it on the map a few times and also noted that there was a funicular to take me up. I’m not one to ever pass a trip in a funicular so, despite the overcast skies, I went to find it. I had to cross the Bilbao estuary so to make my trip a little easier I took a couple of metro trains to get me close. I could see what looked like the funicular station from where I got out of the metro (at station Matiko) but after climbing some hills and going around, under, and over the tracks, I seemed to be no closer to the funicular than when I started. Totally exasperated with Google Maps that was telling me I had arrived at my destination (I hadn’t), I had no choice but to ask for help. I picked a friendly-looking older couple who I took for locals and pleaded my case. In response, the woman basically took my hand and said, “come, I’ll show you!” I thought she meant it was just around the corner and I had somehow missed it (according to Google it was right there), but no, she and her husband kept walking and taking me along down many streets, elevators, turns, and switchbacks, until, finally, we found ourselves at the entrance to the funicular station. At first I was worried that I was taking them on a major detour of whatever errand they were doing, but, to my great relief, it turned out they were taking the trip up the hill with me. They were both so lovely and I was very grateful; I would have never in a month of Sundays found it myself.
The ride up was pretty cool, with more and more of the city of Bilbao coming into view as we scaled Mount Artxanda, located northwest(ish) of the centre. Once at the top, I realized there were quite a few sport facilities nearby, the coolest of which was an-open air skating rink, though I guess at this time of year, the skates in question would be rollerblades and not the sharp sort. Past the rink was the Artxanda Parkea itself, the city-facing edge of which was a very unique fence that spells out the words Bilbao and Bilbo (that Bilbao in Euskara) all along its length. This means that if you take pictures from this spot and later forget where you were, the signs will remind you. I’m sure this was the motive for the fence 😉.
The views from there, unsurprisingly, were amazing, even on a gray day such as this one. The first place I spotted was, of course, the Guggenheim and the Salbeko Bridge. It’s impossible to miss the Iberdrola building, as well. I loved being able to see beyond to the surrounding mountains because normally I only saw glimpses of them through the buildings, something that makes navigating in the city a little tricky, especially if you are used to using mountains to orient yourself, as I always did in Vancouver or Santiago. Here the mountains are on all sides so really not much help at all.
Besides stunning views, there is also a very cool sculpture that sits in the park itself. It is a very large fingerprint made out of carbon steel was created by Juanjo Novella in 2006 and is dedicated to those who defended the rights and liberty during the Civil War and later during Franco’s dictatorship. It is meant to pay homage to the 13,000 Basque citizens who died in the war and also the 150,000 who were forced to go into exile, 30,000 of them children. The Basques were proudly republican and fought valiantly against Franco and his supporters, so it’s not surprising memorials such as this one exist. Judging by the number of flowers present, I don’t think they’re quick to forget, either.
I spent a bit of time in the park, finding a bench and reading my book for a while. Then it was time to go back and pack. The ride down was fun too as I managed to get myself a good spot from which to watch the driver and the city itself. Once at sea level I decided to walk back through the centre and take a few last photos of the more interesting buildings. I have put them all in the park gallery, just to confuse things a bit 😉.
I will leave Bilbao with somewhat mixed feelings. As a city, I absolutely love it. It is clean, modern yet historically interesting, architecturally and otherwise, full of art and culture, and the people are very lovely here. It feels more like a northern European city rather than a Spanish one, to be honest. I didn’t enjoy my accommodations but that can always be hit or miss. I also didn’t love the weather, but that is what you get in the north and I was prepared for it, even if I wouldn’t have to put up with it all the time. I wish I had been able to taste more of the local cuisine, dining solo made that a little trickier than I had anticipated. I’m not shy about eating alone but pintxos are a social sort of thing and I wasn’t having much luck being social. I’m sure I could have gone to some of the better known and highly recommended restaurants but … yeah, I didn’t. I will have to come back and do just that, even if I’m starting to sound like a broken record. What I would love to do is do more exploring of the northern coast and that can only be done effectively with a car so yes, I will definitely come back to do just that.
