Catch-up Blog: Basque Country, Belgium, Bike Camino and sooo much more!
- Jessica Detwiler
- 7 days ago
- 7 min read
PHEW! What a month it's been! I have been so lucky to have the chance to travel with my lovely friends and parents around Spain, Belgium, and France. Between hosting, completing a week long bike Camino, surviving a country-wide power outage, and running my second half marathon, the word "busy" could be considered an understatement. Despite the lack of downtime, I truly did enjoy every second (minus the hills during the Camino and my race) and am already feeling nostalgic writing this reflection.
Since SO much has happened, this blog post is going to look a bit different because my normal writing style would take up a novel. To really capture and convey the most interesting moments, I'll be breaking up my travels chronologically with a heavy focus on photos, stats, and anecdotes!
As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy <3
Basque Country: April 11th - 14th
I had the absolute pleasure of getting to travel with Skye and Renne again after almost a year of the three of us being apart! We started our vacation together off with our friend Clare in the Basque city of Bilbao. If felt just like the old days (aka last year) being together with the three of them and I was overjoyed that they were back in Spain!!!
For our first full day together Skye, Renne, and I took an amazing day trip to Gaztelugatxe and Gernika. Both of these stops were stunning and visiting Gaztelugatxe felt like being transported to different world (some of Game of Thrones was filmed here and it is easy to see why they chose this spot!).
Visiting Gernika was also incredible in its own right since this spot has such a rich and tragic history: it was the spot of a horrific bombing during the Spanish Civil War in the Spring of 1937. One of Pablo Picasso's most famous works depicts the aftermath of this terrible event and a replica of this art piece is on display in the town.
We continued our Basque Country tour with a one night stay in the beautiful seaside city of San Sebastián where we tasted so many pintxos (small plates) and some very delicious cheesecake. Although we had some rainy weather during this part of the trip, we still made the most of it!
We wrapped up our time in San Sebastián with a funicular ride to a viewpoint over the entire city and coastline and by watching some very impressive surfers! It was such a fun stop in our northern Spain tour and I was so glad to experience this wonderful place with such wonderful friends <3
Belgium: April 17th - 20th
To wrap up our Europe reunion we headed to Brussels and Bruges for the chance to explore a new country and meet up with our Belgian friend Victoria!! We had an amazing time trying so many different beers, taking a river cruise around the fairytale city of Bruges, and seeing Brussels through the eyes of a local. I fell in love with the Belgian countryside and hope to be back in this area sooner rather than later!
One of the highlights was our night out on the town at a well known establishment called Delirium. This place has a world record for the most amount of beers on tap (2004 beers!!!) and it was such a cool collection of different rooms and vibes. Skye, Renne and I played some hearts with our beers before changing up the scenery for some dancing and more drinks!
I loved Brussels but I truly cannot say enough good things about the magical place that is Bruges, Belgium. The three of us were astounded by the beauty of the architecture of every street, alley, and building. Our day trip there was made even more special by a lovely river cruise tour and some sweet potato frites at a riverside café! Also, we were absolutely blessed by a beautiful sunny day in what is notoriously a very rainy country.
We sadly had to say goodbye in Brussels before we all headed in our separate directions: me back to Spain, Skye back to Boston, and Renne back to Spokane. However, the traveling stories for this trio are far from over! We have unconfirmed 2026 plans for a South American adventure to Chile and Argentina so stay posted!!
But truly, thank YOU Skye and Renne for making the trip over here and for being forever the best travel companions!! I can't wait to keep seeing the rest of the world with you guys <3
Bike Camino: April 21st - 27th
On Easter Sunday I flew back to España to meet up with my parents in the gorgeous university city of Salamanca. From there, we began our week long bike trip along the pilgrimage trail of VÃa de la Plata to Santiago de Compostela. We got SO lucky with beautiful sunny days and it was such a good thing it didn't rain because the Camino was enough of a challenge without the weather being a factor!
Over the seven days on the bikes, we biked a total of 310 miles, climbed countless hills (the majority of the days were over 3,000 feet of climbing...), ate many a menú del dÃa, got a special stamp from every place we visited, and rested JUST enough to do it all over again the next day.
For most of the time it was just the three of us out and about in rural Spain following a very dated guidebook written for walkers and my dads OSM maps. This combination led to a few mistakes specifically day two and day five when we started following Camino signs that were not meant for the route we were on....a five mile and eight mile mistake respectfully.
The Camino was originally used as a walking pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela and even with our mountain bikes, we ran into terrain that we had to walk. Day four, when we crossed from Castilla y León into Galicia, was especially rocky, muddy, and steep. It took us so much longer than anticipated to finish this stage due to the sheer amount of time spent hike-a-bike-ing. The following days we made sure to cross reference the Camino path with the surrounding roads just to have a back-up plan!
One of the constants throughout the adventure were the very kind and welcoming people that we met! From our taxi drivers Raúl and Alfonso to Craig the café owner and the group of Italian cyclists we were following for the last few days, everyone we came across was so friendly and helpful. This really made doing the Camino feel like a group effort and it kept us going when the days were long and the riding was tough.
I think that the Camino can be considered the most epic bike adventure my parents and I have completed to date and I am so grateful for both of them for making it possible! We were such a good team and doing it all together made it so special. I definitely need a bit of time away from the saddle but I will be prepped and ready for the next bike trip when it inevitably comes along!
Back to Basque Country: April 30th - May 4th
For my return to Basque Country, Elena and I headed to Bilbao after work last Wednesday for a concert!! We saw the Lumineers and one of my all time favorite artists, Michael Marcagi, opened for them. It was an incredible show and both bands sounded even better in person!
The two of then met up with Anna, Pau, and Chris in San Sebastián before crossing the border into France for a few days of relaxing before Elena and I ran the Biarritz half marathon. We stayed in an adorable vintage apartment belonging to one of Pau's relatives and had a great time cooking together, playing so much beach volleyball, and enjoying the very late sunsets.
On Sunday, we all woke up early so that Elena and I could get to our race on time. Neither of us were all that stoked to be running and despite the months of training I'd put into this race, it was one of the worst runs I've had to date. I think the combination of peaking a few weeks ago and biking so much only a week before the race contributed to very overworked and tired legs. PLUS, the course was unbelievably hilly and I have never seen so many people have to walk during a half marathon.
We were very lucky to have the best cheering squad and despite how we felt in the thick of it, Elena and I both finished and were SO relieved to do so. It took me nearly an hour and having to borrow a strangers phone (I didn't take mine to race) to be reunited with the rest of the group, but we all made it back to Santander in one piece!
So, now it's time for some R&R and to slow down just enough to really get the most out of my remaining time in Spain. There's still much more to look forward to before I fly home and I am excited to make May the best month yet!
