Day #25 - Biarritz, France & San Sebastian, Spain

San Sebastion skyline - "it's all good"

San Sebastian skyline - "it's all good"

Biarritz, France - surfing capital of Europe

It's time for a Cool Change

Napolean III's place

Thursday, April 8th

Happy Birthday to my sister Kay today! Hope you're having a great day, wish you could be here with me.

I started the day off in Biarritz, France. Unbelievable place - one of those I would never have visited without my 1,000 Things Book. Renowned for being the summer home for Napolean III, where he arrived in 1855 and built the now newly refurbished Hotel du Palais (see picture above). That was neat to see, but even more impressive, this area is known as the unofficial surfing capital of Europe.

I took a late morning stroll on the beach. It was amazing. I don't ever recall seeing waves like this in the US. I've never been to Hawaii - I would imagine that would trump this location, but it was awesome to see nonetheless. I grabbed a croissant and a bottle of water and sat out on the deck. Have you ever heard the song Cool Change - the Little River Band? This song kept popping in my head while I sat there. It was remarkable. I just couldn't leave this place. When I got back tonight, I went to YouTube and played the song with the inspriational video in the background. Do this - it's what's life is all about.

I wondered around on the beaches of this small town until mid afternoon and then I figured I needed to make it to Spain. Now, the trains were on strike again today in France, so I had to find a bus. The beauty with my current travels is that it really doesn't matter which direction I go - I can just go with it and figure it out from there. I was walking along the road and came to a bus stop. The bus was just arriving. I popped my head in and asked the driver if he can get me to Spain. He said "I can get you to Hendaye, France - then you're not far away" I jumped in the bus and was off. When arriving in Hendaye, I found out that there were Spanish trains that could take me to San Sebastian, Spain. I took the next train out and got into San Sebastian about 4-5pm.

Now, things got a little dicey for the next few hours. I had to go to a different train station to get some travels booked for the next 2 days. I was able to get a train to Madrid tomorrow evening from Bilboa, Spain. Great - I want to go to Bilboa to visit a museum tomorrow. Now, I just needed to get a bus to Bilboa. I walked across town to the busstop. They leave every hour, so I had plans on taking a morning bus out. No worries so far - except I've been walking all day with my pack and I'm starting to get worn down.

Here comes the learning lesson I faced today. Stop pushing yourself, settle down, and read your body when it's telling you what to do. Because I had things relatively lined out for travel, I needed to find a hotel or hostel for the night. Unfortunately, I kept walking and couldn't find anything, nor could I find an internet cafe. Eventually, I made it back to the train station because I remembered seeing a Wi-Fi sign. I get there, and for some reason, I couldn't get English to come up. It was all Spanish and I couldn't sign on to the Wi-Fi. I was getting frustrated - quickly. Looking back on it, right at that point, I should have went and grabbed some food and chilled for about 30 minutes. Instead, I tried to ask everyone at the station, no English. More frustrated. I then keep walking with my heavy bag. I come to another location - same thing. More frustrated. I finally find this walk in library, where I was able to use their computer. Got a room and printed out directions. Little less frustrated. I then go to the area on the map - no hostel. I walk around for another hour. I walked into 4 different places and they all showed me 4 different areas. Streets here (and in Europe in general in my experience), change names frequently and are never marked well - at all. At this time - I was losing it. I hadn't ate in a long time, I was physically drained from carrying this pack around all day, and I couldn't communicate to people to save my life. Finally, I walked into this bar and a guy there was able to help me. I'm certain he could see that I had about had it. He physically walked me to my location. This guy was my true savior today.

Now, it shouldn't have been a big deal. But the late hour, trying to find my place, no language - it was getting to me. I'm 2 months removed from a career where words meant everything. What you said, and how you said it, could make or break a deal. And - I was counted on to perform, immediately. If a patient was on the table, and a camera didn't work, or an instrument didn't function properly, there was no time for a siesta. Therefore, I'm coming from a mentality where performance was required in a timely, if not urgent, manner. So, when I'm walking around and nobody can help me - it's an adjustment. One thing I will never lose (and don't want to) is my passion and fire burning inside. I want to do things right and expect the same of others. Now --- that's fine and dandy -- but I need to chill. This would have been confined greatly if I just would have stopped for a little while, ate some food, and rested the back. Lesson learned.

I'll say this - don't take what I'm saying as travelling is bad or you would have similar struggles. Know that I'm doing things a bit differently than the average traveler. Most people would not come into a town without a place to stay, carrying all their supplies on their back. Now I could do this trip with $150 hotels every night, taxis everywhere, guides every day. No worries - it would be luxury. Well, I'm doing some of the things to myself on purpose to challenge me. I think it will make me better and help me to appreciate things more. Like right now, I think back on that guy at the bar, the fact that he physically walked with me out the bar and to the location -- that was awesome. That should be appreciated. More - if someone goes out of their way for you -- remember a solid "Thank You" goes a long way.

Once in my place, I went and grabbed some dinner. Then I grabbed an apple and peach and walked to the ocean. See the pictures labelled - "It's all good" above. Then - play the Cool Change song with video. End of the day everything is right once again. Things always seem to work out. Keep the faith.