Today we left Cantabria for the Basque Country via Bilbao, departing at 09:00 to arrive at our 2nd hotel, El Parador de Argomaniz, around 17:00, a journey of around 190 miles.

The weather was mostly cloudy with both showers and sunny intervals, ending with serious rain and thunderstorms by 18:30 that evening.

Bilbao defied the weather forecast and remained dry, if overcast until the last 20 minutes of our stop between 12:00 - 15:30. We should have left at 15:30, except two of our number decided they’d dissolve if they walked in the rain, so phoned the coach at 15:45 with excuses, and turned up around 16:00 looking like drowned rats. The rain stopped about 2 minutes later!

Bilbao was worth the visit. Home to the spectacular architecture of the Guggenheim Museum, attractive plazas and many interesting buildings and shops (sadly, most were closed as it was Sunday). As we explored, we came across two strange events.

In one large park, in the centre of a plaza, a group of evangelical Christians formed a moving, dancing circle, clapping their hands and chanting in time to rhythmic music, stopping now-and-then to listen to the words of their trendy-cool priest.

In another plaza we came across what at first appeared to be an artisan Sunday market. It turned out to be a gathering of Basque Feminista who were just setting up to put on a show. They were dressed in traditional costume and it was an pleasant place to be, with craft stalls and food trucks… until the show started. Individuals began singing (a polite euphemism). Time to go!

Bilbao is well served by bakeries that double up as coffee shops. We selected one at random and had an extremely good lunch of chicken empanadas, mini pizzas and (she knows this stuff) the world’s best ever cream buns.

Our journey to the hotel was punctuated by a fuelling stop just off the autovia in a small industrial complex. There was a factory unit guarded by a German Shepherd and a very, very large St. Bernard like dog. These were dangerous, because when I went near the GS rolled against the fence, wagging its tail, demanding I scratched its ears. As I obliged, the other sidled up and vigorously licked my hand (checking the seasoning before eating?). Any trespasser would have been licked to death!

Our hotel room was not as spectacular as the first, but was well above the standard of most tour hotels. On the second floor, it had an outside terrace. A shame it wasn’t well maintained, because second floor garden areas are, to say the least, unusual.

The restaurant added an amuse bouche to the menu. Better food, poorer service. There’s always a trade-off!