The ferry trip across the Channel and down the Bay of Biscay was very smooth sailing with the most gentlest of boat sway, however it didn't stop a lot of passengers having trouble walking around the ship as they (us included) had issues getting their sea legs.
It was quite funny sitting around the main bar area watching people sway from side to side as they walked passed - you could see some desperately trying to look like all was well and they were in command of their limbs while others were more carefree about it and smiled as they staggered along.
On board were two young ladies from ORCA who were spending a 2 week stint on the boat doing every sailing and carrying out research into the marine animals, whales and dolphins, that are relatively abundant in this area - a third of all the whale species habitat the continental shelf in the Bay.
Whilst activity was very quiet on this trip we did see both a dolphin and a whale.
These ladies were very dedicated to what they were doing standing out on an open deck from 6.30 - 11.00 am this morning in a cold biting wind, answering passengers questions and recording any activity that they saw.
We arrived in Bilbao on schedule but then waited around 30 minutes before we were able to start the car and drive off and after a slight GPS issue arrived at our hotel after the 20 kms drive (which turned into 36 kms), a hotel which appears to be in the heart of the City.
The port is around 22kms out if the city and the photo above is the sight that greeted us as we came into the harbour.
As we walked around our senses were challenged as we tried to interpret street and shop signs - there are 2 main languages in use here, Spanish & Basque, as we are in the heart of the Basque Country here in Northern Spain. I think we are going to have to pretty quickly learn some basic Spanish words and phrases to make life a little easier but first we need to find somewhere to eat tonight!
A view of one street with the tapas (or pintxos as they are called here) bars in the centre of the street just down from the hotel.
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