February 11th, 2020
When you think of retreat, some words like “silence”, “meditation” and “prayer” may come to mind. Although I went a retreat last weekend that involved these words, a lot of the retreat involved exploring Spain a little more while learning about Jesuit tradition and meeting new people. Below I will talk about both Azpeitia (Loyola) and San Sebastian so I can take you along with me on the amazing journey that was able to take last weekend.
First, I am going to talk about Azpeitia which is where Ignacio de Loyola’s house is located along with mountains, valleys and farms (with cows, horses and lambs) surrounding this area and the magnificent Loyola Basilica.
Ignacio de Loyola’s house is very big, even for the standards of homes today. It included all the regular rooms with some rooms to spare such as a dungeon, the Conversion Chapel (where Ignacio became a Catholic) and a square with statues of several saints ( nothing that a normal house doesn’t have, right 😉 ).
Next, I am going to talk about the Loyola Basilica. Right next to Ignacio’s house was the basilica. The architecture both on the inside and outside astonished me with a huge dome and carving. On the inside it was exquisitely decorated and the size was incredible which made my jaw drop every which way I turned due the incredible art and statues around the Basilica.
One of the days that we were in Azpeitia we decided to take a hike to find out a little more about the area. The entire time we were hiking it was uphill, and let me say one thing, I love hiking and being in nature but when I got to the one-and- half mile marker of hiking up a 45 degree angle , I was panting. But I kept hiking upward. Soon enough I saw a herd of lamb run up to my friends and me (supposing they rarely saw people because they were very excited to see us), a couple ponies and cows. I was actually in the middle of nowhere with about 25 other people and many farm animals. But when I looked up the landscape I was in awe of how beautiful and peaceful it was there. It was untouched and gorgeous, a 360 degree view.
Although Azpeitia was gorgeous, San Sebastian was only 40 minutes away driving so my group decided to go visit this beach town. We decided to do the hike and go see the Monte Urgull (aka Cristo de la Mota), the San Sebastian cathedral ( aka as the Artzain Onaren katedrala) and got to see and taste some of the famous tapas/pinchos of San Sebastian.
The Cathedral had very intricate details such as the Cathedral in Azpeitia and the size was huge. It sent an immense sense of peace through me as I observed the Cathedral and saw the amazing artwork.
The hike up to Monte Urgull was incredible because the higher you went, the more of the whole town of San Sebastian was visible. The golden beaches and endless ocean could be seen for miles above. Also, the higher you went, the Monte Urgull became more visible. Once I reached the top the view of the town was insane in the best way possible and the statue of Jesus was incredible.
After the long hike I hiked down with some friends and we tried some of the world-famous San Sebastian pinchos which as you can see below, are amazing!
San Sebastian Cathedral
Needless to say, this weekend surrounded by nature, Spanish culture and some amazing views left me amazed at what we can see in the world if we are willing to go a little bit outside of our comfort zone. This blog post was a little more about the hiden gems of Spain that many people are not aware of. So, hopefully you are able to find some hidden gems in your state or country that you can share with other people as well and visit these gems in Spain some day.
Until next time!
Sincerely,
The Eternal Traveler