Those of you who have been reading my blog for a while (ok, since at least 2016!) will know that I have walked the Camino de Santiago from St Jean Pied-de-Port in France to Santiago de Compostela in Spain, over the course of 5 summers (but 7 years thanks to C*vid) and those who know me in real life will know that I have nothing but AMAZING things to say about this experience. So much so that, when a group of us finished the final leg in the summer of 2022, we all immediately started looking at different routes to walk. This is Day 5 of our journey from San Sebastián to Bilbo on the Camino del Norte that we completed in July 2024.
All right – so after Day 4 of our journey this year, when we walked close to 28km and I did a total of 50k steps, we made a decision to take a rest day and we couldn’t have timed it better, having landed in Gernika, a town with a lot of history which we wouldn’t have been able to explore had we walked to the next town.
Why do I think I have heard of Gernika/ Guernica?
You most likely have heard of Gernika because it was aerially bombed during the Spanish Civil War on April 26, 1937 by Nazi Germany’s Condor Legion and Fascist Italy’s Aviazione Legionaria. This attack inspired Pablo Picasso to paint Guernica, in response to his outrage at the attack. So it felt right that we would stay a few hours in this town to learn about its history…
Sadly, though, we didn’t have time for a game of Jai Alai, very popular in Basque Country…
We did, however, make a beeline for The Gernika Peace Museum.
After a brief introduction to the concept of Peace, this interactive museum takes us back to the 26th of April 1937, the day on which bombs and fire reduced the streets of the town of Gernika to rubble.
It comprises various rooms exhibiting poignant audiovisual presentations narrated by the survivors of the tragedy themselves.
It is a beautifully done museum that you could spend hours in – there is so much information and so many interactive displays, it really does take you back to the time of the bombing and allows you to imagine the horrors experiences by those who lived it. There is a lovely exhibit about the concept of Peace and an examination of Human Rights. Thought-provoking, sobering and highly recommended.
We made sure to visit the recreation of Picasso’s work too, which is located opposite the hospital.
Even though we were not walking that day, taking advantage of some wonderful Spanish treats – little sandwiches, excellent coffee and gelato…
And then we hopped on the train…
Best €3.40 we spent!
(Of course there were snacks!)
Lezama is a tiny town with not much happening (although, apparently it is “home to the training headquarters of the football team Athletic Bilbao“) so we knew that once we left Gernika, the day would be mostly rest and repacking our bags (seem to be constantly doing this on the Camino) and figuring out where to go for dinner.
As the town is small, there were not many choices and our pension owner didn’t have any recommendations but a quick Google showed many of them were not opening for dinner until later (9pm), weren’t open for dinner at all or were too far (we would happily walk a couple of kilometres but didn’t want to have to get an Uber to a place closer to Bilbao).
We did find one option that looked 1. like a proper restaurant and not just a bar and 2. was (going to be) open at the time we wanted to eat. Wandering through an industrial wasteland, we weren’t super sure that somewhere to eat would actually materialize but we finally arrived at Caserio Lubarrieta, “conveniently” located next to a car wash 😉
Car wash views for the win!
In fact, this was one of the better meals from the Camino – perhaps because we didn’t expect a lot but we had a wonderful feast that night. Some Basque staples… Pulpo and Padrón peppers…
Plus some (more) meat…
And, you know, some extra peppers and fries…
But also – A SALAD!
Greens and certainly big salads are a bit of a rarity on the Camino, especially in parts of the country where pulpo and jamón are very popular menu staples, so this was a huge treat! Another bonus? Interesting desserts we couldn’t pass up!
I mean, you’d order them too, right? The Crema Catalana was delightful!
And the lemon was… interesting…
We had a whole conversation with the server about this lemon, adding to the loveliness of an unexpectedly good meal in a very strange setting! And just when we thought it was time to rest up for the last day’s walking…
Hierbas and some kind of Bailey’s-type drink to see us on our way!
Would I recommend this place? Absolutely if you find yourself in Lezama. Wold I make a detour there (when Bilbao is just down the road)? No but I am glad we stumbled on it!
Stay tuned to read about our last day walking the Camino del Norte this year!
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Disclosure: I researched Camino tour operators independently and chose the Camino Travel Center based on a number of features such as flexibility to accommodate a couple of “splits” in some of the longer days, price, and customer service. They were, in fact, the first company I came across in my very first Google search and the one I ended up booking with. From the initial inquiry to the actual trips, they have been a pleasure to deal with and we have been very impressed with the service provided (bag transportation) and the accommodation choices. I was not compensated to write about this trip in any way but I love sharing companies and products I believe in with my readers. I couldn’t recommend the Camino Travel Center more. Stay tuned to see what summer 2025 brings!
Read more about the Camino de Santiago
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Best car wash restaurant ever. ;p)
Really interesting, Mardi. Thanks v much.