After the Oma Forest

By the time we got back from the Oma Forest, it was late. We had to have a shower, naturally, after all that walking we'd done. It was way past 11pm and I thought I'd give it a try. I rang the restaurant at the Castillo De Arteaga, which was close to us and was supposed to be very good, but as I'd expected, they were not serving anymore.

The only way was to head out somewhere. If I'm bad during the day, I'm much worse at night. The intention was to head to town, but where we were, everything was closed. The other option then was to go to Gernika-Lumo, but by this time, I couldn't even remember the exact name of the town! I obviously went the wrong way because I ended up in a twisting, dark road. Haha, talk about adventures. It's easy to laugh about it now.

Anyway, we turned back, and somehow, ended up in urban-looking territory. Some lights were still on! Driving around the block, we noticed a couple of bars. We asked at the first one, and they told us to try the other one, a few doors up.

We were in luck! Yes, the guy said, I can offer you some ham and cheese. Yes, that'll do. At that time of night, a little past midnight, not having had anything since lunch, which was a semi-disaster and which was a long time ago, we'd eat anything! Let alone ham and cheese.

So, he put the upturned chairs back down, beckoned us to sit, even laid the table, brought us some drinks. Minutes later, he came with a plate of some cheese and a plate of what looked like Iberian ham. Oh-oh. I said, be prepared to be clobbered! I was like expecting York ham, or Serrano ham.

Anyway, we savoured the food. He brought us some bread. We gobbled it up in no time, asked for more. I don't usually eat cured ham, but even I  had a go at this lot. Tasted heavenly to all of us.

Ok, time for the bill, Let's get it over with quickly. Guess how much. €20!!!  I was expecting at least that, if not more, just for the plate of Iberian ham. I read that someone was charged €30 for a plate of ham in a village somewhere... Well, that sure was a pleasant surprise. Yes sir, VERY.

So, if you happen to be in that area, do drop in. Great food, great service, great price!

Bar Jesús, it's called. The address in the receipt says Artekalle 7, but Google repeats the 'street'. If you can't find it, their telephone number is: 94 625 1042

Oma Forest, the painted forest, all you need to know

Continued from Casa Rural Ozollo, review, and the right location on the map!

Like I mentioned, I don't remember what time it was when we left the house. All I knew was that it wasn't early. From Ozollo to the start of the hike shouldn't have taken too long, perhaps about 15 minutes at most, but GPS failed us. Sent us the wrong way, it did. We had to ask several people before we eventually got back on track.

When we finally arrived at the Lezika restaurant car park, it must have been way past 6pm, probably closer to 7pm. Yes, I know. The story of this trip. The first person I saw, I stopped and asked. Oh, she said. You go a bit farther down there. It'll take about 2 hours, you know. What??? I don't remember what I'd written in my plan, but I did mention we needed a couple of hours at least. But that two hours was for the whole walk; the way she said it was like she meant that it'd take two hours to get to the forest! I hope we've misunderstood her!

Lezika restaurant

We decided not to turn back; after all, that was what we'd come for. We started walking briskly and before long, it started sloping upwards. Oh-oh. Maybe that was why the lady said two hours. We're not going to make it there and back before dark! We saw people coming in the opposite direction, but no-one in the same direction as us. Until later. When we saw people behind us, we felt calmer.

The walk was fine, but you'd need decent walking shoes and reasonable fitness because of the incline. If it's been raining, some parts may be a bit more treacherous. In my original plan, I had a route and the whole route would have taken about 2 hours. We didn't follow the route. From the car park to the first of the painted trees, An Invitation to a Kiss, is just over 3 km, I think. It takes about 30-45 minutes. From the kiss, we just walked around for a while, and then went back the same way we came from.

Name: Oma Forest, The Painted Forest, Bosque Pintado

Website: http://www.bizkaia.net/home2/Temas/DetalleTema.asp?Tem_Codigo=4960

Directions: The website has all the details. Basically, you walk out from Lezika restaurant car park, cross the road, turn right, and in a minute, you'll see a sign. Follow the gravel track. If you don't see any signs after a minute's walk, then you've gone the wrong way.

Verdict: Interesting! Unusual, different, contemplative

Tips and recommendations: 

• Allocate 2-3 hours at least. Follow the recommended route as outlined on the map. Don't start late like we did.
• Dress comfortably. You'd need a decent pair of shoes you can walk in. They don't have to be trekking boots; trainers will do, for example.
• Bring water!
• For photographers - remember, once you're in the forest, the pines will be blocking a fair bit of light. Go later, and you'll have even less. Because it's going to be shaded, don't worry about harsh lighting. You may find you'd need to either push up your ISO, or bring a monopod or a tripod with you.
• Children can do the walk; in fact, they'd love the forest! Just allow more time. I actually saw a family with a pushchair, but I wouldn't like to be the one pushing! In fact this site says "Oma Forest is neither wheel chair accessible, nor baby pram accessible." In the same site, you'll find information regarding how to get there by bus or train.

Just like Guggenheim and El Peine del Viento, there are many photos I took which I would like to share with you. I've made another video, bigger, and better, I hope! To appreciate the video fully, watch it in full screen and in 1080p HD. Click on settings wheel, bottom right, click quality and select HD.

Casa Rural Ozollo, review, and the right location on the map!

So, finally, we were on our way out of San Sebastián, climbing up Mount Igueldo before snaking down again towards the coast. I kept to the coastal route, heading towards Ea. Really, we should have stopped over at Zumaia, a town famous for having one of the world's longest set of continuous rock strata. I'm sure it would have been a more interesting stop than Ea, a town where there is a beach with supposedly beautiful views of the sea.

We had a quick walk around town, and didn't see any beach, let alone the beautiful views. It was 3.30pm, and we didn't want to arrive in Ozollo too late. So, we didn't bother asking anyone, and decided to have lunch.

Errekaize was where we chose; they had  a set menu for €12. When we first saw it, it was empty - we didn't know at that time that they had more tables upstairs. Unfortunately, by the time we went in, it was full. A film crew - I didn't know what they were filming - had reserved a large section, and we had to wait for a few minutes for them to set up a table. I said "them", but it was just the one waitress, and she had to handle a full restaurant.

Food was average. We had minestrone soup for starters, and I'm not exactly fond of this dish. Second was supposed to have been fish, but they'd run out of it - the film crew had got there before us, and we were offered chipirones instead. Sorry to say it, but I've had far better ones. I've just seen that they have a Facebook page should you have the urge to look at it.

So, all in all, our disappointing experience of San Sebastián continued. By the time we finished, there wasn't enough time to take a look at Elantxobe, and after this experience, it was a risk not worth taking. Straight to Ozollo we headed.

I have no records of the time we arrived, but you can have a rough idea from the fact that we arrived in Ea at 3.30pm and had lunch, which wasn't a fast one, although, on paper, Ea to Ozollo was a short drive.

It wasn't easy. In the end we had to get the directions by phone (see the reason why at the end of the post). The landmark to look out for is the castle, Castillo de Arteaga. We wanted to have dinner there later in the evening, but it was closed by the time we got back. Just before this castle, there was a small track turning to the right. This was the turning we had to take to bring us to this charming, quirky cottage...

Casa Rural de Ozollo

I loved it! My allergy didn't, but that was the price I had to pay to be among greenery. And I could just imagine that it was going to get worse. The triple room cost us €68, including breakfast. Fast forward to the next morning... Breakfast was served in the garden because it was a fine day, but I had to have a sweater on. It was a cold breakfast - croissant, sweetbread, juice (not fresh, but good), coffee, tea, chocolate...

The room was small, but much bigger than the one we had in Isabella's. There wasn't any table, but I saw other rooms which had one. The double bed was huge! It was either a queen or king-sized - never know the difference, anyway. There was wifi, but it wasn't terribly reliable. It was a big cottage, so I guess it just depended on where we were with respect to the router.

There was a kitchen and a living room which could be used, but we were there for only the night, so we didn't have the need.

Gemma, the lady of the house, was very charming, very sweet. I'm sure if I had asked her for certain things, she would have obliged. For example, there was shower gel, but no shampoo. I didn't bother asking because we had some sachets. The breakfast didn't include toasts, but perhaps it was possible - I didn't ask, but I did ask for tea, which she obliged.

There was a car park in front of the house, on the edge of a large field. Our room, unfortunately, faced the back, which was the side you'd see first, coming from the road. Anyway, for just one night, it was no big deal.

We hurriedly dumped our bags, and made our way to the car. We had to hurry because it wasn't early. Later than 5pm, for sure.

Façade, Casa Rural de Ozollo

Name: Casa Rural Ozollo
Address: Ozollo Auzoa 3, 48314 Gautegiz Arteagako (Auzoa means barrio - district - but Google maps don't recognise it; all the maps I've found on the Net are wrong. The map below is the one you want although I'm not sure about the postal code).
Website: http://www.casaruralozollo.com/

Verdict: Highly recommended!