Pro Zarautz: Surfing Championship
Skate and Surf Event in Zarautz
After her stay in Hendaye, Charlie spent a few days in San Sebastián to further explore the Basque Country. One of her friends whom she knew through the surfskate group in London was also in the area and suggested to meet in Zarautz where there would be a surf and skate event. That sounded like something Charlie would enjoy!
From San Sebastián to Zarautz
The journey to Zarautz was a bit bumpy. There was a train from Amara station but there were also buses. Google Maps showed that it would take 30 minutes by bus and 1 hour if Charlie took the train. It seemed obvious for Charlie to take the bus in this scenario, but she should have known better.
She was supposed to take one bus to the main bus station and then another one. Already the first bus driver didn’t let Charlie on because she wasn’t wearing a mask. It seemed as if the Covid-19-pandemic was over and there were no restrictions anymore, except for public transport. It didn’t even occur to Charlie to check this beforehand. She walked back to her accommodation to get a mask which was still part of her travel luggage – for moments like these.
Since she was only supposed to take one stop with that first bus and the weather was lovely, Charlie decided to walk to the bus station. She went to the underground station where she also arrived by Flixbus the day before and went to the next coach that said “Zarautz”. The bus driver though told her to go up to the street level and take the bus from that bus stop. It didn’t make much sense to Charlie, but she had no choice.
Unfortunately, the buses Google Maps was showing were not listed on the timetable of that bus stop and they didn’t show up either. Charlie waited another 40 minutes until there finally was a bus to Zarautz.
The connection that Google Maps was showing should only take 17 minutes from San Sebastián to Zarautz. The bus Charlie was sitting in now though took almost an hour. Something had gone horribly wrong! At least, there were quite some scenic views through the mountains and along the river.
Along the beach in Zarautz
Charlie got off the bus in the centre of Zarautz and immediately walked down to the beach. That’s where she would wait for her friend Glenna. The waves were a lot smaller than they had been at Zurriola in the morning, but they looked like a lot of fun. The competition was also on!
They walked along the promenade to the place where the competition was, got a beer and a tortilla for lunch and watched the surfers.
Once they had finished their beers, they walked a bit further up and down the promenade and had a little stroll through town. The town centre was surprisingly quiet. Apparently, everybody was by the beach that afternoon. There were quite a few stalls – they called it the FederArte market – with jewellery and vintage clothing, skateboards for people to try, a tattoo artist and much more. For the evening, there were a few stages where bands or DJs could play. It was exactly how Charlie would have imagined the Quiksilver No Pro in Hossegor the week before to be.
Skate Jam
For 4 p.m. the schedule of the festival said that there would be a skate jam. Charlie and Glenna weren’t sure what that meant, but they knew they wanted to see it. They walked again to the skate ramp by the beach and there were lots of people standing around and watching the local skate talents. It was impressive how high they could fly and what tricks they demonstrated. It was all ages and genders, and they even did some doubles. Two skaters would start simultaneously to then jump and swap places in the air. There are now words for that!
It was a great atmosphere, and the audience was cheering the skaters on to go for another attempt at a tricky stunt. There was also live commentary, but Charlie was barely listening, just watching was enough!
Once the skate jam had finished, the sea had picked up again and the surf competition continued until sunset. Charlie, Glenna and some other friends sat down on the beach and enjoyed the show with a cold beer. They later went for some pintxos (the basque equivalent of tapas) and had a little skate along the promenade whilst there were bands playing in the background. It was a great evening and still felt like a summer night at the end of October.
Charlie took the train back to San Sebastián at 10 p.m. and went straight to bed. It had been a long day, but totally worth it!
