Wednesday, September 30, 2026

29 September 2026 Bilbao: Archeological Museum & Olympic Level Stairway

 


We were bracing for a hot day with temperatures expected to rise to be in the 90's.  With some rain expected for tomorrow, a large dome of hot air was pulled in in front of a cooler air mass.  We started out from the apartment and walked through a nice park heading downhill on a gentle slope.  Then we reached the real downhill portion of our walk.  These stairs can only described as an Olympic Level of stairs.  We did not count the steps but the google machine says it is upwards of 350 steps.  We took our time and stopped often to take pictures.  We spent an hour in the Archeological museum and really enjoyed the displays.  Many of the objects had illustrations next to them showing how each item was used.  


The park has a huge brick smokestack left over from the industrial days


A fun scuplture


Spooky hightlights


Follow the arrow to get to Santiago de Compostella


Inside a walled area


We have made it down a large number of stairs


A long way down to the bottom


Housed lines the stairs


Inside the walled area we spy a red building


A grand entrance indeed


Ramps paralleled the stairs


The housed get their own bridges over to the stairs




Bilbao rests in a deep river valley


A faux building painted on the side of an outbuilding


The Archeological Museum


Weapons with details on how they were made


There are several caves all along the coast that have paleolithic cave paintings


Close ups


Buffalo


The caves also contained bones of older beasts


Pendants


Of course it is diorama time


A walled city with areas for the livestock


Funerary pieces


An iconic statue dated to 200 BCE and thought to represent a boar holding a calendar disc


Another grave marker


Many of the displays had details that identified use of the artifacts in the room


No bull here, or maybe this is where the bull was buried


The illustrations were very informative


Great stonework


Ventilation pieces


All carved out of stone!


Speaking of carving skills


Some fantastic pieces


Some bling too


The illustration really helps


A system of cisterns


Excavated and now on display


A cool display to boot


Ceramic bits


We have had a hard time finding pipes for sale


Many tiny jars


Watch your lips!


Tennis ball  bird


Leaving the museum







     It has been 4 years and 116 days since we began our Migration

Tuesday, September 29, 2026

28 September 2026 Bilbao: Driving to Bilbao, Stocking Up on Stuff

 



The hour and a half drive was through some very mountainous areas.  Instead of tunnelling through like in Galicia, this drive was very curvy with lots of altitude changes.  We got to the AirBnB and had a plan where I would pull up to the parking barrier while Leslie runs inside to get the remote to open the barrier, she would lean out the window and open the gate..  Instead as we drove tot he place, a car in front of us opens the barrier and we drive right in.  On top of that the front doors were both propped open se we could move our stuff very easily.  We headed to the Huper-mart and shopped for the five days.  Then we stocked up some more.


An old time feel


Grandma's place


Stocked up on local products


One kilo of shrimp for 10 euro!




     It has been 4 years and 115 days since we began our Migration