Pasai Donibane

The day before we visited San Sebastián in the summer of 2019, we made a stop at nearby Pasai Donibane de San Juan, just a 20 minutes drive from the city center to the east, but less than just 6 kilometers as the crow flies. Pasai is picturesque situated halfway a deep inland bay, the Bahia de Pasaia. It is also a huge harbour area, but one can still feel its authenticiy. Kurt Hielscher made several beautiful photos and it was a huge pleasure for me to get into his footsteps here too. On arrival here, I was very excited and, besides it was quite hard to park the van somewhere, I was not disappointed. On the contrary, Pasaia or Pasages or Pasajes (de San Juan) (sorry, I am not aware of the local sensitivities on its name) is definitely worth a visit, because of its views, authenticity and relaxed atmosphere. We also found a nice restaurant. Anyway, for us the best place to land in Spain that day coming from France.

Pasai Donibane, 17th of July 2019. Photo: Casper Molenaar. 

The Bay of Pasaia with a view on the 17th century built Bonanzako Santo Kristo basilika that is dedicated to the sailors, was used to pray and ask for their safe return and good luck with the fishing. The photo has been made from the Ermita de Santa Ana and is probably the most famous view in Pasai Donibane.

Pasai Donibane, 17th of July 2019. Photo: Casper Molenaar. 

Interior of the Bonanzako Santo Kristo basilika that is dedicated to the sailors. There's even hanging a tall ship at the ceiling.

Im 2019 one could still see the fences on wheels at the edge of this characteristic square, the Plaza Santiago, ready to enclose it for the next bullfight. On this day there was a second hand bookstore on the street with old photobooks of Pasai Donibane and its surroundings. I had a nice chat with the vendor and showed him the photos of Kurt Hielscher from Pasai Donibane. The man showed me the wooden beams on the old photo that were already there over a hundred years ago to support the balconies. We had a great lunch at Yola Berri at the opposite site from the square, only 5 meters from where Kurt Hielscher made his photo. A party tent made it hard for me to make the exact same photo. Some houses changed a lot but there were plenty of elements that match between the old and the new photo, so I think I did a good job. In 2022, however the fences on wheels were removed. Is this the end of the bullfighting in Pasai Donibane? I still need to add the 2022 photo of the square.

Children playing bullfight on the Plaza de Santiago in Pasai Donibane. Photo: Kurt Hielscher, 1914-'19

View on Yola Berris Restaurant where we had a terrific lunch with sardines and the Basilika de Bonanzako Santo Kristo in  Pasai Donibane in the backround, 17th of July 2019. Photo: Casper Molenaar. In 2022 we would have lunch here again, but this time mainly with calamaris.

In the summer of 2022 we went again to Pasai Donibane. This time also the day after visiting San Sebastián.

Next to the passage below one can find the house where the legendary French writer Victor Hugo lived during the summer of 1843. Victor Hugo (1802-1885), who is most famous for writing the Hunchback of Notre-Dame and Les Miserables, stumbled upon this quaint and hidden fishing village by chance while visiting San Sebastián and decided to stay here to write his travel book 'The Alps and Pyrenees'. His daughter's sudden death prevented him from completing the book as he intended, but it was published five years after the author's death. The 17th century waterfront house, now a museum, consists of three floors and pays tribute to the writer, his time in Pasaia and his works.

View from a small pier at the Plaza Santiago on the Ermita de Santa Ana and the huge modern harbour complexes in the back, Pasai Donibane, 17th of July 2019. Photo: Casper Molenaar. 

Built on the site of an older chapel in 1758, the Ermita de Santa Ana serves as a hostel for pilgrims and walkers on the Camino de Santiago.

Just when I thought that I would make the turn back to the van, I recognized the stairs on the photo below, that was photographed by Kurt Hielscher over 100 years ago. At the middle of the Bonanza Ibilbidea you can you can see a "new" arch. Kids were playing there that day, playing with a football and jumping into the water. I imagined that this scene would repeat itself every day during the whole of the summer. In Roman figures I noticed the year of construction on the arch: MCMXXXV, so the main mystery in the difference between the photos was solved. The arch was built later. It also seems that the quay was made wider, but besides that I could have taken a few steps to the left as well. I don't think this is one of the best photos from Kurt Hielscher, but I think he put it in his book, because somehow Pasai Donibane got him, like it got me. In 2019 I turned around back to the main square and it was three years later that I discoverde the open seaside of the Bay.

In 2022, we stayed close to Pasai Donibane in our van for the night. The next day we went for a walk downhill to the Bay to discover the other side of the village and make the remaining photos that Kurt Hielscher made here over a century ago. On this Fridayafternoon the 5th of August we saw a lot of rowers practicing. The view on the Bay is stunning and the footpath over the cliffs towards Hondarribia inviting, but with over 15 kilometers a too long way to go for us by foot. So we went back to the Bay and went for a swim at Kalaburtza Beach, where there were even cold natural showers. Freshed up we went for drinks and dinner at the Alabortza-Puntetako Kantina with a terrific view on the entrance of the Bay with the sun setting and a relaxed atmosphere.

Traditional rowing practices in the Bay of Pasaia. 

And then at the end of the Bay at the seaside, I found this stunning view back to the hinterland, close from where Kurt Hielscher made his photo. I could not reach the exact same place due to vegetation that robably grew over the years.

View towards the seaside: the Bizkaiko Golkoa/Golfo de Vizcaya.

Entrance to the Bay of Pasaia, 5th of August 2022. Photo: Casper Molenaar.

Me and a print of page 292 with a view on the Plaza de Santiago with the Bonanzako Santo Kristo basilika behind the square, taken from the Ermita de Santa Ana. Photo: Siebe Molenaar, 17th of July 2019.

Below: view on Pasai Doniabane, 17th of July 2019. Photo: Casper Molenaar.