A very satisfying walk in Spain

San Sebastian is a dangerous place.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m not talking about crime rates here (it is one of the safest cities in one of Europe’s safest countries).

But so good is the food that you have to be quite disciplined not to overindulge.

A glut of Michelin-starred restaurants woo fine diners here, but they’re heavily outnumbered by the more casual pintxos bars ensnaring locals and tourists with their tapas-style treats.

You could spend hours each day hopping between pintxos establishments and grazing on these more-ish morsels, followed by leisurely strolls on the beachfront promenades or post-prandial naps on the long, curving strips of sand or in the leafy parks and gardens of this coastal resort in the Basque Country of northern Spain.

But you also have the opportunity to burn some of the kilojoules these pintxos crawls inevitably rack up.

Midway through our four-day San Sebastian stay, we set off on a morning hike. Traversing the promenade of Playa de la Zurriola, a beach beloved by surfers, we climb a path up Monte Ulia, one of a trio of wooded peaks and ridges overlooking the seafront.

Like Monte Igueldo, rising 181m at the far western end of Bahia de la Concha, the shell-shaped bay that stars on so many San Sebastian postcards, Monte Ulia (243m) is the portal to invigorating hiking trails along the cliffs above the Cantabrian Sea.

At some points we’re high above the sea, watching the waves caressing the coves and outcrops. Other times we’re treading through shaded woodland, with a refreshing, salty breeze whipping through the clusters of pine, palm and oak trees.

This is ordinarily one of the dampest parts of Spain, but we’re in luck this October as it’s warm and dry and the verdant Basque landscapes are glowing in the sunshine.

You could get a little lost hiking here if you’re not careful, although there are sporadic signs and tree trunks regularly etched with colour-coded markings to indicate you’re on the right track. And you’re likely to pass fellow hikers every so often who should be able to point you in the right direction.

This is one of the branch routes, the Camino del Norte, or the Camino de la Costa, of the Camino de Santiago — “The Way of St James”, a pilgrim way that leads to Santiago de Compostela in Galicia about 700km from here in the north-west of Spain.

However, nearly all the hikers we encounter today appear to be day trippers like us, carrying just light backpacks. We pass a few other English speakers, although most greet us in Spanish (“buenos dias”), Basque (“kaixo”) or French (“bonjour”).

The border with France is only 20km from San Sebastian (or Donostia as it’s called in Basque) and it’s possible to get there on foot and by ferry before sunset if you’re up and out early enough. We won’t be going that far. After a few hours — and about 8km — of walking, we reach our target, the port of Pasaia, which takes its name from the river that bisects it.

We admire the clifftop La Plata lighthouse guarding the mouth of the estuary, before descending the steps to the waterfront of Pasai San Pedro, one of four districts in this port village.

The star attraction here is the Albaola Foundation, a maritime museum charting the Basque whaling heritage. Its showpiece is a life-replica of the San Juan, a 16th-century three-masted galleon that sank in the cetacean-rich waters of Newfoundland, 6000km away, and was discovered by a team of Canadian divers and underwater archaeologists in 1978.

Still a busy commercial port, Pasaia’s harbour is peppered with vessels, including the water taxi that links San Pedro with its sibling across the river, Pasai Donibane (San Juan), a pretty little enclave blessed with centuries-old churches and colourful balconied houses.

Some properties double as bars and eateries with tables spilling on to terraces and the cobbles of Plaza de Santiago, where a group of elderly Lycra-clad French cyclists pull in for lunch.

We’re seated alfresco at the table next to them at I&M Arkupe Berri, a little bar-restaurant with a varied menu of meat, fish and seafood dishes, plus daily specials and friendly English-speaking staff. Taking a break from the pintxos, we order a langoustine salad with plates of grilled octopus and sea bass — accompanied by a few glasses of Txakoli, a crisp, dry, slightly sparkling local white wine.

After this highly satisfying lunch, we enjoy cortados, pay the bill ($85) and briefly ponder extending our hike. But we opt instead on a stroll up through the village to catch the E01 bus back to San Sebastian.

A siesta at our hotel is on the cards, followed by — of course — another evening pintxos crawl.

fact file + For more information on visiting San Sebastian and Spain, see https://sansebastianturismoa.eus and spain.info + It’s worth spending longer in the Basque Country, with Bilbao and Guernica just a few of the other compelling destinations that can be reached by bus from San Sebastian. To help plan a trip here, see https://tourism.euskadi.eus/en/