Gaztelugatxe casts a spell

Gaztelugatxe is tricky to say at the best of times, but doubly so when the breakfast caffeine is still percolating through our bodies and the morning fog continues to shroud the lush peaks and valleys as our tour coach winds through Spain’s delightfully verdant Basque Country.

However, by the time we hop off and prepare to walk the path to Gaztelugatxe, things have thankfully become clearer — not just the weather (the skies are turning blue now and we could make out the donkeys grazing on the roadsides), but we’ve learned the correct pronunciation of this craggy limestone islet rising 150 metres above the Bay of Biscay.

“Gas-te-lug-ache,” says our cheerful guide, Asier Perez. “It’s a Basque word meaning ‘castle rock’ or ‘stone fortress’”.

Previously used as a defensive bastion, it was a hermitage in the Middle Ages and, though the last monk departed centuries ago, it remains a shrine for followers of John the Baptist (hence its longer name San Juan de Gaztelugatxe).

Once upon a time, it was possible to park up near the waterfront and walk the short distance to the islet, which is linked to the mainland by an arched stone-built bridge. But those days are long gone.

Already well known in Spain, in 2017, Gaztelugatxe went global, appearing on screen as Dragonstone in the seventh season of Game of Thrones, sparking an influx of visitors and a whole host of traffic snarl-ups.

Like the fan base of the HBO show, our tour group is an international crowd.

On this Basque Coast day trip from Bilbao, there are folk from Australia, Britain, France, the USA, Canada, Israel, Portugal, China and Spain.

This is a bilingual tour with Asier switching from English to Spanish with aplomb. He shares tales about Gaztelugatxe — and its visiting knights, kings, monks, pirates, pilgrims — as we tread a snaking path down from the clifftop car park, pausing at a mirador (lookout) facing the islet.

We’re here early in the northern autumn, when it’s not so busy but in the peak summer months a booking system is in place to control the flow of tourists and prevent overcrowding.

The trail down to the coast is steep, with a 35 per cent gradient at some points, and the cobbles are slick and slippery from the morning mist. Thankfully, there are railings to grab on to, although you still have to watch your footing as the scenery is distractingly gorgeous.

Over the next 20 minutes, as we descend, we pause several times to snap the vast blue bay — calm now but often more turbulent — and the vegetated cliffs that thrive in this muggy climate. Today — like most on the Basque Coast — it feels like a shower isn’t far away.

The north of Spain looks and feels like a different country to the parched, sun-bleached Costa del Sol in the far south.

After reaching the bottom of the sign-posted path, we cross Gaztelugatxe’s awesome bridge, which was built 200 years ago. Prior to its construction, the islet was cut off at high tide and reached by small boat. The bridge connects to the 241 stone steps zigzagging up to Gaztelugatxe’s summit.

Game Of Thrones producers used CGI to crown this wave-beaten rock with a castle — the ancestral seat of House Targaryen — but in reality, it’s capped by a modest chapel which looks old but was actually constructed in the 1980s after the previous one was ravaged by fire.

Tradition had it that when you reached the top you had to ring the chapel bell three times to bring good luck and ward off evil spirits.

But the rope attached to the bell has since been removed to prevent the ringing from disturbing the protected seabirds, including storm petrels and shags, which gather and nest on the islet’s grass-tufted slopes.

On special holy dates, the chapel holds mass, but today — like most days — it’s closed, although it’s worth peeking through the door holes.

The quirky interior is adorned with religious paintings and nods to its nautical heritage and setting. There are votive offerings from sailors who survived wrecks in the stormy seas off the Basque Country.

As winged creatures flap through the brooding skies — they’re gulls rather than Daenerys’ dragons — I spy ships on the horizon, emerald-hued waters lapping at the shores below and the final members of my group puffing their way up the snaking staircase.

I know their grimaces will soon be replaced by smiles because the views up here make the climb well worth it. Gaztelugatxe takes the breath away — in a very good way.

fact file + Gaztelugatxe is a highlight of a guided Basque coast day trip, which starts and finishes in Bilbao and also takes in the historic town of Guernica (Gernika). The tour runs most days and costs €69 ($122) per person. You can book via localexpertstours.com + For more information on visiting Gaztelugatxe, see sanjuangaztelugatxe.com + To help plan a trip to the Basque Country and Spain, see turismo.euskadi.eus and spain.info