The best part of traveling is discovering all the special places that are off the beaten path. The church of San Juan is one of those amazing sites that frequently goes unnoticed.

La ermita de San Juan de Gaztelugatxe (Gaz-tay-loo-got-chay) is a small church which sits on a small island, connected by a small passage that can be found between two small towns on the Northern coast of Spain. For obvious reasons, it is very difficult to reach the church unless you are seeking it out. Even then it is difficult to reach...

I first headed to the town of Bermeo, a fishing town just East of Bilbao. I spend the day walking around and enjoying the town (post to come later) but in the afternoon I decided it was time to head out toward the island, I just didn't know how to get there. I asked someone in the tourism office who told me there was a taxi (???) that only drove between Bermeo and the town over, and that he would drop me off at a spot in between.

So I waited out for the taxi who luckily spoke some pretty good English. At this point I was starting to get worried because the sun was just starting to go down, so I knew I wouldn't have too much time at the church. The island was probably just a couple miles down the coast, but because of the mountains and curves it took nearly 30 minutes to reach the drop-off spot, which I assumed was in front of the church. Wrong. This "drop-off spot" was barely more than a shoulder for the road, on the side of a mountain, above a cliff that looked over the island far below.

Once out of the car, the taxi-man barked to me that he was going to the next town and would be back in 45 minutes and to just wait for him there. He also warned me that it would be dark soon and that there were no lights on the island or mountain. At this point I was realizing that at the rate the sun was dropping and the time it would take to reach the bottom of the mountain, cross over to the island, see the church and return, would easily take 45 minutes and would leave me very little light.

So I started on a run down the path which zig-zagged along the slope of the mountain, stopping periodically to gaze through open seems in the brush at the beautiful island below. There were many clouds that day so the light was disappearing faster than normal, but it left a pink and orange hue across the church and the rocks it was perched on.

The picture here was taken from one of those views, probably while I was heaving and gasping for air, trying to keep my camera straight. When I finally reached the bottom of the mountain I realized that I shouldn't have wasted all my energy getting there, because now a steep staircase lay in front of me. As I painfully ascended I could hear waves crashing around me on the edges of the island.

I must have arrived late, because the doors of the church had already been shut and I wasn't able to pass. I didn't know this at the time, but apparently you are suppose to ring the bell at the front of the church three times and make a wish as a reward for your troubles.

After a brief moment of looking around the site, which is dated all the way back to the 9th and 10th centuries and supposedly came from the Knights Templar, I began my return down the island, up the mountain, and into the dark. By the time I reached the drop-off, it was pitch black, minus the occasional headlights flashing from around the mountain slope.

Unfortunately, it was so dark I couldn't see the cars to even know if the taxi was there, and I certainly didn't want to be missed by the taxi and left there on my own. So every time I saw a car coming by I would sort of step in front of the oncoming traffic, just to make sure I was noticed. After about 30 long, dark minutes, and a few close encounters with speeding vehicles, the taxi finally stopped and picked me up.

If you ever happen to be driving around the Northern Spanish coast, I highly recommend you stopping for a short visit. There aren't many places quite like La Ermita de San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, just make sure to be there before nightfall, even if it makes for a good picture.