A howling wind swirls overhead as waves crash from all directions onto this rocky islet in the Bay of Biscay in northern Spain鈥檚 Basque Country.
Dark clouds are foreboding and heavy with the impending rain. As we walk up a meandering stone staircase, I picture dragons flapping overhead and a platinum-haired Queen standing stone-faced in the castle above. That鈥檚 because the first time I saw this place was in Game of Thrones, the HBO series based on George R.R. Martin鈥檚 fantasy tomes that has become a cult classic. The final season of the series debuts on Sunday.
San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, which translates to 鈥渃raggy fort鈥� in Basque, was the setting of Dragonstone, the fortress of Daenerys Targaryen, the show鈥檚 heroine and Mother of Dragons. The impressive stone castle from which fire-breathing dragons took flight was superimposed for the television show, but the 240 steps that zigzag up to the 10th-century monastery are real, and we鈥檙e climbing them one at a time, following in the footsteps of Catholic monks, or Jon Snow, whichever you prefer.
The step鈥檚 sandstone barriers are marked with 14 simple black crosses, the stations of the cross that reflect the fact that, before it was a tourist attraction, the walk was a religious pilgrimage. Once you reach the monastery, perched 80 metres above sea level, it鈥檚 customary to ring the church bell three times and make a wish.
On this chilly March day, there aren鈥檛 more than two dozen people climbing or descending at one time, a relative solitude compared with many popular tourist destinations, especially ones featured in pop culture. The parking lot at the top of the hill is surprisingly small and there鈥檚 no entry fee to climb the steps, suggesting San Juan de Gaztelugatxe is still quite off the beaten track for many travellers.
For me and my husband, it was a one-hour-and-45-minute drive from San Sebasti谩n, where we spent four days in March.
The climb got our hearts pumping, but the view from the top, of the switch back stone path and the narrow arched bridge that connects the islet to the mainland, was worth it.
It was also a good way to work off three days worth of non-stop snacking on pintxos, the tapas-style, three-bite delicacies that line the bar of most restaurants in San Sebasti谩n鈥檚 old town.
As we started the walk back down toward the sea, a mist began to dampen our hair and clothes. Looking back on the islet, a thick fog rolled in, swallowing up the stone staircase, obscuring the monastery and allowing me once again to imagine that, in this magical place, here be dragons.
