MOUNT IGELDO

Just before we arrive at El Peine del Viento, and turning left towards the mountain, we find "La Plaza del Funicular". From here we take the old funicular up to the amusement park on Mount Igeldo.

Mount Igeldo and Mount Urgull at dusk.

The amusement park, together with the bay, attracts many visitors (especially people visiting the city for the first time) and is an integral part of the city's image.

But more important, perhaps, than the tram or the park are the views over the bay, and the whole city than can be admired from this privileged vantage point.

In the foreground we see Santa Clara Island, in the centre of the arc formed by the two beaches. A small light- 'I house and a bar for visitors are the only buildings on this little island, with its cove sheltered from the sea, and a break- water for mooring barges, which in summer bring thousands of visitors from the harbour.

Regattas in La Concha Bay.

In ancient times, those infected with the plague or suspected of having it were exiled on this island, and forced into quarentine. Moreover, on one of his pilgrimages to Santiago de Compostela, St. Francis of Assisi caught pneumonia there, and was confined to bed for more than a month.

Apart from Santa Clara Island, from the vantage point of Mount Igeldo we can see Ondarreta Beach in the foreground and the villas in the residential El Antiguo District. As already mentioned, this district, which extends to the "Pico del Loro" and Miramar Palace, was the predecessor of the town's urban settlement.

Beyond the Pico del Loro we find La Concha, bounded by the houses in Miraconcha that make up the most important fachade overlooking the bay.

At the end the aforementioned Cortázar development, and towards La Zurriola the view is framed by the harbour, Mount Urgull and La Zurriola Beach, which finishes at Mount Ulia, the fourth mountain on the rugged coast of San Sebastián.