We gave Sheila our Aussie sat nav voice a last chance. We asked her to get us to Tolosa, by a fast route but avoiding toll roads. We drove over three mountains…..

In Sheila’s defence, by sending us via this roundabout route we were treated to some stunning scenery and unexpected discoveries. The lake we found was simply beautiful with greeny blue waters. It did take us quite some time to get to Tolosa and after we’d figured out the parking machine, we were ready for a snack. Most places were closed (being a Monday) but we found a pinxos bar which was more than adequate.

Tolosa is built beside a river, it has a more modern centre with lots of retailers and an intriguing old town. There’s regular markets and plenty of places to eat. We found it totally charming and would go back to use it a base from which to explore.

We returned to the car and wanted to drive back to Onati avoiding any toll autoroutes. I altered the settings, and additionally with a heavy heart we ditched Sheila for Charles. Charles is a suave sounding British guy. I picture him as a sophisticated manservant, at your side with a G&T whenever you may need it. As a route enunciator, he’s little better than Sheila. We came back via the non toll autoroute to a point but the section of road we were using wasn’t on our satnav, leading poor Charles to think we were floating round in a field. He politely asked us to turn round where possible but it’s little difficult on a three lane carriageway. He redeemed himself eventually and we came back to the hotel fairly quickly.

This is our last night here, tomorrow we are off to Bilbao. Will Charles be up to the challenge? His future employment hangs in the balance…