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We last left our story heading out to busk in San Sebastian. Arriving late afternoon (as planned), we scoped out the small streets and hidden churches of Parte Viejo. We asked around and some strangers suggested an art gallery around the corner. Turned out they didn’t open until 10pm and weren’t very convinced that crowds of people would even show up. We thanked them and moved on. The main boulevard seemed to be the place for buskers, but the best spots were taken. We chatted to a German guy singing covers through a very expensive amp. He suggested further up the street, but there was no way we could compete with a massive group of break dancers flying over pieces of string 2 metres high! We turned around and decided the ultimate spot would be Plaza de la Constitución: a very large square in the centre of Parte Viejo hugged by numerous cafes.

It was our toughest crowd to date!! Even more so than in Qatar, believe it or not. We worked hard for our money – three hours straight, filling that large space and maintaining a continuous level of high energy. To be fair, we got quite a good reception – applause and compliments from our white haired friends (Tim prefers to refer to them as a gentle old couple)! But compared to the 1 & 2 euro coins in La Rochelle, we found ourselves juggling a load of 20 cent euro coins. Then, after subtracting what we had to pay in parking (£££!) we were left with mere pennies. As Tim predicted, we’re not breaking even, but “the experience is invaluable!” he says. Amelia, being the dreamer that she is, still believes she can drive 400 miles, find a campsite, pitch a tent, cook dinner, make the bed and lug her gear into town to busk all in the same day! Life’s basic necessities come first sometimes!

Busking Tip #4: Keep off the beaten track. You’ll be more of a commodity in a town where they’re not used to buskers, and your audience may be more willing to give.

Busking Tip #5: Stay out of Spain if you want to make money! Our experience in San Sebastian may be a reflection of the current state of the Spanish economy – unemployment rate is very high and life is tough right now. Go south if you want to relax, play music and have a holiday for yourself (it’s amazing!) but we’ve been advised that if you do go to Spain, stay north in Catalunya.

Our Thoughts on Busking: Busking makes you part of the city in which you play. Instantly you become a link to a place and an imprint of what a tourist remembers of that town. How ironic is that! We may very well have no more a connection to that place than those watching! And they have no idea, ha!

We had every intention of taking our own advice and setting up shop in Mutriku and some of the small coastal towns close to where we camped. But then we found paradise in the form of a beach and got sidetracked. Then we became tired and Amelia’s voice hurt from pushing it too far in San Sebastian. We postponed it a day, but then it was cloudy & rainy so we legged it to Alicante where our mate, Luis, had a spare room for the weekend!

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