The Basque Country

The Basque Country, or País Vasco in Spanish, or Euskal Herria in the Basque language, is in northern Spain (on the map, it's the red section). The Basque Country is one of 17 autonomous regions of Spain, all of which have a large degree of autonomy from the national government. (Some may have heard that one region, Cataluña, has held a vote on whether or not to leave Spain). The Basque country has its own language, called Euskera, spoken by around 37% of the people who live there, although signs and posters are all in Basque. It is not at all related to Spanish, although some Spanish words come from Basque, as Basque is much more ancient than Spanish. An example would be the word for left: izquierda in Spanish comes from ezkerretik.

We traveled first to Bilbao to see the Guggenheim Bilbao, an incredible modern art museum designed by Frank Gehry.

Guggenheim Bilbao

We then travelled along the north coast to see Guernica, the spot that inspired the the famous Picasso piece. Although the actual Guernica by Picasso is in a museum in Madrid, the town has this tile mural reproduction.

We spent the next several days in San Sebastián, which is known for its food and beaches, especially pintxos, which are little snacks that sit out on the bar that you can pick and choose. Our favorite in San Sebastián is called Taberna Aralar.

We also traveled to Getaria, a small town outside of San Sebastián, to go to a txakoli tasting at Gaintza. Our guide was the grandson of the founder, and he was amazing! He spoke three languages, saying his first language is Basque, second is Spanish, and third is English. This is very typical of the Basque people--to see Basque as their first language.

We returned to Bilbao to fly home, and we happened upon BasqueFest, a festival of Basque culture, where we were able to taste apple cider, txakoli, and participate in some traditional Basque competitions, such as ontzi eramatea, or churn carrying.

Phoebe carrying weights that stand in for churns.

We love the Basque Country and its culture and can't wait to return soon.