In the Pais Vasco

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Our trip to Basque Country
Minette and Craig Hola! Travelling always presents small challenges.. like figuring out how to get around, or where to find a grocery store that is open during the lunch hours (which lasts 2 to 3 hours here). We found out about a bus that picked us up from near the house in Mimizan and took us back to the train station in the middle of nowhere (lahouyere?) but it was at 6:00 in the morning. Argh! Way too early! We didn´t have much of a choice though as there were only a couple buses leaving the station (which didn´t open until 10 am) going towards the border. When we got to the station, we couldn´t buy tickets since the office was closed and the machine didn´t take our kind of credit card. So we hopped on the train anyway, hoping I would be able to explain in french why we didn´t have ticket. Fortunately, they never checked and we got a free ride into Hendaye. We got off and walked across the border into Spain where it was now Craig´s turn to become interpreter! Got a local train no problem into San Sebastian in the early morning and toured the sites.

San Sebastian is a beautiful city. There is a crescent beach in a harbor that is guarded by two hills peaked with castles. We spent the afternoon wandering the streets there until we could pick up our car and go to our Casa Rural near a small town down the coast called Zumaia. The Casa Rural is really just a bed and breakfast. It too was very beautiful and quaint at the same time. There were chickens, ducks, geese, goats, a fat pig, some scrappy dogs, an emu, and a horny ostrich that did a mating dance toward anyone who lingered too long by its fence.

Pais Vasco is amazing. There are warm beaches and green hills, lots of valleys and vineyards. There are lots of friendly people and yummy seafood and snacks, their famous pinchos, which is usually some sort of seafood, ham, and pickled veggie on bread. They were all quite good. We spent a few days walking in the woods, sitting on beaches tucked under cliffs and eating all the food we could.

One special treat was getting a personal tour of a vineyard and winery that produced a typically Bosque wine, a sort of dry sparkling, white wine or a white granache according to Minette. Then we shared a bottle with the owner. It is called something like Txchocalin. The Basque language is crazy. It sounds sort of like chocolate.

We loved the coast and almost didn´t want to move on in our journey. We would definately want to come back and spend more time. As with each place we see, it isn´t enough time.

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Comments

[Dadster]

San Sebastian
That is one big pig--I am impressed! What kind of sea food snacks are you eating? Had tapas yet?