The Journey to Basque Country

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Another early and long travel day, this was the longest of the trip. Our train was at 7:47 so we did not have time for the nice breakfast, but again the hotel packet us a picnic for the train. This was by far the best of the three that were prepared for us. It was just another rainy day in Santiago as we loaded the luggage in the taxi and were off to Bilbao.

We arrived at the train station a bit earlier than normal, because a couple of days ago, I received an email from Renfe, that part of our journey had been changed from train to bus. We had questions so we arrived early to make sure we would have a smooth transition. It all turned out fine, as far as making the connections.

The first part of the trip was a 45-minute trip form Santiago to Ourense on a nice comfortable Avilla train. At Ourense, we changed to a very crowded bus for a 45-minute trip to Monitfore. The trip was actually very scenic, long a river that had several hydro dams on it. It naturally rained the entire way. Once we arrived at the next stop, we got back on the train for the rest of our journey to Miranda de Ebro where we would switch to our final train to Bilbao. The journey third leg was quite long, six hours, and that train was actually going all the way to Barcelona, which was probably at least another four. It was a high-speed train, but a great deal of the trip was through the mountains so couldn’t really go at full speed. It also did not help that they evidently kept running over animals, so we were 40 minutes delayed getting to the next train switch. The train had no comfort class, so we were in standard, smaller seats not as cushioned. The rest of the service is the same.

I had the picnic breakfast on the first leg of our journey. They gave us a great deal of food, some I didn’t eat, like the dried fruit. But the Spanish breakfast sandwich was good, Jamon and cheese. Three different things to drink, water, OJ and a protein shake (passed on the shake). There even was a small croissant and a nice almond pastry. Jerry ate his on the third leg.

So, to insure you fully understand the journey so far; first train at 7:47, then a 45-minute bus ride, then a six-to-seven-hour train ride, as they ran over animals, and the train was not terribly well climate controlled. Durin the third leg, I received an e-mail from Renfe that our train was going to be 40 minutes late to the stop we changed trains at. This was concerning since the next train would have already left by the time we go there. Evidently this happens frequently because they just hold the next train until we get there. Plus, the conductor from our train was switching to the next train, so they had no choice but to wait. The final leg was a 2-hour intercity train to Bilbao. The countryside was spectacular, it looked like you were passing through the pastures of Austria. The train well let’s say it was a cross between a Boston T, NJ Transit and Metro North train, complete with graffiti on the outside. It did at least have a bathroom on board.

Travel Trip. There is no easy way to get to either Santiago or Bilbao, yes you could fly, but that is bad for the environment, and I wouldn’t fly into Santiago for anything given how bad the weather is. The trains are long. The best bet is to train in and out of Madrid to both destination, do not try to go from Santiago to Bilbao in the same day. Driving is about 6 hours.

Finally, arriving at the station in Bilbao 12 hours later. Our hotel was close enough that we walked, but it was very crowded on the streets. It wasn’t only a Saturday night, but also evidently a Basque language holiday of some sort, complete with parade. We found the hotel easily, Jerry’s GPS back in full working order. When we checked in, we experience what we now believe is a typical Basque attitude. They simply are not happy people. Sixteen years ago, when we took a day trip into the Basque Area (the city of Victorio) it was a gray and rainy day, and the people just appeared dreadfully sad. It wasn’t much different here in Bilbao. I don’t know what the reason is, perhaps they really don’t want to be part of Spain so much they are always angry about it, or perhaps economically it is not doing well, whatever the issue, it is very obvious to the visitor who actually notices the people and not just the place.

We are here for two nights and one full day. All we have time for tonight is dinner. There was considerable confusion on where we were eating, was it in the hotel? Or down the street? I did not type the full addresses, and both places are on the same street. Fortunately, it was the one that was in our hotel, not part of the hotel, but physically located in it.

We were pretty tired and the language barrier now worse than ever. We cannot understand or speak any Basque, and the translator on the phone doesn’t seem to want to ever translate correctly. So, we are stuck with our very poor Spanish and the Servers Spanish, which is better than ours, but not the natural language they want to speak. Even with the triple language difference we managed to have a very nice dinner, in fact, possibly the best of the trip, certainly in the running.

We are in desperate need raw vegetable or a good green salad, it just isn’t a big thing here. They had a nice asparagus dish and we ordered, but they were out of the asparagus so instead got tomato with tuna and olive oil (certainly not a green vegetable). It is good, but not what our bodies are screaming “feed me”. We also split a beautiful plate of shrimp of Huelva. They were grilled and while a bit messy, tasted great. If my dad would have been with us, we would barely had one each, as he would have devoured them all.

The main dish was the absolute star of the meal, so much so that they are both the dish of the day. I had a traditional Basque dish “Bacalao a la Vizcaina,” Jerry had Taco de Baclao (no it isn’t a taco.) Mine was nicely roasted and in a deep red Basque sauce (red peppers, picante paprika, tomatoes, onions and garlic) I needed more bread to get it all. Jerry’s cod was baked then finished with the skin fried making it nice and crispy on the outside and melt in your mouth the rest of the way through. His sauce was a confit of onion, tomato and paprika. They were both the best fish we have had this trip.

We haven’t been doing a lot of desserts this trip, but tonight was the exception. Jerry had a tarata de chocolate, similar to a lava cake, but it didn’t ooze out, instead it was like warm thick pudding. I had the best cheesecake I have ever had, and I do not say that lightly, because I make a killer cheesecake.

Finally, we finished with one sherry and a Basque dessert wine (very similar to a sauterne). Then it was back to the room and off to sleep. Well as much sleep as one can get in a room with no AC and very stuffy, even with the window open.

Tomorrow our one and only Art Museum of the Trip.

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Photos

Taco de Bacalao
co-dish of the day

Bacalao a la Vizcaina
co-dish of the day

Chorizo
Best there is, not mentioned in the blog, because just now remembered it when I saw the picture.

Comments

[Connie Craddock]

Just visiting
That sounded like a dreadfully long travel day in the middle of your trip. Are you just visiting and passing through? It does not sound like a likely choice for a future home. Have you recovered from your injuries from your 'incident '?