Blessed Land

This nice article about Euskal Herria comes to us via The Guardian:

Basque glories

The San Sebastian Film Festival runs until next Sunday. Andrew Wilson undertakes a mini-tour of the region

Andrew Wilson
The Guardian,
Saturday September 21 2002

I was standing on a street corner in the old part of San Sebastian in the Spanish Basque country, when I caught the eye of a Catweazle lookalike. Dressed in loosely fitting, tie-dyed clothes and sporting an excessively long beard, he started to shout as he made his way towards me. Trying to diffuse a potentially threatening situation, I smiled at him and said, "Hola". Yet as soon as I had uttered the word I knew I had said the wrong thing. "Kaixo!" he barked back at me, Euskera for "Hello".

Although I had read in a guidebook that an "x" is supposed to sound something akin to "sh", the word seemed almost impossible to pronounce, but after a few attempts I must have managed to mutter something approaching an approximation, as he suddenly smiled, seized my hand and moved on.

The experience illustrates the importance of language to the region, the knuckle of green countryside and wide sandy beaches ranged around the Bay of Biscay. During Franco's 40-year rule, the fascist leader not only exiled and executed thousands of Basques, but he also outlawed the speaking of Euskera, one of the world's oldest languages.

The opening of the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao in 1997 has resulted in a new influx of travellers to the area, but many confine their visit to the grim, post-industrial city with its shiny new symbol. As a result, they miss out on the many delights of Euskadi, its stunning landscapes, fairytale seaside resorts and its delicious cuisine.

A good view of Frank Gehry's iconic building can be had from Puente De La Salve and, if you have the energy, you can follow the river Nervion from here until you reach the old town, crossing the Puente Del Arenal into the graceful El Arenal and exploring the tangle of streets known as the Casco Viejo. A good coffee stop is the art-nouveau Cafe Boulevard at Arenal 3.

The elegant Plaza Nueva is home to many of the city's best tapas, or pinchos, bars. Local specialities include bacalão pil-pil (cod with an olive oil and garlic sauce, named after the gentle movement of the pan on and off the heat), calamares con cebolla (squid with onion), cogote de merluza (neck of hake), percebes (barnacles) and txangurro (spider crab). A good accompaniment is txakoli, a crisp dry wine costing around €6 a bottle.

San Sebastian, or Donostia as the Basques call it, is a short drive east from Bilbao on the A8. Just before arriving, it's worth taking a slight diversion to Hernani, home to the inspirational Chillida Museum - a collection of work by the recently deceased Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida.

Made famous by the Spanish royal family, who came to take the waters during the second half of the 19th century, San Sebastian takes you back to the elegance of the belle epoque. From Monte Urgull, there is a spectacular view of the glorious Playa de la Concha and its wedding-cake cafes and hotels.

In the harbour, in front of the aquarium - whose restaurant serves a good three-course lunch for around €30 a head including wine - you can see grown men throwing themselves into the green-blue sea with all the zeal of young boys. As I watched a group of children learning to sail in the bay, the liquid gold light dancing across on the ocean, I heard a gasp of delight from a group of French tourists nearby. I followed the direction of their gaze and saw a dolphin leaping from the water, covering the apprentice sailors with sea spray. Pakito the dolphin arrived in San Sebastian two or three years ago; apparently he liked it so much that he decided to stay. It's not hard to understand why.

In the evening, the Alameda Del Boulevard buzzes, seemingly dedicated to parade and pleasure. If you want to escape the crowds, take one of the streets off the boulevard into the Parte Vieja, the oldest section of the town, and step inside Santa Maria del Coro. This 18th-century church on Via Coro is topped by a writhing statue of San Sebastian; inside its shadowy interior, look out for the alabaster sculpture by Chillida.

The Parte Vieja also houses some of the town's best pinchos bars. Start an evening of txikiteo - an upmarket, Basque version of a pub crawl, stopping off every now and then for a mouthful to eat - a few minutes' walk from Santa Maria at Ormazabel on Calle 31 de Agosto, whose counter displays a lavish selection of treats for €4-6 each.

Another good one is Martinez, on the same street, which specialises in courgettes stuffed with crabmeat. If you want red wine, ask for crianza , which usually costs no more than €1.5 a glass.

Before returning to Bilbao, it's worth driving south-west to Vitoria (Gasteiz), the capital of Euskadi and home to the new contemporary art museum, Artium with a fine permanent collection of Picassos, Dalís and Mirós.

Although by the end of my short visit, I had not mastered even the basics of Euskera - after all, Basque is known as the language that defeated the devil himself - I was left with a desire to return. I was keen to witness a game of mus - the Basque card game that incorporates a series of facial ticks and cheating devices into its play - and wangle an invitation from one of the txokos , gastronomic clubs that only admit male members. "Everyone who has visited the Basque country longs to return," said Victor Hugo. "It is a blessed land."

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