Before Kepa could protest, Maite stood and walked onto the beach. She tried to appear weak and wobbly, but her stumbling was less of an act that she wanted to admit. The long run and the gash on her arm had drained her more than she had expected. She let out a soft cry to […]
The Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, the burial place of Saint James the Great, is one of the most important pilgrimage destinations in all of Christendom – during the Middle Ages, it was one of the three great Christian pilgrimages, along with Rome and Jerusalem. While pilgrims can take many paths to reach Santiago de Compostela, […]
By John Etulain Like many other Basques before and after him, my father, Miguel “Mike” Etulain, came to the United States and made a notable life for himself and his family. In 1952, he arrived in the United States where he worked for his Uncle Juan Etulain in Sunnyside, Washington. Juan was getting out of the sheep […]
“The British? The Portuguese?” exclaimed Kepa. “What the hell is going on?” Maite heard what almost sounded like a sigh in the back of her head. “Do they teach you nothing at school?” mused Garuna almost dryly. “In 1813, the British and Portuguese besieged the city to expel the French occupiers.” “Dammit!” cried Maite. “What […]
Robert Uselton just sent me a few photos that I wanted to share. One is his recreation of the Hand of Irulegi, as a gift to a friend. The other is a street scene in Bilbo of an elderly gentleman walking by a cafe. Thanks for sharing, Dutch!
The French Revolution and the subsequent reign of Napoleon was a tumultuous time that led to significant changes in and to the Basque Country. Before, the three provinces of Iparralde – Lapurdi, Zubero, and Nafarroa Beherea – had enjoyed some level of self-governance. For example, Lapurdi had the Biltzar, which was effectively a local parliament. […]
Maite and Kepa slowly hiked up to the peak of Santa Klara. They were in no hurry. Neither relished the idea of hurtling into another bubble, another unknown time filled with new dangers. It felt like they had just gotten back from their excursion to future Bilbo and here they were, being asked to enter […]
Waterfalls capture our imagination. Somehow, watching water crash hundreds of feet down the side of a cliff fills us with wonder. Indeed, last summer when we visited Costa Rica, waterfalls were one of the main attractions. The Basque County has its own share. I might have thought there would be even more grandiose waterfalls in […]
Kepa and Maite waited in line to board the ferry to Santa Klara island. The whole time they kept seeing flashes of light coming from the peak of the hill that formed the island. Kepa shook his head. “It is so weird seeing something no one else can see. I almost feel like we are […]