As of Sunday, with the Basque Fact of the Week about the beautiful Bizkaian port of Lekeitio, I’ve now posted 250 different Basque Facts of the Week. These facts try to cover a wide range of topics about the Basque Country, from the people and places that make it such a wonderful part of the […]
Our next stop in our trek along the Basque Coast was Lekeitio, where we grabbed lunch. Since my first visit to the Basque Country in 1991-92, Lekeitio has always held a special spot. My mom’s grandmother, Ines Eiguren, came from that city. Her parents were the grounds-keepers for Mario Adán de Yarza, the man who brought […]
Right next to Bermeo lies Mundaka. While we didn’t stop in Mundaka, we drove through it several times as we ventured into the heart of Bizkaia, particularly Munitibar. Sitting right on the coast, Mundaka sees the waves of the Atlantic crashing into its beaches, and because of the special geography of the seafloor, these waves […]
Our time in Bizkaia had come to an end and we began our drive to Donostia. However, it is impossible to pass up the opportunity to drive along the coast and visit the small towns that dot the Atlantic. After leaving Bermeo, our first stop was Elantxobe. I’ve been there a few times now, simply […]
We spent the next day, the day after seeing Bilbo, with family. In the morning, we met my dad’s sister Begoña and her family in Gernika. The rest of the family slowly found us throughout the morning and early afternoon as we wandered the city, stopping by the Tree of Gernika and a statue of […]
The next day, after visiting Munitibar, we spent the day in Bilbo. When I was living in Donostia in 1991-92, Bilbo wasn’t the biggest attraction. It had a reputation for being big and dirty. But, the city has really transformed itself, in part due to the Guggenheim effect. We met up with Pedro Oiarzabal, the […]
I’ve written about how towns in the Basque Country besides Gernika were bombed during the Spanish Civil War. After lunch at the txoko, we went to the plaza in Munitibar to meet my dad’s sister Begoña, her husband Javier, and my dad’s sister-in-law Rosario. While we were there, Beñat Zabalbeaskoa Zabala, one of the town […]
Before we got lunch at the txoko, we passed by the town plaza. It is always a magical time for me, as people are wandering the town and I’ve spent enough time there that I recognize so many faces, and they recognize me. I don’t always know everyone’s names, but there is just something special […]
On the way down from Mount Oiz, as we took the back road that passed by Goikoetxebarri – my dad’s childhood home – Jon Zuazo told us about how the pine trees of the surrounding forests were dying and how eucalyptus had been recruited to replace it. However, because eucalyptus can be so hard on […]
The day after celebrating Madalenas, we went to Munitibar, the home town of my dad, where we met up with my friend and distant cousin Jon Zuazo. He and his cuadrilla made lunch for us at the txoko in Gerrikaitz and it was fabulous! Fried peppers, tomato salad, merluza, and home made cheesecake! After, we […]
