BASQUE IN TOUCH

Tactile Traveling in Europe

By Lisa Sonne

In a recent sensory adventure, I was glad to learn that the Basque Country, nestled in northern Spain and southern France, is a place for all the senses—a culture where the culinary and creative arts encourage touch as well as provide memorable sights, sounds, smells and tastes. Whether you are travelling solo, in a pair or group, this inviting niche of Europe engages you to be a tactile traveler.

FINGER FOOD

For starters, there are the Basque starters for eating- scrumptious, finger food that invites me (and you) to dig in with all ten digits and pick up savory shrimps, lobsters, and fresh local mushrooms artistically arranged on small pieces of delicious bread. They are called Pinxtos, pronounced “Pinchos” in the unique Basque language, Euskera, an ancient tongue of unknown origin.

“Mesedez, erretzen ez baduzu, PINTXOEK ere eskertuko dizute. Eskerrik asko,” reads a sign in a Pinxtos bar in San Sebastian, an international gathering spot. Roughly translated this message in Europe’s oldest language says, “Please don’t smoke here, the Pinxtos will appreciate it too. Thank You.” Spanish is also widely spoken and pinxtos are close cousins to “tapas.”

Pinxtos can be a progressive experience- you try a couple at each bar, pay on the honor system for what you consumed, and then saunter to the next place. In the scenic streets of San Sebastian one of the oldest beach resorts in the world, there are many places to get your fingers gooey with gastronomy. The mess is not a problem, though. Part of the tradition is to throw your napkins on the floor, and move on.

The moving feast is organic socially too with groups adding and dropping people as they stroll between bars. Strike up a conversation with one person and you may be moving with the crowd to the next place. People-watching was great and there was no sense of seedy pick-up stuff in the places I tried. At 11 at night a young couple pushed their baby carriage out the entry as an elegantly dressed elderly couple walked their dog in.

Each place has its own décor- from traditional tiles to modern art, and each has its own Pinxtos specialties—using the fresh seafood of the Basque fisherman and the local produce. With a language that no one knows the origin of, even the names of bars sound wonderfully exotic like Iturrioz or Bukoi.

TOUCHING AND TOUCHED

For lunch or dinner, pinxtos offer a savory rest from more touristy, but also worthwhile, tactile pleasures in Basque Country:

*I let my fingers do some walking along the contours of Basque sculptor Eduardo Chillida in the outdoor museum of Chillida Leku. Acres of greenery are punctuated dramatically with Chilida’s large abstract pieces. Like others around me, I created my own art by the angles and juxtapositions I choose to visually frame, and I went up, and in, to touch the stone and metal surfaces. I even sought shelter in one of the sculptures when it started to rain, and watched umbrella people scramble to the old farmhouse that is an interior museum.

*With other visitors, I donned a hard hat in Vitoria-Gasteiz to climb scaffolding on a renovation tour that let me be inches from church facades that had age spots from hundreds of years ago (a good perspective to feel young!) From medieval and renaissance to modern reality, the history-rich Vitoria invites you to experience architecture first hand and to stroll or bike through the centuries.

*I was sun-massaged while waiting for the winds to pick up the renowned waves at Mundaka, while the International Billabong Surf Competition was on a languid hold. The athletes were hanging out, instead of hanging ten but a colorful crowd of Surferatti provided good entertainment. Mundaka is one of 42 Beaches on the beautiful Bay of Biscay, but it’s the global magnet if you care about “left breaking” surf. The town of Mundaka also has its charms away from the beach.

FINGER PRINTS

At the famous Guggenheim of Bilbao, the inside paintings are “hands off” like most museums, but, outside, I joined others in stroking the titanium scales that swoop upward, and in running the water gauntlet on a sinewy path of geyser fountains. The enormous topiary puppy of bright flowers out front practically begs to be touched.

The first day I beheld the Bilbao Guggenheim area, I touched a sculpture in the plaza-- the iron artwork of a large-scale rust colored fingerprint. The whorls and loops were cut out, so the sun could cast a shadow of the distinct fingerprint on the ground. I then journeyed out in Basque Country to see the underground cavas of La Guardia, the flowered balconies of historic Hondarribia, and the striking Arantzazu sanctuary near Onati. When I returned to Bilbao and the Guggenheim, the finger print sculpture was gone. Unbolted, missing.

I watched a beautiful woman, concerned like me, go up to some nearby guys on bikes and ask in Spanish, ”What happened to the fingerprint?” The cutest guy, and clearly the quickest, held up his hands, “It is gone, but what is wrong with my fingerprints?” A good laugh was exchanged in the sun. The fate of the fingerprint was quickly forgotten. (This is Basque Country, not Scotland Yard.)

MARKET MORNINGS

I enjoyed my tactile forays in the outdoor markets, as I fingered voluptuous eggplants, mounds of beans, addictive chorizos sausages, and strings of red peppers. In any country, I think it’s worth finding out about the markets to enjoy your senses and meet local people.

When I asked “con permiso por favor” before taking a photo of a local woman, she presented me with a bag of green peppers whose topographies looked a bit like painted Moorish sculptures (as in Henri). I asked for her address so I could mail her the images and my thanks, and then gratefully took the gift of peppers and a local cheese wheel back to personalize my room.

I hope to return to all three provinces of Basque Country in Spain ( Alava-Araba, Bizkaia, and Gipuzkoa) and touch the brightly colored trees in the Painted Forest of Oma, immerse my whole body in the therapeutic San Sebastian spa waters that “cured” royalty in the past, and climb in some of the diverse Basque caves that hold geologic, spiritual or archeological value. I’d even like to dive in the Bay of Biscay and learn to surf.

I also look forward to the way Basque Country can “touch” my heart and mind ---between great Pinxtos.

My napkin is on the floor, but I hope to go back.

Lisa Sonne is founder of www.WorldTouristBureau.com and is writing THE SENSES OF TRAVEL which includes a sense of adventure and some common sense. Now for the practicals:

TO GET THERE
Iberian Air flies into Madrid from most major cities and has a short flight from Madrid to Bilbao. Their business class lets you recline in style, and the delicious food gets you ready for the treats ahead.

I enjoyed staying at the following hotels:

Vitoria: Hotel Silken Ciudad de Vitoria www.hotelciudadevitoria.com
San Sebastian: Silken Amara Plaza www.amaraplaza.com
Bilbao: Ercilla Hotel www.ercillahoteles.com

The Spanish Tourist Bureau of Los Angeles was really helpful: www.tourspain.es

Many Basque towns had great information offices with brochures, and maps. I took buses, but the roads I saw all looked smooth with reasonable signage.

TIPS:

*Don’t assume everything will be open all day. Siesta time is still honored in many places.

*Prepare for rain if you are going in the Fall. There is a reason everything is so beautifully green. My biggest tip off: a statute of a luminary in a town plaza was leaning on an umbrella, not a cane.

* Try Vitoria if you like to bike. Bright orange bikes are available for free to peddle the city.

*For most of history, Basque homes were handed down through the women! The men were off fighting wars to help the culture survive despite invasions of Romans, Moors, Visagoths, Vikings, Celts, and more. You can still visit some of these matrilineal homesteads.

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