Basque Beauty: “Pintxos Perfect"

The Basque country often gets lost within its sister European countries. Many Aussies, who are far removed from European politics, are unaware that there is this beautiful green country, perched in the South-West region of France and North West of Spain. The Basque country has a strong history, government and unique language all of its own.

This region itself is approximately one tenth the size of Tasmania, has a population of just over two million people and is the richest part of Spain. We learnt of their   turbulent past, including the violent struggle for independence and a dark oppression of their culture, by Franco during his dictatorship, which began in the 1930’s.

Technically, the region begins in Biarritz, but you don’t really get a proper ‘Basque’ feel until you get a touch further south to a small town called Guethary. The houses begin to become a bit more uniform, painted in white and red. Basque flags are flown higher than any other, and the beret’s take on a slightly different shape.

The first strong cultural hit we experienced, was when we arrived in one of our favourite cities on earth, San Sebastian. It’s a hard to describe. It’s like old-world meets new, sitting on the beachside, where there is surf! There is a vibrant youthful feel all around, but the cobbled streets, framed by tall buildings ooze an historical charm that creeps into your bones. One of the typical things to do in ‘San Seb’ is to hit the pintxos bars in ‘Old Town’. 

A pintxos (prounced pincho), is like a small snack or tapas, with a thick toothpick through it. Technically speaking, the toothpick is called a pintxos, but everyone refers to the food by the same name. You skip through bar after bar, selecting an array of these foods, drinking and talking. It’s a cruisy way to stuff yourself full for an afternoon, or into the night.

Tim had previous been to Basque country and it holds a special place in his heart, mainly due to one of the most welcoming, generous and kind couples we have ever met. Jokin and Zuberoa are good friends that we had met year’s prior in Torquay. When Tim visited France a few years later, they went beyond any expectation with their hospitality and generosity. I was so keen to see the wonders of what Tim had told stories of on his return. This time, we were both welcomed with the same hospitality. Zube and Jokin embraced us like family and made us feel like we could live in this wonderful country of theirs forever.

Jokin and Zuberoa live in the most beautiful location in a small village called Bakio’ on the Basque coast. The view from their house is stunning. The front yard looks over a cute little beach break, similar to Jan Juc.

Just 5 minutes north of Bakio is the famous world class wave, Mundaka. We had one fun session there, and world champ Carissa Moore was out there shredding, putting all of the guys to shame. Tim said he felt like a complete kook watching her surf. I have for years wished of visiting and surfing this wave. I had as my screen saver for 3 years an epic shot of Mundaka, looking into the barrel with the church in the background. As I sat out in the water looking up at the church, I had to pinch myself that I was really here, in Europe and surfing Mundaka with Tim.

Tim feels so at home in Bakio, that I often lose him, only to find him again; sitting, checking the surf while talking to Jokin and Zube’s dog Zuli.

I also fell in love with ‘Zuli’. She is as beautiful natured as her owners, and it made Tim and I miss our ‘Mojo’. Dogs really are man’s best friend, The love for a dog cannot be explained until you own one yourself. As many say, they provide unconditional love and unquestionable loyalty.

Tim loves Basque food, from their famous paella, millions of pintxos, octopus, cuttle fish cooked in its black ink, amazing seafood and loads of yummy sweet treats, especially the Nutella pie!

I was lucky enough to receive a one-on-one cooking class with Jokin, learning how to make the most perfect Tortilla.

Another highlight of Basque country was visiting the Guggenheim museum in Bilbao. There is a really awesome puppy of flowers out the front. The art inside is worlds away from the renaissance experience you get in Rome or Paris. It’s full of modern installations, sculpture and some paintings. It really showed us how art can be what ever you like. One person’s opinion of what ‘art’ is, is always different to another’s.  We had some funny conversations on how you could literally take a poop in the middle of a room and sprinkle it with hundreds and thousands and call it an artistic expression of how you feel. Each to their own we say.

After a relaxing week at the Bakio retreat we headed back up the coast for some family time back in Biarritz, but more on that next time we get to a real wifi connection!