Articles on the Basque culture and traditions of the Basque Country and in the mountain villages of the Spanish Pyrenees.
For some reason cider has become the theme of the week … and not a drop has yet passed my lips . .. I swear! My partner, the village lawyer, always seems to get interesting cases when the Basque cider houses open (usually between January and April) although I have to admit, the ‘wild-boar-in-the-boot-of-the-car’ case during last
Koilkil, our retired smuggling friend, continues to surprise us with his tales of smuggling cows and horses over the Spanish/French borders of the Basque Pyrenees. He rarely speaks with animosity about the Guardia Civil during Franco’s regime … sometimes I even note a tone of sympathy! The youths sent up to patrol the borders were usually from the south
Any article entitled ´Working with the Spanish’ will get into stormy waters if it attempts blanket coverage of the Iberian Peninsula and this is no truer than for the proud Basque people who inhabit the rugged coasts of the North. Just like the English ‘go on holiday to Europe’ so the Basques ‘go on holiday
Ituren Carnival: 31st January 2011 After a mug of hot broth, (caldo), traditionally made from boiled pork and chickens feet, we climbed the steps to the attic rooms above the town hall and plunged into a frenzy of bells and ropes, of sheep’s skins and brightly-coloured swaddling ribbons. No, don’t be misled by the pretty pinks