Olentzero – an inseparable part of Basque Christmas Traditions As you would expect even Basque Christmas traditions dig deep into their pagan past. Here, during the winter months, the flint-grey skies linger over the Baztan Valley while the ember-red autumn leaves burn out slowly and silently on the forest floor. Even the mighty autumn winds,
Who were the Witches of Zugarramurdi? Zugarramurdi is a tiny bucolic Basque village nestling in the foothills of the western Pyrenees. Innocuously the name Zugarramurdi means ‘hill of elm trees’, although today it is far better known for its caves and witches than for its hills and elms. However, this is the site of the most brutal witch
Basajaun, which literally means ‘Lord of the Forest’, is one of the main characters in Basque Mythology. He is depicted as a large, hairy human-like creature who makes his home in caves deep in the forests of the Pyrenees, the mountain range which runs across the northern Spanish/French border. It appears that the myth of
I know, I know, I have written about the Ituren carnivals many times before (see links below) but the reaction is so raw, so overwhelming each single time we participate that I feel compelled to put it down. They are not my people, I am from a ‘middle-class’ Birmingham suburb with Accessorise and John Lewis down
The origins of the Basque people has been a subject of great debate, and of great political interest. Here is a study on the people of the Baztan Valley, a traditional Basque valley in the northern Pyrenean valleys of Navarre which throws some light on the subject. The People of the Baztan Valley In 2010 a team
The Telephone Call Our self-guided walks in the Pyrenees were pitchforked into action after a phone call from a Houston lawyer around Christmas 2012. Steve was heading to the Basque Country with a group of lawyer friends and wanted me to design 6 days of self-guided walks in the Pyrenees to lead them over the