Handpicked; Ben´s top 5
The Basque Country, or ‘Pais Vasco’, is an incredible fusion of wilderness and fine culture; a place to find deep forest clad mountainsides falling into wild oceans or to find Michelin-star chefs serving extraordinary local cuisine.
“It’s why, of all the places my unexpectedly nomadic life has taken me, I’ve decided to settle here. As a person, I am equally happy living in the Peruvian rainforest or dressing up for the Balshoi Ballet, but I need both to keep my body, mind and spirit happy. The Basque Country scratches all these itches.”
1) Bar Antonio, Donostia-San Sebastian – the best tortilla ever
San Sebastian, or Donosti as we should be calling it, is genuinely a culinary Mecca. With more 3-star Michelin restaurants than anywhere else in the country (3 of them can be found here, with Barcelona and Madrid each having 2 a-piece), it’s not hard to find high quality food by just roaming around town. However, if the quality of a Spanish tortilla is your benchmark of gastronomic excellence, as it is for me, Bar Antonio is your destination, signed locally as ‘Antonio Bar’. A classic street corner bar with high-end pinxos (“pin-choss”) aka. tapas, their famous tortilla is the perfect blend of a gently crisped outside with a soft centre. Although it’s ultimately just potato and egg, it’s genuinely worth the trip and afterwards you can sip a cold ‘caña’ of beer, nibble on any variety of pinxos suitable for any dietary needs, and maybe even learn a bit of Euskera (the Basque language) from your neighbours at the bar.
2) Lekeitio – my favourite Basque town
Along the wild Atlantic coast of Spain you can unsurprisingly find a vast number of beautiful little fishing villages and towns. But what is somewhat surprising, unlike many of their other European counterparts, is that these coastal settlements still have small but active fishing fleets. Lekeitio is one of these, nestled along the mountainous coastline away from the main Basque highway route. Where Basque whalers used set out centuries before, now the odd local fishing crew head off into the deep dark blue waters, returning with all sorts of bounty from the sea. Sitting at one of the harbourside cafes and watching the boats come in is a beautiful way to pass a morning.
The reason Lekeitio is a particular favourite of mine is that, in the afternoon you might then walk out along the strange tidal causeway to the small forested island which lies just offshore, explore the woods and rocks for a bit, before returning to the beach and cooling down with a dip in the crystal clear water of Karraspio beach. Hanging out with the smiling Lekeitio locals always reminds me that it’s just a good place to be.
The 3 best hotels in Lekeitio:
* Hotel Zubieta
* Hotel Silken Palacio Uribarren
* Hotel Metrokua
3) Cima Ogoño – a wild hill climb
Accessed from the car park located above Elantxobe (“Eh-lan-cho-beh”), there are a few marked trails leading you around this wild mountain, ideal for short walks of up to an hour. A mixture of the cursed eucalyptus (I’ll tell you more about these some other time...) and glorious native forest, you’ll definitely come across wild boar tracks if not the creatures themselves, and feel like you’re pressing deeper and deeper into some kind of wild enchantment.
The final part of the climb is a rock-to-rock scramble through montane scrub to a quite spectacular view of the coastline and estuary below you. There are some odd stainless steel boxes mounted up here. If you find out their function, let me know. Also, keep an eye out for local walkers - Basque folk love hiking and you want to make sure you don’t miss the opportunity to say ‘aupa’ (“ow-pa” literally means ‘wow’, but used for ‘hi’) or ‘agur’ (“a-guur” = goodbye).
4) Urdaibai Bird Centre – see amazing birdlife near the world class waves of Mundaka
This is quite niche but I truly believe there’s no better way to regularly connect with the marvels of nature than to get some binoculars and watch the birds. Their colours, movements, variation and majesty can bring a deep peace, and they’re found everywhere. The bird hides at Urdaibai are positioned around the brackish lagoons and reed beds of the upper estuary and as well as seeing a host of waders (storks, egrets, sandpipers etc.), you’ll see kingfishers and woodpeckers among many others, and may even get the opportunity of watching the rare and weird looking spoonbill sifting for invertebrates or maybe an osprey on the hunt.
Mundaka
If this isn’t your cup of tea and you need a bit more vicarious excitement, you could head a bit north to the estuary mouth where, if you’re lucky and the world famous wave at Mundaka is working, you’ll have a grandstand view of the surfers trying their luck on the breakers barrelling over the sandbars. If you do surf and are keen, be mindful of quite a territorial local crew.
5) Gaztelugatxeko – a real life Game of Thrones castle
You don’t have to have seen Game of Thrones to appreciate The San Juan Hermitage, whose Basque name I can’t even start to pronounce. The jagging, raised causeway that runs across the rocks to join the island to the mainland is iconic and will immediately transport fans to Dragonstone and the Targaryens. It’s a remarkable sight, let alone an experience to cross with the often raging sea on both sides.
The 9th century hermitage, as is fitting, is very modest indeed and definitely not a castle, so it’s really the wild ruggedness that draws people here. Feel the wind in your hair, the salt on your skin, and maybe the whispers of Daenerys on the wind. If you’re more into sacred architecture and after something more Vatican-like, head inland to the Basilica at the Sanctuary of Loyola in Azpeitia where, under the spectacular dome, you’ll find gold leaf and putti galore.
