Basque Country from A to Z (by Dave)

The last few days have been busy. We’ve been on the go a lot and if it feels like we’ve seen everything from A to Z, well, we pretty much have. Here’s a partial list of some of the towns we’ve visited so far: Ajangiz, Aranzazu, Azpeitia, Bergara, Bermeo, Bilbao, Bolibar, Donostia-San Sebastián, Ea, Elantxobe, Elorrio, Ereño, Forua, Gautegiz-Arteaga, Kortezubi, Lumo, Markina, Mendata, Nabarniz, Oñate, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Zumarraga, and Zurautz. Not to mention Gernika itself, which is just a kilometer away from our residence in Ajangiz and which we visit just about every day. Tomorrow we’re headed to Donostia and then Hondarribia, right at the French border. On Tuesday we’re going to take in the local fiestas at Forua with José Antonio and Iñaki and on Wednesday we’ll be heading to Nafarroa (Navarre), where we’ll spend three days before returning “home” to Alcalá de Henares.

As wonderful as the scenery and culture have been during our stay, I think the most rewarding part of our trip has been the personal contacts that we’ve developed while we’ve been here. On a professional level, I was able to visit with Cameron Watson, a Basque Studies professor who now lives in Elorrio. Cameron supervised an invaluable independent study course I took a couple of years ago through the University of Nevada, Reno in modern Basque history (which in turn played a major role in an academic article that I have just had accepted for publication). I also enjoyed catching up with Idoia Mallea, a specialist in the social geography of the Basque Country who now runs the Basque immigration museum in Mendata and who has been generous with us to a fault (the kids came away from their last visit to the museum with new Mendata t-shirts and hats. Trés chic. I’m sure you’ll spot them in future postings).

Especially rewarding have been our visits with our relatives in Gernika, José Antonio, Begoña, and Iñaki. Tío José Antonio and tía Begoña warmly welcomed us into their home and their son Iñaki has proved to be as excellent a guide to the history and landscape of Bizkaia as he is an expert in family history and genealogy (which is saying a lot). It’s been absolutely wonderful to spend time with them. Our kids also met, briefly, two of their other cousins, Aitor and Markel (ages 13 and 11). They were headed out of town so the visit was short, but we’re hoping to see them again before we go home.

Finally, we were able to renew some friendships with members of the Bilbao branch. Ángel Lizarralde and his wife Maite treat us like family although we’ve only met them a couple of times at church; we chatted briefly with Iñaki Odriazola, who may know more about Basque genealogy than anyone else around; we even met a former member of the Bilbao branch who had left Bilbao years ago and just happened to be visiting the same Sunday we were: it turns out she now lives in Mapleton and runs a small business with her husband around the corner from the Springville Walmart. Talk about a small world!