Azpeitia Oinez
Today we traveled to Azpeitia to take part in the Kilometroak, which is kind of a walk-a-thon to support Basque-speaking schools. We made a connection in Donosti, where a soccer match between Real Sociedad and Atletic Bilbao was taking place, so there were loads of people in the streets wearing jerseys and drinking beer and kalimotxo (coke+red wine=yikes-a-doodle) at 11 a.m. There were a lot of stands and signs promoting the use of Euskara. This one says "The Basque Country in Euskara," which is a group that lobbies the government for increased rights for Euskara speakers.
There was a scything competition-Basque Country vs. Germany-other than this one super-tough German lady, the Basque contestants all won the other contests that we saw. There are a lot of competitive sports here based on farming tasks, and people get really into them, and sometimes place bets. Lots of people here still scythe their hay fields by hand-the fields are often very steep and I would not be surprised to see livestock that evolved to have two legs shorter than the others...yesterday I was behind a flock of sheep as they were being herded to a new field, and as they ran downhill to get to the stream, I could smell the mint they were crushing, which grows wild all over.
As the day progressed, the crowds became more and more lively. It was probably 90 degrees out and people were trying to stay cool, which at festivals like these usually involves a fair amount of drinking. This band was playing 'La Bamba' in Euskara. At one point I also heard "My Sharona," also in Euskara. The ice cream stands were doing really well, and there were lots of trinkets-these stands seem to be mostly dominated by Peruvians, for some reason.
The Sanctuary of Loyola is in Azpeitia. It was closed for the 
festivities, but Ignatius of Loyola or Iñaki as he is known here was Basque. The landscape is very dramatic-everywhere where you can see rows of trees, those are Monterey pine plantations-and the elevation is no joke. In spite of the all-sausages all-the-time diet, it is a challenge to get too obese. Up next: how you know when you're not in the land of the Anglo-Saxons no more..
Today we traveled to Azpeitia to take part in the Kilometroak, which is kind of a walk-a-thon to support Basque-speaking schools. We made a connection in Donosti, where a soccer match between Real Sociedad and Atletic Bilbao was taking place, so there were loads of people in the streets wearing jerseys and drinking beer and kalimotxo (coke+red wine=yikes-a-doodle) at 11 a.m. There were a lot of stands and signs promoting the use of Euskara. This one says "The Basque Country in Euskara," which is a group that lobbies the government for increased rights for Euskara speakers.
There was a scything competition-Basque Country vs. Germany-other than this one super-tough German lady, the Basque contestants all won the other contests that we saw. There are a lot of competitive sports here based on farming tasks, and people get really into them, and sometimes place bets. Lots of people here still scythe their hay fields by hand-the fields are often very steep and I would not be surprised to see livestock that evolved to have two legs shorter than the others...yesterday I was behind a flock of sheep as they were being herded to a new field, and as they ran downhill to get to the stream, I could smell the mint they were crushing, which grows wild all over.
As the day progressed, the crowds became more and more lively. It was probably 90 degrees out and people were trying to stay cool, which at festivals like these usually involves a fair amount of drinking. This band was playing 'La Bamba' in Euskara. At one point I also heard "My Sharona," also in Euskara. The ice cream stands were doing really well, and there were lots of trinkets-these stands seem to be mostly dominated by Peruvians, for some reason.
The Sanctuary of Loyola is in Azpeitia. It was closed for the 
festivities, but Ignatius of Loyola or Iñaki as he is known here was Basque. The landscape is very dramatic-everywhere where you can see rows of trees, those are Monterey pine plantations-and the elevation is no joke. In spite of the all-sausages all-the-time diet, it is a challenge to get too obese. Up next: how you know when you're not in the land of the Anglo-Saxons no more..
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