Today we traversed the northern coast of Spain from Galicia across the autonomous communities of Asturias and Cantabria into Pais Vasco (Basque Country) and its westernmost province of Biskaia. The trip took seven hours, but the 300-foot drops into forested gorges and the craggy, sheer shores of the Cantabrian Sea a quarter mile from our bus´s left windows kept it interesing. The morning started out foggy and misty, as most have lately, and cooled as we ascended and drove east.
We stopped in a tiny fishing village called Cudillero for lunch, and a glance down the shoreline reminded me of that foggy, eerie feel of the coast in the movie ¨The Goonies¨. We tried the local cookies, called ¨suspiros¨, while there. On our way east we cruised through Oviedo and Santander. I met some cool folks at the tourist office just into Cantabria on highway E-70 during a bathroom break. Juan Diego, half Mexican and half Cantabrian, said he´d take me hiking the Picos anytime.
One thing I noticed on the drive from Madrid to Santiago, and again as we left Santiago for Bilbao, is that the roofs in the north are shingled and black, as opposed to central and southern Spain´s curved, terra cotta clay tops. Other things I noticed: there are ¨deer crossing¨ signs here, too. Oh, and they have Iberian Wolves here similar to MN´s timber wolves, but even more scarce.
Last night as a sendoff to ourselves, the group went out and ordered tapas to feed three dozen people: tortilla española, ensalada mixta, salchichas al vino (little sausages in white wine, very oily and tough but flavorful), tostada con jamón serrano (thick toasted bread with proscuitto), and ¨pimientos de Padron¨, which are small, green peppers that are toasted and served salted in a light oil. They are known for their flavor, but also because one out of every five or six peppers is REALLY spicy (beyond jalapeño-hot). The problem is, they´re so damn good, it´s hard to stop.
Today as we reached Bilbao the anxiety of the students became more evident, as the volume level in the back of the coach bus kept those of us at the front shouting to communicate. The host families seemed top-notch, so I am hoping for no phone calls mid-week about stuff like, ¨All they eat is squid¨, or ¨I miss my Simpsons¨...everyone in the group is pretty open-minded, but we have our share of pampered kids who have never been outside of their gated mentality. Pampered kids, orthodox Jews, ice cream-a-holics and vegetarians. (It makes meal time interesting.)
An industrial city of about a half-million people, Bilbao (known affectionately as ¨the hole¨ in Euskera, or Basque) is actually quite trendy. The Guggenheim sits on Ría de Bilbao (river) and brings just enough tourist revenue to make it one of the more expensive cities in northern Spain to live and party. er...live, anyway. I plan to get to know this place next week, and maybe catch a Jai Alai game, but Pamplona awaits tomorrow and into the weekend.
Speaking of Pamplona, tonight as I unpacked in the hotel, I turned on the news to get used to hearing the local Basque tongue, and the 8AM news ran a slow motion video of this morning´s running of the bulls to the music of the Doors´ ¨Riders on the Storm¨. Ha! It was hilarious to see 500kg beasts lumber over drunk tourists to a soundtrack of Jim Morrison. Euskera sounds to me like a mix of Japanese and 2% milk (whatever that means), but with a cute Spanish woman mumbling those unfamiliar sounds. In Galicia, at least the language was understandable as an ancestor of Portuguese and Castillian. Here in Basque Country, the language is beyond me. And where Galicians like to spell with Xs, the Basque folk really dig their Ks.
Mom almost brought me to tears with her email yesterday. It went something like this: ¨It’s 8 AM here. At this time 28 years ago I was at the bathroom sink putting on makeup and putting hot rollers in my hair (between contractions) so that I would look nice at the hospital. At 9 AM we left the Winona house and headed down the highway to LaCrosse to have you. Every year on your birthday I check the sky— on the day you were born the sky was bright blue with big fluffy white clouds...¨ I see where I get my vanity. Love you, mom.
P.S. Congrats to Andy and Mandy, who are going to be initiated into parenthood early in 2007. Also, hooray for Alissa, who made it to Prague yestarday (say hi to Luis for me), and for Ann, who should be summiting Machu Picchu about now.
