Basque Country Day Two

'ello, readers! When I left you last night I was headed out for a promenade through Vitoria - and what a promenade it was! My friend Pablo had said, 'Eh, maybe thirty minute walk?' - which I knew was probably understating how late we would be out, but I went along with it. I'm here to experience new cultures, not new couches in random parts of the world! I assumed we'd walk around for a bit, maybe meet up with his friend that still lives in town, get a beer, be back by midnight.

Well, there was no beer. We didn't meet up with his friend. Instead, we walked all around the old part of the city... and we didn't get back until about 2a.m. It. Was. Fabulous.

One of the nice things about taking a walking tour at night was the fact that there were no cars driving. Like... at all. There were some parked on the street, but I think I saw three cars in motion the entire time we were in the old part of town. Vitoria is the green capital of Europe for 2012 for a reason - a lot of people walk, there are great bike paths, they have made a huge effort to protect the areas around the city from urban sprawl, etc. And, like Madrid, there are statues EVERYWHERE. It's so lovely, the old part town is like a museum of classical art, modern, history and architecture.

Vitoria has four main 'towers' from old cathedrals. There are also some 'newer' cathedrals and churches (Pablo kept telling me about the modern architecture... of like 1850), but the important ones are from anywhere between the 11th and 15th centuries. Historians said Vitoria was settled in around 1180A.D. or so, but recent discoveries of skeletons in one of the cathedrals proved to be from about 700A.D. Thus, historians are reluctant to make claims about the age of the city now. 

The culture of the area is almost overwhelming. Everywhere you look there is graffiti calling for Basque independence or for the return of the prisoners held in France and other parts of Spain. Basque separatism is a huge political issue, though I was told that they are still the minority. The culture of the Basque region is different than the rest of Spain; their language is the oldest in Europe, they have a different style of living, and they consider themselves to be autonomous from the rest of the country. While this has always been the case, under the regime of Franco, people in the region were forced to speak Spanish, and certain Basque speakers were jailed for continuing to speak in their native tongue. This sparked a lot of discontent among the people in the region, which is still a problem today. I had heard a little about the violence of the separatists (apparently they've been likened to the IRA, though the politics separatist movements are very different for the two factions) before my trip, but apparently there were plenty of terrible acts committed for the 'sake of independence.' Thankfully, the most radical Basque group (the one that is currently being held outside of the Basque region for the violent acts they've committed) has signed a permanent cease-fire. If you want to know more, I'm sure you can look it up, but it's just interesting to be in an area where the opinions are so strong. There is little violence now (maybe just some teenagers screwing around, nothing serious), but in the past it was a major concern. 

These were the subjects of my walk last night; art, history, politics, jazz... there's a big jazz festival every year in Vitoria - they even have a statue of Wynton Marsalis leaning against a park bench where they have the names of all the major jazz groups that have performed here over the years; Muddy Waters, Dizzy Gillespie, Ella Fitzgerald, etc. 

We ended up walking through the Vitoria train station, checking out the tracks. Pablo is a nut for trains; he's actually heading on a trip to take the Trans-Siberian Railway this summer with his brother. It's funny, he's so delighted by trains that I've been completely inspired to take more trains in the future. 

By the time I got to bed (next to the model train that Pablo's family has put together over the years) I was delirious with exhaustion... definitely forgot to say thank you and goodnight again. I'll have to work harder on that!

Today we toured around the countryside. Pablo's brother Miguel took us to a bunch of old towns and to see some reservoirs in the countryside. The region reminds me a lot of Colorado - it's ridiculously green, there are tons of pine trees (and other deciduous trees as well, though I'm not sure the names of them), and cows EVERYWHERE. Also, I saw a lot of very shaggy (and very fat) horses and ponies. So cute.

I'm in love. Everywhere you look there's another old church, or someone is road biking, or you pass by a quasi-modern statue. Did I mention it's beautiful? And the people are incredibly outdoors-y and active? And that all the signs are in Basque and Spanish?

Okay, I'm done gushing.

So, that's about all I have to report for the day. We're heading back out for some shopping, etc. this afternoon, then I believe it's beers and pintxos again tonight... we'll see. I'm just sort of going along with a huge grin on my face and no idea what's happening next. It's been pretty awesome.

All right. I'm off to find some coffee... and maybe some chocolate. We'll see what Vitoria has to offer in the way of mid-afternoon pick-me-ups!

Cheers!