Legal Ruralism: My Rural Travelogue (Part XXVI): A drive through the Basque country

Sunday, September 8, 2019

My Rural Travelogue (Part XXVI): A drive through the Basque country

During my recent visit to the Iberian peninsula Europe, I spent a few nights in Bilbao and, on the day between, drove into the countryside, initial destination Guernica, the spiritual home of the Basque people and the target of Franco's 1937 bombing of the civilian population. (Needless to say, the two are related). That crime against humanity inspired Picasso's well-known painting, Guernica.

Like so much of Basque country, I found Guernica tidy and attractive. I also found a very helpful woman in the tourist information office who suggested I visit the Urdaibai Bird Center about 10 kilometers away in Gautegiz Arteaga. (Urdaibai is apparently the name of this subregion). That was a great tip, as the interpretive materials about bird migration and the importance of this region to that phenomenon were fabulous. While there, I had the chance to poke around and see some neighboring residents' garden plots, like the one below. I then continued on north through Ibarranguelua to Elantxobe, right on the Cantabrian Sea.

Barn, above housing development, in Gautegiz Arteaga
in the province of Bizkaia/Biscay
(c) Lisa R. Pruitt 2019

Along the way, I saw a few cows and one barn set up above some relatively new housing units. So, the area is agricultural, yes, but that aspect of the economy does not loom particularly large to the casual observer (like me).

On my way back to Bilbao, I stopped for gasoline and saw bags of oranges for sale at the gas station. I also saw a truck loaded with freshly cut logs, apparently coming in from this heavily forested, mountain region.

Grocery story sign, apparently advertising that the tomatoes are locally grown,
including by this farmer. Interestingly the store's name is "BM Urban" (c) Lisa R. Pruitt 2019