The Basque Country: St Jean de Luz, Bayonne, Biarritz
Of all the ethnic groups that comprise Europe, the Basques would appear to be the most deserving of self-determination since they comprise such a distinctive people, with a language not related to any other known language – certainly not Indo-European – and even having a different predominant blood group, O Rhesus negative, from the rest of their continental neighbors. Yet, for centuries, they have been partitioned between France and Spain and France, two of their historic provinces in the former and five in the latter. A popular Basque separatist slogan, to be seen painted on public buildings, is: 4 +3 = 1.
In warm Indian summer conditions – what the French call a ‘St Michael’s Summer’ – we sailed along the Côte Basque towards our anchorage in the delightful fishing harbor and resort town of St Jean de Luz. Our morning walking tour included a visit to the church of St Jean Baptiste with its traditional Basque balconies. In this church, the young King Louis XIV was married to the Spanish Infanta, Maria Teresa, in 1660. The impressive house in which he stayed in preparation for the ceremony — Maison Loius XIV — was close by, as was the home of the composer Maurice Ravel, from a later period. A great advantage to holding our walking tour in the morning was the opportunity to visit the lively and colorful produce market which provided photo opportunities galore.
An afternoon option provided an opportunity to visit the contrasting towns of Bayonne and Biarritz. Bayonne has given its name both to the bayonet and to a delicious style of ham. It has numerous artisan chocolatiers and their drinking chocolate is to die for. Its cathedral, dedicated to Mary, contains an early representation (on a roof boss in the transept) of a central stern rudder, an invention for which the Basques take credit. This boss has recently undergone restoration that revealed it to be a Lübeck cog of the Hanseatic fleet, suggesting that these vessels were made for the League by the Basques whose skills as ship-builders in the Middle Ages are well documented. The spectacular coastline around the resort of Biarritz, popular with European aristocrats of the Belle-Époque – as a Russian Orthodox Church testified - has been given a new lease of life with the surge of interest in surfing, for this is a stretch of coastline exposed to Atlantic rollers.
Not having to depart until midnight, many of us understandably took advantage of the chance to dine ashore in the numerous restaurants specializing in the local cuisine, especially as the exceptional weather invited al fresco dining. As a starter at dinner our galley had prepared the local some delicacies of Basque cheeses complemented with fig preserves and honey, a local tradition.
