Our Travels

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 12, 2012 - BILBAO, SPAIN - Overnight we traveled the 150 nautical miles to Bilbao, Spain. Our schedule is for two days at this port. The plans for our first day here included a 9:00 a.m. departure for a group tour of Cruise Critic associates in a large bus that held 45-50 passengers. Andrew, one the members of the group, had organized this tour which, in spite of the large group, was fairly enjoyable. Unlike the general assumption about Cruise Critic organized tours, i.e., smaller groups--usually no more than 12-14 with a guide--Andrew felt it was a real accomplishment to fill this large bus.

In the heart of the Basque Country, the city of Bilbao welcomed us with its love of food, wine, laughter, and bull fighting. Ambitious architectural, and general infrastructure projects have fueled the urban and financial regeneration of this city. The Guggenheim Museum; the Concert Hall and Convention Center; the underground; the airport; and the new tram, are just some examples of the overwhelming vitality that permeates Bilbao.

From our balcony, as we first awakened, we could faintly see Bilbao though the fog (and camera) made this picture somewhat unclear.

Then, these interesting scenes.

Once on the bus, (you will note) many of these pictures were taken through the bus windows as we drove through the city.

After the city tour, we departed traveling north into the mountains of the Gipuzkoa for our first stop, a winery called Talai Berry Txakolina where a tasting had been scheduled.

The flowers outside the winery...

and inside, in front of the large vats where the wine making process is explained to us.

The group waits for the bus after the wine tasting.

Back on the bus we traveled along the beautiful Atlantic coastline toward the city of Gernika.

The town of Gernika was founded on April 28, 1366. On a small hill in the town stands the Meeting House and the famous Tree of Gernika. By ancient tradition, Basques, and indeed other peoples in Medieval Europe, held assemblies under a tree, usually an oak, to discuss matters affecting the community. In the Basque Country (Biscay) each administrative district had its appointed tree, but over the centuries the Tree of Guernica acquired particular importance. It stood in the parish of Lumo, on a site known as Gernikazarra, beside a small shrine. The laws of Biscay continued to be drawn up under this tree until 1876, with each town and village in the province sending two representatives to the sessions, known as General Assemblies. This early form of democracy was recorded by the poet Wordsworth and others.

Below, (inside shrine) is The Tree of Gernika (the trunk of the old tree).

The trees are always renewed from their own acorns. One of these trees (the "Old Tree") lived until the 19th century, and may be seen, as a dry stump, near the assembly house. A tree planted in 1860 to replace it died in 2004 and was in turn replaced; the sapling that had been chosen to become the official Oak of Guernica is also sick so the tree will not be replaced until the earth around the site has been restored to health.