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Over the hills to Elantxobe

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On a day when the sun neither came nor went, we decided to go for a drive to the fishing village of Elantxobe. We wound up and down through wooded hills, until we found it gleaming beneath us.

We parked beside the fishing boats, and wandered out along the wide concrete arms of the harbour. It was hard to imagine storms in the calm, but the muscle in those protective limbs made it clear that the town remembered.

From the harbour we took the cobbled street that twisted up through the houses behind. It was so steep that we abandoned it after a short while, opting instead to walk back up to a cafe we spotted on the edge of the road we’d just driven down. This boulder was outside the cafe. Below it was a sign which said that the rock weighed 301kg, and that it had been thrown to that point by the storm of the 30th of January 1990.

Suddenly the geography and forces of nature surrounding the little harbour became much clearer.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

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A postcard for Sunday – Arántzazu

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This photograph was taken on a wet, cold, windy day in September 2022. The church is part of the Franciscan Sanctuary of Our Lady of Arántzazu. We found it at the end of the lonely road we’d followed up into the Aizkorri mountains after our lunch at Oñati.

The drive was dramatic. Forested limestone valleys, drifting with clouds, dropped away beside us, the edges getting steeper the higher we climbed.

It felt truly remote and wild, with the exception of the excellent road which delivered us to a huge car park, with the church at the far end. Both were virtually empty. The closer we got to the church the more imposing it became. It was unlike any religious building I had ever seen – more knuckle duster than warm welcome. The entrance was down a ramp beneath the barred windows on the right. Once inside, it didn’t feel much sunnier.

The wonder for me were the mountains, and the view of the sanctuary complex from behind the church.

If you’re feeling curious here is a link that explains the context and the architecture of the church

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023

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A glass of sagardoa in Oñati, in the rain

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We visited Oñati on a wet weekend. It was a place to stop en route to the monastery just beyond the town. Hoping for lunch we parked the car, and went off in search of the main square.

In the end it was easy to find as we could hear it before we could see it, and most people seemed to be heading in that direction.

The square’s porticos were old and imposing, with music pounding out from one corner, where a large group of parents with pushchairs seemed to be registering for an event. Avoiding the rain we squeezed through them, and made our way round to one of the less crowded cafes on the far side of the square.

We chose the first one we came to. We were early customers, and a table in the corner was free, so we settled in with a bowl piled with olives, a plate of hot, paprika-spiced chips, and some sagardoa (cider) to try. The sagardoa was served by a young woman, who poured the golden liquid from about a foot above the glass, explaining that it always had to be poured from height.

Slowly we dried out, lingering over coffee, and enjoying the warmth and the chat as the bar filled up behind us.

Here’s a link with a sagardoa example.

Copyright Georgie Knaggs & The Phraser 2023