It’s been a relatively quiet summer. Since we returned from Scotland, we’ve been home for 3 months straight (except for our 2-night escape to Bilbao for the Blues Festival). That’s unusual for us. And it certainly hasn’t happened in quite some time considering our two extra-long trips in 2022/23 and 2023/24. In fact, we realized that we haven’t been in San Sebastian for two winters now! We haven’t had a stream of visitors to entertain this year, so we’ve enjoyed the routine, including paddle boarding when the weather cooperated, and now September has brought opportunities for basking in the Basqueness of late summer.
San Sebastian hosts the premier rowing regatta (since 1879) and each year we learn more about the teams and event history. The boats used in these competitions are based on whaling and fishing boats – a pillar of the maritime focused economy of the recent past. These are not the thin, sleek sculls used in collegiate or Olympic rowing; they are built for the ocean. There are 13 rowers and a coxswain. This year I watched the men’s qualification round where more than 20 boats raced the 3 nautical miles for the 8 spots in the weekends’ regattas. It was amazing to see them all starting and finishing in La Concha Bay.
We watched the races on television, where you can see better the work involved and the entire route. The defending champions in both the men’s and women’s races easily won again.
A friend organized an American-style potluck luncheon at another friend’s Basque “sociedad” (a membership based gastronomic club). This particular group is an association of engineers. Sociedads offer large kitchens and dining rooms to host communal meals. Few people have the space here to host such events at home, plus these locations have professional level kitchens. We met several new people, mostly locals, and enjoyed a great feast. The oldest sociedad in the city dates to 1870 (even before the regattas began!).
This week we hiked with friends from Zarautz to Getaria, but this time rather than taking the coastal path along the water, we hiked over and through the hills separating the cities. We started on the beach while the skies were still grey from the morning rain.
The route goes through txaikoli vineyards (the local white wine varietal) and is incredibly scenic.
We returned via the coastal route. Although we usually don’t walk both ways, having eaten and drank too much, since the sun had come out, we decided we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to enjoy it.
Basque traditions and the beautiful landscape and culinary opportunities never get old.
This year we are missing the San Sebastian International Film Festival for the first time in 7 years. A small part of us is sorry to break the streak, but mostly we’re happy to skip the amount of time we invest each year and the frustrations that the ticket purchase process inevitably involves. I’m sure we’ll return to the festival next year refreshed from the year off.
We are looking forward to welcoming dear friends this week and to eating, drinking and being merry with them in our favorite places. Then we’re off to DC, Boston, Maine and New Hampshire.
Hasta pronto,
Shana & Jeff
