Mundaka

Last week reminded us of the rainy conditions of the Basque Country. It must have rained here at least 80% of the time. I thought it very appropriate for the planned blog post about our next stop in our tour of the Gernika estuary. So I had a story with many photos written and ready. Then all was lost! Where, I do not know. It is the first time that has happened. I will try again today, though the weather this week is very different, sunny and warm, even hot and muggy. We are now enclosed by a wonderfully green canopy of woodland foliage.
Continuing our story,... 
That same day last June, our guide and friend was eager to show us all the beauiful sights of the Biscayan coastline, but it became apparent that the rain would hamper his plans. Of course, in customary Basque fashion, he was prepared for the eventuality of rain and soon took out three umbrellas.

As we wound our way through narrow streets...

...headed toward the quaint fishing village of Mundaka,...

...we noticed other uses for umbrellas.

This small fishing village has retained its traditional charm while, at the same time, gaining worldwide fame among surfers for its "left-hand point break at the mouth of the River Urdabai." I copied that from a tourist publication about Bizkaia, and have no idea what that means. I have heard and read that Mundaka has the best left wave in Europe, is one of the top ten choice surfing spots in the world, and because of that hosts the Billabong Pro world championships every year.

Rain and hunger forced led us into Bar Txopos, with all its surfing memorabilia, for a late lunch.

The restaurant is used to catering to international visitors. Famous surfers from Australia, Brazil, and the USA have left their imprint.

Despite the wonderful array of pintxos,...

...some in our party opted for hamburgers and fries, and even Alberto decided to try the American fare.

As we ate we watched videos of surfing events.

In the YouTube videos I've watched, I often see this charming chapel that stands above the breaking point of the huge waves. 

I read of other wonderful sites further along the coast and understand why Alberto was so disappointed. Alas, due to the weather and time constraints we never got there.

Perhaps another time?

A bit of historic trivia from the tourist brochure:

Did you know that Juan Zuría, the first Lord of Biscay and son of a Scottish princess, was born in Mundaka? 

My answer is: No, of course not. Are you kidding? Just like I know nothing about surfing.
Interestingly, however, I recently talked with the grandmother of a young woman who now lives and works in Basque Country because her husband teaches surfing in the area we visited. As the saying goes "It's a small world." (El mundo es un pañuelo.)

Week 22

Sunday was a big family day--Kayla's final dance recital before she goes to college. She was in ten group dances and had three solos. In the middle of her self-choreographed senior solo, a sudden shrill interruption--the fire alarm! The first instant we wondered if she had switched up the music, but then she stopped and looked puzzled. We all filed out and waited for the fire department to arrive, conduct an inspection and declare all was clear. Plenty of time for some photos. Later we got to watch her special solo a second time!

Kayla and Hannah



Kayla and Center Stage director



The Koch Family

Monday, Chef had a surprise for me  at the dinner--an ice sculptured center piece.

Happy Birthday MOM

They also had a gift for both of us for our family photo wall.

It is very difficult to capture the many facets of an ice sculpture photographically. I tried twenty two times, and now I'm having a hard time choosing which ones to show you. This one is artistic looking and shows the flowers--a tulip and lilies of the valley, my favorites.

I like this one too--David examining the melting piece. The edges of the leaves and petals were beginning to poke through. Ice melts at the rate of 1/4" an hour at room temperature and becomes glossy and clear.

Tuesday, hmmm...no new photo, but I spent almost every minute working on a photo book for Kayla's graduation gift.

Wednesday , more rain, the theme of the week. However, that day it hailed and the tornado siren sent us downstairs where I got this photo of our new little garden covered over by moth-ball-size hail.

Thursday was Mike's birthday; he caught up with me now!
At this stage in life we do not need more things, so I spent a few hours vacuuming and detailing his car as my gift. In the evening we went out to a nice restaurant, The Mill.

Friday, more of the same, off and on rain all week! In the evening we watched the grandsons in Muncie so Sam and Kristie could go meet with friends. It was an active time. I only managed one photo.

Saturday afternoon we were back in Muncie for a graduation open house. It is that time of year.

We stopped at Sam's workshop, always a pleasure to see him and what he is up to in his neatly organized custom woodworking shop.

Week 21

Half of the week was gone before I realized I had forgotten to take pictures, even when I had opportunities. What's up with that? Maybe my birthday had something to do with it.
I think I made up for the lack of photos in the latter part of the week.
First, though, a couple of flower pics from last week.

Lilies of the valley are so abundant right now, my favorites.

What are these lovely little wild flowers?

So, yes, Wednesday was my birthday and I wrote a rather lengthy reflective post About Getting Older.

Thursday we met half way with dear friends we had worked with forty years ago in Germany and Austria. The agreed upon half-way point was Ivan and Kim's in Jonesville, Michigan. We had such a wonderful time all together sharing life stories and enjoying great food at The Saucy Dog.

Old Yellar and home made potato chips

Friday I drove to Warsaw to Global Auto my youngest brother's shop. He replaced the battery in my car and I went across town to Grace Village to visit with Mother and Dad.

Today, Saturday, Mother and I were given a tour of some of the available apartments at Grace Village and picked one that met her criteria and is close to a missionary friend. The next month or so we hope to have her moved in. 

Aunt Margaret and Mother

I visited my college dean who recently moved to Grace Village. She still remembers some of the horror stories of the job when she felt like the "wicked witch of the east", as she puts it. If I  live to be 94 like her I hope I can be such a lovely person. I doubt I could ever remember as much as she does.

With Miriam Uphouse Christiansen, my college dean of women

There was a fancy Mother-Daughter tea at Mother's church.

Mike spent the day at an Art Fair.

Paseo por Gernika

Continuing our stroll through the famous city...

Our guide and friend, Alberto, must have felt very frustrated (and weary!) trying to show us so many amazing places in such a brief visit. For us too it was a lot to process in a short time. So I continue reviewing the photos of our trip, researching, and learning. However, I really want to wrap up the long narrative of our one-hour visit to Gernika in this post. The following are sights we were privileged to see that are listed among the most important.

~~ la Iglesia Santa Mara de la Antigua, already spotted in a previous photo,  in the center, the high point
of the city.


This parish church took three hundred years to complete. Construction  in the Gothic style began in 1418.

Parish Church of Santa María

~~la Iglesia de Santa Clara. Had we followed the path of the Camino pilgrims, as indicated on the Plano turístico, we would have seen its cupola first thing on our right. 

The site has been a place of worship from time immemorial, before records were kept. In 1422 it became a convent for Franciscan nuns, and in 1619 a cloistered order of Santa Clara.

Santa Clara eliza

The current building that houses the nuns was built in 1880.
This photo reminds me of when Alberto pointed out, "That is where the clarisas live." In an e-mail before our trip, in reference to the oft rainy conditions, with customary humor, "We'll have to take eggs to the clarisas [the nuns of St. Claire] and ask them to pray for good weather."

Interestingly, yesterday as we were traveling and reading our current book, a historic novel about the Spanish Civil War, we came across this account:

Unlike the nuns who worked among the people and cared for the injured soldiers, the twenty-nine Sisters of Santa Clara lived in cloisters and never stepped beyond their walls...
...each new nun was given the number of a nun who'd passed away. The sisters were even buried within the walls when they died. For five hundred years outsiders had cared for them by taking the shopping lists the nuns passed through a grill on the convent door.

~~el Parque de los Pueblos de Europa, on the other side of the path, is a lovely park which contains samples of all four types of woodland found on the Basque coast: beech woods, oak woods, holm-oak woods and riverside brush.

Also within are massive sculptures by famous artists:

~~Large Figure in a Shelter, a monumental twenty-ton abstract bronze sculpture, one of the English Henry Moore's public works of art.

Large Figure in a Shelter

~~La casa de nuestro padre by Eduardo Chillida, Basque artist who was commissioned to create a monument to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the bombing of Gernika.

Gure aitaren etxea

The structure, which faces the famous oak tree, is meant to be a symbol of peace. The title means Our Father's House.

~~Further along the path, Alberto pointed out the inscription under the bronze bust of Wilhelm Von Humboldt a German philosopher and linguist whose works on the Basque language and his many visits to their land earned him the honor of being called FRIEND OF THE BASQUE PEOPLE.

 EUSKALDUNEN ADISKIDEA

FREUND DES BASKISCHEN VOLKES

AMIGO DE LOS VASCOS

My contribution will never deserve a monument, but my heart desire is to be a friend of the Basque people--Euskaldunen (I don't know if that is grammatically correct).
And I hope you, my readers, are gaining something from this looooong bloggy travelogue.
Please feel free to comment. I appreciate each response.