Basque Family Continued. . . .

We took a short drive from the town center, up the canyon to this picturesque valley of Barrio Olatz. There were just a few homes, a small church and a pub. 

The family home.

This was  a very humble home. We walked into the front entry and by the smell I could tell this was a farmer's home. We met more cousins and were taken to the kitchen. It is part of the Basque culture to congregate in the kitchen. Spread out on the table was the letter Chris had sent a few years ago, along with the $10 he gave them to help with any photo copying of family records they might do (which never happened). They brought out all the family pictures they could muster and we stood in the kitchen, everyone a buzz, making connections and explaining to the interpreter how everyone fit together. I could tell it had been awhile since all these relatives had been together. They were full of love for each other and excited to be together. I couldn't tell what they were saying but I bet they were sharing memories.

The kitchen was buzzing with excitement!

The money and letter Chris sent 6 years ago.



This was a very interesting home and I'm glad we were able to see it. Tomas lives here now and he manages the farm with the help of his two sons. Tomas was very proud of his little home and wanted to show us around. We left the kitchen and went back out to the entry (see below). Tomas opened the white door on the right which I thought was a closet.

Instead of coats and shoes, we saw cows and chickens! The stable is part of the house! We were very surprised by that but it's part of the Basque Culture.

Tomas took us upstairs and showed us all the bedrooms. At the end of the tour we were standing in the hallway, another surprise awaiting us. From the picture below you can see the bathroom is on the right. Its difficult to tell, but the door on the left is the garage where they keep the tractor-this is on the second floor of the house, mind you. We walked out to the garage and down a sloped driveway to the outside and back of the house.

The frontward of the family home.

By this time of the day Chris and I were famished. It was well into the afternoon and we hadn't even had a sip of water since breakfast. The family loaded up in cars and we all drove down the road to the tavern by the church. We had one more surprise in store for us. This little tavern opened just for us. We sat around this table with this wonderful family for three hours enjoying a six-course traditional Basque meal, complete with serenading by cousin Claudio (directly across from me) who had a little too much wine!

Notice we are the only ones drinking water!

One of the dessert platters. We tried a little of everything!

The family minus Tomas's two sons who had to go back to work.

I couldn't have imagined a more perfect day than this. After we said good-bye to most of the family, we took Bagona and Consuelo back to their home. We cried when we had to say good-bye one last time. I truly love this family and can't wait to go back some day. I'm sure if we do, many of these good people will no longer be with us. Some of them are getting on in age (The woman in the red blazer is 93!). This only made me feel stronger about how important family history is.

The little church near the tavern.

A cute little pasture with ponies.