Greetings and Happy Fall! Welcome to the crisp air, the colorful leaves, and the golden light enhancing their hue.

Back from the Iberian Peninsula, specifically the Basque country of Northern Spain and the regions of Porto and Lisbon in Portugal, my head is still spinning from the whirlwind odyssey. In a word, enlightening! To have this as my reentry to international travel after three years imbued it with all the more significance. Of course, it didn’t hurt that our small group of thirteen people from across the country seemed handpicked for stellar camaraderie, determined optimism, and an insatiable zest for fun and laughter. Upon my return it took a while to transition back to terra firma, wishing to languish longer in the suspended atmosphere of travel fantasia. As withdrawal symptoms abated with the seeping intrusion of home turf reality, a bus ride with Inacio to explore the next town on the itinerary was replaced by a trip to Trader Joe’s grocery store two blocks over. By that time the horror show concerning flights at the front end had receded somewhat.

I am presently absorbed in living the trip after the trip…internal reflection and learning, following the physical venture. It’s amazing how one learns anew that the culture and traditions of a region are intertwined with its history and language, geographical location, and natural resources, among other factors.

Regarding language, before this sojourn I simply assumed that in Spain one speaks Spanish and in Portugal people speak Portuguese. Not so simple. For example, Castilian Spanish is spoken in mostly central Spain and parts of N. Spain; Catalan (named after Catalonia) is spoken in the northeastern area of Barcelona; Galician is spoken in the northwestern region of Galicia. Within these locations Spanish is included as their official language. In the Basque country and the southwestern edge of the French Pyrenees, however, the Basque language of Euskera is spoken. As the oldest living language in Europe, it has no known origin or relation to any other language. It remains a mystery. Is that all sufficiently confusing for you? It is a relief to many that Spanish does co-exist as an official language in the Basque country. Whew! But that’s only a teaser hint of the Basque controversy regarding their independence. It’s muy complicado, as most things are when a magnifying glass is applied.

Among the Iberian “tip of the iceberg” highlights for me include the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao; the Camino de Santiago (The Way of Saint James); Portugal’s Douro Valley and its rolling hill vineyards and riverboat ride; the regatta day in San Sebastian; arriving at Santiago de Compestela (the destination goal of the Camino de Santiago).

Starting off in Bilbao with the draw of Frank Gehry’s Guggenheim was thrilling. The undulating, exterior titanium design requires viewing from all around, then lures you in with further interior architectural surprises and magnificence. From my point of view, the art exhibits showcased within paled in comparison to the art and design of the building itself. Spending over five hours there in one day attests to that! It was stunning to learn that this iconic attraction was erected as recently as 1993-1997. That was the beginning of Bilbao becoming a magnet for further architectural and cultural development.

The Camino de Santiago was something I had heard of over the years; now, here I was on it! It is a large network of ancient pilgrim routes in France, Spain, and Portugal leading to the shrine of the apostle Saint James the Great in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia. Tradition holds that the remains of the apostle are buried there. While the original purpose of the journey for Pilgrims (peregrinos) was religious in nature, now there are many different and individual reasons, such as personal competition, spiritual renewal, and Wanderlust. And there is no one specific starting place or required course. We did our own modified trek along the Camino Frances, starting from the bucolic town of Roncevalles. There are signs, yellow arrows, and scallop shell markers on the ground along the way to guide the direction of the Camino. The scallop is not only the familiar foundation of Botticelli’s famous painting, The Birth of Venus, but is the symbol of Saint James, the patron saint of pilgrims. If someone is wearing a scallop shell or you see one on a backpack, you know that person is a pilgrim. You will automatically forge a connection by extending best wishes for a good journey (buen camino).

In addition to the blistered feet and fatigue that befall an individual braving this enterprise, there is a “Pilgrim’s Passport” that accompanies each venturer. It is called a Credencial del Peregrino. In each city along the Camino there are offices that stamp this passport with the town seal and affix the date. Though we exercised merely a tourist version and length of the walk, one of our goals in each town was to snag a stamp. On the one hand, we felt like imposters; on the other hand, when would we be back this way again?

And what was the culinary experience? One of the best reflections of a culture is in its food and drink. Never did we forget that a prime staple of the Basque country is bacalao, a dried and salted codfish, along with its fresh rendition, bacalao fresca. It is with Basque pride that cod is served almost daily in an unending variety of recipes. Let’s just say that no one on the trip will have a hankering for it anytime soon. For a change of pace, the delicacy of Santiago de Compostela is octopus (pulpo). As an essential accompaniment to a drink, the Basque equivalent of tapas is pintxos, and they are ubiquitous. Many are fried and simple, but in the gastronomic, seaside city of San Sebastian there is a Michelin-starred restaurant called Beti-Jai that excels in fresh seafood and produce-oriented pintxos. Those constructions are tantalizing to behold.

Just across the Portuguese border, where one changes the clock back one hour, we had a home-hosted lunch with a family in the hilly village of Ermida. The lady of the house spoke excellent English and prepared a feast for us with her mother. Multiple dishes were brought to the table until there was no more room, at which point she announced that those were just the “starters.” Ha! Indeed, they were followed by two more courses, followed by dessert, plus five different flavors of homemade liqueur…made by the mother. She spoke no English but later sang for us a traditional song. Definitely an “off the beaten path” experience.

Our travelling group was a distinguished compilation of wine afficionados. They knew what they liked and enjoyed testing and tasting. We ended up having happy hour on a regular basis in somebody’s hotel room before dinner. I even found a Basque wine, a white Txakolina, that we all discovered and loved at a Bakia vineyard, through a NY distributor. How great to bring the taste and memory home. In the Douro Valley we visited a port vineyard, Quinta do Val Moreira. We tasted three ports, a light red, a WHITE port, and a tawny port, the only kind I knew. The shocking, first-time experience there was watching a young man macerate the red grapes in a huge vat with his bare hands! No gloves or hair cover. Anything to facilitate the natural, organic fermentation process! Made me think of an infamous clip of Lucy and Ethel. And actually, stomping of the grapes still occurs to this day! SEE LINK.

(I like to describe this YouTube link in the following way: a site-specific performance, complete with unison costumes, live band, conductor, regimented chorus line, followed by a “Porto Polka,” and closing with improvisational merriment.)

Though I am not a “dessert queen” I must extol the virtues of two sweets that knocked me flat. One was specific to just outside Lisbon, a renowned individual size custard tart from the famous Pasteis de Belem, served warm with light crispy exterior and melt-in-your-mouth, not too sweet custard. No one thought I’d be into it (so maybe they could also have mine), but surprise! The other great dessert was Amorino gelato, with its intense full flavors and the aesthetic bonus of a rose-shaped configuration atop the cone. Thankfully Amorino has US locations, one of them near me on the Upper West Side of NYC!

One day on the bus I passed Mom’s memoir along to share with potentially interested members of the group. One of the women came over to me and shared how shocked she was to read the name of the ship transport on which Mom travelled coming to this country. It turns out that she was on the very same ship, the R.E. Callan, with her mother in 1953, when she was five years old, to join her father who was stationed overseas. That was six years after Mom was on the same ship. Unbelievable! She was kind enough to send me a photo of the ship. This is the same lady who was greeted with a full, bright rainbow on the morning of her birthday, as we were leaving the Douro Valley.

This trip has been amazing in many ways. The Camino de Santiago makes me think of people’s journeys, their purpose, hopes and dreams, and inspiration. I connect that with Karola’s own pilgrimage, her Journey Between Two Worlds, transitioning and transforming from one world to another. She has spread her own gospel and truth in how she has lived her life and given and shared with others.

Now it is my turn to take the lesson, learn from it, and pass it on.

Wishing you all a happy and healthy fall season.

Love and cheer, 
Margaret

 If you've missed any previous newsletters, they are available for viewing at the link below, under "Newsletter Archive." Please pass this newsletter on to others if they are not currently subscribed. If they wish to be, they may click on the website below.