Tourist First: Spain: Hondarribia in Basque Country

Monday, August 2, 2010

Spain: Hondarribia in Basque Country

The Basque region in Spain, at the western end of the border with France, probably strikes visitors as more "foreign" than other parts of the country. For one thing, the two languages there are Spanish and Basque, not Spanish and English. If you make the pilgrimage to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, you're in Basque Country, and you should see more of it than just Bilbao (which, besides the museum, has wonderful riverfront promenades, a sprawling, multi-level public market, and designer hotels).

Basque cuisine features a lot of seafood, but there are also cured meats and many lamb dishes. Vegetables, however, are often overcooked to the point that they resemble canned goods. Asparagus is on a lot of menus, and usually comes mushy and drowning in olive oil.

But there are places with amazing food.

Rent a car and drive to San Sebastián on the coast. With more Michelin stars per capita than any other city (including Paris), it's heaven for foodies. Arzak is probably the most famous of its celebrated restaurants.

Up the coast a bit and just across the Bidasoa River from France is Hondarribia, where pintxo bars and their tapas-like dishes are attracting international attention. Ingrid K. Williams discussed Hondarribia as a dining destination in the Aug. 1, 2010, New York Times. Here's a link: http://travel.nytimes.com/2010/08/01/travel/01Next.html?hpw. The town, also known as Fuenterrabia in Spanish, is home to one of Spain's most celebrated paradors, Parador El Emperador. Click on the title of this posting for a link to the parador, where you can stay in centuries-old chambers that look like movie sets. We stayed in a room that would have held a small airplane. One of the room's large windows is shown in the photo.

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Argentine Patagonia

They are called what they look like: Mexican hats. They occur naturally in the highlands above the town of El Calafate. The water in the distance is glacier-fed Lago Argentino. An hour's drive east of El Calafate, near the headwaters of the lake, visitors can hike on the Perito Moreno glacier and take a boat ride among icebergs that have fallen off the several glaciers in the Parque Nacional des Glaciares. El Calafate is basically a summer (Nov. to Feb.) tourist town, and there are a number of hotels at all price points. We stayed at Esplendor El Calafate, a very stylish hotel with a full restaurant and bar. The South American picker-upper drink mate is available at breakfast. The hotel is an uphill walk from the commercial area, but that's not much of a drawback. Click on the photo to visit the Esplendor online.

Dominica

Probably the greenest island in the Caribbean, in terms of color and ecological awareness, is Dominica, just north of Martinique. It was named by Columbus, who sailed past it on a Sunday. The island nation is one of the poorest in the Western Hemisphere, but it is rich in friendly people and natural attractions, including a boiling lake, hot and cold waterfalls, a parrot jungle and hill after hill of dense green jungle. There is also a cable-car ride through the jungle canopy (http://www.natureisland.com/AerialTram.html). I wrote about Dominica years ago, and much of that article is still relevant: http://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/26/travel/winter-in-the-sun-an-island-where-less-is-more.html?scp=2&sq= Unfortunately, one of the hotels I mentioned, Petit Coulibri, has since closed. Fortunately, there's still a wonderful eco-resort called Papillote Wilderness Retreat http://www.papillote.dm/), four acres of lush gardens, hot-spring-heated soaking pools and modest cottage rooms.

Palm Springs

Palm Springs, Calif., is a great destination for nature lovers -- Mount San Jacinto State Park is a wonderful gondola ride (shown above -- click on it to visit its website) away, and Joshua Tree National Park is a short drive away. It's also a great destination for naturists; there are several major clothing optional resorts in the area -- and for fans of Mid-Century Modern architecture. For a dose of mid-century style, stay at the Orbit In (http://www.orbitin.com/), which does ask that you keep your clothes on.

Pompeii

If you're driving from Naples to the Amalfi Coast, and it's hard to imagine anyone who wouldn't want to visit the Amalfi Coast, you should plan to spend a night in the modern city of Pompei, adjacent to the ancient city of Pompeii. Above are the murals depicting an unknown ritual in what's called the Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii. If you can, devote most of a full day to exploring the site. Afterward, you'll want a good hotel. Click on the image for info about Hotel Amleto, a small and friendly hotel in the heart of the new town and an easy walk from the ruins.

St. Vincent

This is one of the "rooms" at Petit Byahaut, an isolated (access by boat only) eco-resort on St. Vincent, the largest island in the country of St. Vincent and the Grenadines. Bequia, mentioned above in this column, is one of the Grenadines. The photo above is of the living deck and doesn't show a relatively enclosed area that had a real bed. Did you notice I said "had"? That's because the place has closed. To read about the property in its heyday, click on the image for a New York Times article I wrote. The article has a link to a slide show with more images of the resort.