Immersion in Basque Country: Part III

Our teacher and host, Jacquelin Duperrin, took us on a very Basque/French Sunday morning drive to the small village of Urrugne, located a few kilometers from our place here in Hendaye, France.

As we drove along winding country roads in the foothills of the Pyrenees, we had to stop and make way for a large “peloton” of cyclists riding by.

The narrow road took us to the center of the village where an old stone church was by far the largest structure. Next to the church was a bar decorated with memorabilia related to pelota, the most popular sport in Basque Country. We went through a small door at the back of the bar, then up a narrow staircase to a platform above a covered “fronton” (pelota court) in which there was a doubles match being played.

Later we would watch a different match in a bigger court between teams from Spain and France. The action was fast and intense.

We attended part of a Mass at the old church, which was followed by Basque folk-dancing in the outdoor courtyard next to the church. A caller accompanied by a live band cued each move. It was sort of like line-dancing, except it was in a circle.

Pam stepped in without hesitation, mastering the steps quickly even though all the calls were in Basque.

While the entire region is Basque, our village and those just north of us, St. Jean de Luz, Biaritz and Bayonne, and just south of us, San Sebastián, are all summer beach resorts for thousands of vacationers and surfers.

It is definitely not summer here yet, and the weather is constantly changing from some sun to lots of rain, then back. So far, the local rivers are too high for fishing.

We got a window of fair weather yesterday after the folk dancing and went for a walk on the beautiful beach that runs for several kilometers. A dozen or so surfers in wetsuits were catching smallish waves, and other locals, bundled up in jackets like us, were trying to get a few semi-warm rays of sunlight on whatever skin left uncovered.

I watched a couple of guys with long surf-casting rods as they eyed their lines for signs of a bite. Nothing.

We’re spending several hours each day with our wonderfully patient professor trying to learn French. Fred and Pam are the stars. Dottie and me? Not so much.

Sunday morning before our drive, Jacquie was telling us, in French, about the best pelota players in the region and referred to them as “Les meilleurs champions.” I thought I heard “champignons,” French for mushrooms, which meant we were going to a special farm where they grow these prize champignons. Imagine my surprise when we ended up at a pelota court.

C’est la vie.

Every day is an adventure and a few more words become familiar enough that we dare use them around town. When I speak to store clerks here, and a puzzled look comes over their faces, I tell them my well-practiced explanation, that I am trying to learn to speak French. They appear to understand and give me a sympathetic response, politely correcting my grammar. I just hope I don’t order a salad with champions on it.

Fishing near Sonoma this week has been good in the North Bay where striped bass are so plentiful that anglers have a hard time getting sturgeon on the hook. Yet sturgeon are also being caught.

Over at the coast, the salmon bite has been slow, but crab catches are good. Ocean rock cod fishing is now open, so it is possible to fish for crab, salmon, and rock and lingcod all in the same trip. Call Capt. Rick Powers at Bodega Bay Sportsfishing, 875-3344, to book his party boat.

Bass are biting at Lake Berryessa and Clear Lake In the shallows.