10 Things that made me fall in love with Bilbao and the Basque Region- parte 2

In my last post, I started listing all the things I loved about the six days I spent in the Bilbao region. At some point, it hit me that I had way too many photos for one post and didn't want to be responsible for anyone spraining a scrolling finger. With that in mind, let's continue with this Bilbao lovefest.

6. San Sebastian

Beach resort, Belle Epoque architecture, the world's greatest number of Michelin star restaurants per capita and a viewpoint with bumper cars-this town has a lot to offer. It would be easy to spend a couple of days here. Since we were here on a day tour, we had a grand total of 2 hours. This gave us just enough time to glimpse some of the highlights.

The Maria Cristina Bridge

The San Sebastian Cathedral

De Okendo Plaza, a monument to a Spanish admiral

Constitution Square, formerly a bull ring now the city's main plaza

Viewpoint from the Igueldo Amusement Park

With more time, I would have happily done the Michelin thing, gone for a swim and gotten on a ride or two. With the time we had, I checked out Biarritz, France in the background, grabbed a to go drink and got back on the bus. 

7.The Sanctuary of Loyola

What happens when someone sees the most baroque church ever and thinks "I can top it". This basilica, built alongside the childhood home of St Ignatius, the founder of the Jesuit order, is gloriously over the top. The fact that it is located kind of in the middle of nowhere makes it extra wild. 

There is also a museum within the home detailing his conversion from rich party boy to founder of a major sect. TLDR: he was exiled and sent to war,  got hit by a cannonball, his legs and possibly his dick were irreparably broken and just like that, he found god. 

Cool church, though.

8. Aste Nagusia 2023

Something strange happened after I booked that cheap ticket. It was a month before my departure, yet it looked like the hostels were all filling up quickly. Even factoring in that it was summer in Europe, something was fishy. Bilbao is not Barcelona. As far as I know it is not a major tourist destination, at least not one that would fill all beds a month in advance. I decided to do a quick search for events in Bilbao, figuring maybe it was Pride weekend or there was a music fest of some kind. That is when I first learned of Aste Nagusia aka Semana Grande aka The Big Week. 

It is a massive annual city-wide festival celebrating all things Basque. The party opens on day one with firecrackers announcing the appearance of Marijaia, a cheery woman with outstretched arms, on the balcony of the Arriaga Theater. For the next nine days, she is paraded around town as the beloved mascot she is. Then on day 9, homegirl is placed on a raft in the Nervion River and in a cruel twist of fate, set on fire. That's right, Miss M has exactly nine days to live. 

But what a nine days they are. We were there for the closing weekend, 3 days in all and I have to say I am in complete awe of the Basque people's stamina. The festivities start bright and early, with bands playing in the streets, cooking competitions, parades, weird sporting events and just general jolly mayhem.

As night falls, the concert stages get louder, the beer tents get fuller and the streets become a dancing mass of humanity. Around 10pm, there are nightly fireworks with different countries competing for best display, which would seem a natural end to the night, but nope. The party continues until the wee hours only to resume the very next morning. 

By all accounts, it should be bedlam. There are tens of thousands of drunk people crowded onto a couple of blocks along the river with not a hint of security present. You have big obviously licensed bar stands alongside random guys selling beer out of their coolers. Same goes for food stands shoulder to shoulder with some lady selling meat from a disposable grill. There were plenty of nice, surprisingly clean bathroom trailers- many of them manned by bathroom attendants- available for free. I felt the lines were very manageable but not everyone agreed. There were people peeing everywhere. Man, woman, small animal- it didn't matter. They were all letting loose into the river. It was well and truly a free for all.

But you know what? I loved it. It completely worked. No one was stressed. Strangers were dancing with strangers. People were looking out for each other. I know this for a fact, during one of the fireworks display, some weird drunk guy kept finding ways to "accidentally" touch my ass. The woman on my other side noticed- I have no idea how as we were all staring up into the sky-she asked me if I knew him and when I said no, wedged herself between us, giving him such a withering stare that he was vanquished to parts unknown. It was an entire city coming together, young and old, gay and straight with the sole purpose of enjoying themselves.

Well, maybe not everyone. As foretold, Marijaia did meet her unfortunate end, probably quicker then expected with all the alcohol that had been pee'd into that river but, man oh man, did she make the most out of those nine days.

9. Los Cabezudos and Gigantes!

Roughly translated to Big heads and Giants, these are traditional processional costumes dating back to medieval times. They are a big part of the Big Week festivities and should have been included under that heading. But here's the thing, I had a paper map telling me what route they would be taking. Every day, I set off early in the morning to try to find them but thanks to my directionally challenged ways, I usually failed. Luckily, the Casco Viejo (or old town) is not that big so all I really had to do was wander until I heard that music and then run like a Marijaia on fire (too soon?). 

Every single time, it was a thrill. There is no way when faced with these swirling behemoths to be a detached observer. You are part of the show. They inspired a childlike joy in me that is difficult to put into words. Yes, they were part of the Big Week party but they deserve a listing all their own. 

This being the anything goes party that it is, there were no pesky barricades or police to stop you from becoming a part of the parade. Want to walk alongside them, knock yourself out. Once I found them, I always assumed they going to lead me to the nicest parts of the old town, so why not follow them?

Between my frantic sprints to catch up to them and the miles walked alongside once I did, I was closing my rings by noon every day. I can only imagine those of the people actually carrying the costumes. The wooden frames and papier mache heads have to weigh over 100 pounds each. Imagine walking and swirling through town in those things. It is no wonder they would swap out frequently. 

The cabezudos had it easier. They are basically just costumed people with giant heads, thus the name. They usually carried either a pool noodle or a bag of some kind, which they used to liberally whale on unsuspecting spectators.  At first, I thought this was an attempt to keep people at a safe distance from the Gigantes but as I saw them go full ham on small children who were nowhere near the parade route, I realized they were just doing this for sport. 

The realization that you could be in a parade, in costume and terrorize children made me realize that the perfect job does indeed exist. 

I have since learned that this tradition has been exported and happens in Puerto Rico, as well. You bet your sweet mofongo, I'll be going to see some Boriqua cabezudos. 

10. Spending time with people I love

Ok, so this last one really has nothing to do with Bilbao, the Basque country or its glorious Big Week but it is a big part of why I enjoyed it all so much. When I booked my cheap ticket, I had already been in Amsterdam for a month and had another month to go before I returned home. Imagine my surprise when I found out my ride or die bestie had gone ahead and booked a flight to meet me in Bilbao. Joined by her game-for-anything boyfriend, Miguel, we jumped into the fray full force, adding to our many decades worth of memories. Having them there to share in the fun made an amazing experience that much better . 

The best part? Of the four of us in this photo, only one ended up as a pile of ashes in a pissed-filled river.