A veces a escondidas...

English, Spanish and Basque words.

Hello - Hola - Caixa (pronounced Kaie'cha with emphasis on the first syllable)
Goodnight - Buenas noches - Gabon (barely pronounce the 'g', sometimes not pronounced at all)
Goodbye - Adios - Agur (do not pronounce the 'g' and the 'r' is heavily rolled)

Today my friends and I left to the ocean villa of Plentzia (the 'z' is pronounced like a 'ch' in Euskeran and the 't' is actually heard, whereas in English a 'tch' has little difference from a 'ch'). Let's just say that the river flowing into the ocean is a fantastic, glacial blue that augments the quaint beauty of Plentzia. The buildings are 19th century cobble with wooden doors and open frames. Basically think the buildings seen in the countrysides of Band of Brothers. Even though those buildings are in Normandy, France, Germany and Denmark, the architecture is the same. The Moors were never able to conquer Christian Basque, so village architecture retains the pre-Gothic simplicity seen in tiny villas and chateaux's famously retained in France. The waters here flow from the mountain snow and its intense blue beckons the passerby to sail the shallow depths. Believe you me, this is definitely a secret of Spain. I bet it is untouched by tourists throughout all year. It takes a good hour by train to reach it and there is nowhere to go but back to Bilbao from there.

My friends and I popped open a bottle of wine, five different cheeses (from Bree to sheep Carba to Swiss), and some French bread, beside the cold blue ocean waters on the beach. The cliffs of Plentzai surrounding us, the tiny villa homes behind us, the soft sand beneath us; it was an experience worth repeating.