Okay, so you’re headed to Spain. Here are a few handy travel tips to keep in mind:
Don’t forget to pack a few extra: White shirts and pants! No one wants to look like a Knight in White Satin, but the festivals of Spain, particularly in the north, almost always feature a dress code of white pants, a long-sleeve white shirt, and a red kerchief. From the bull-runs of Allariz to the wine-throwing rites of La Rioja, your dapper white duds will help you revel seamlessly with the locals (but do not expect they will still be white when you are done).
If you only have 24-48 hours in Spain, you must visit: A traditional small-town bullrun. Basque Pamplona is famous the world-over for its maniacal 7-day San Fermines festival, but smaller bergs throughout Spain host their own scaled-down versions of the primal rite: a facing of fears in a very public forum. As 362-kilogram bulls surge down a twisting labyrinth of cobblestones, sometimes roped, sometimes free, charging runners at will in a chaotic dance of man versus beast. While corridos (bull-fights) are more savage, the scales tipped heavily towards the dominating matadors, in encierros (bullruns) the animals have the advantage, and the runners bolt for dear life. Survive to see the finish, and the town plaza erupts in a cathartic celebration of death-dodged with an all-night, sangria-soaked fiesta.
If you’re going to haggle, keep this in mind: The room to barter in Spain is slimmer than in Latin American countries. Goods and products generally have prices that are fairly fixed, although a certain amount of flirting and hemming can usually get the numbers knocked down, especially for multiple items and particularly in mom-and-pop tiny tiendas. But entrepreneurs offering services (taxis, river guides, horse rental) usually have more leeway to barter and will bend a bit if a discount is asked for nicely, now more than ever with the economic crisis and the subsequent downturn in tourism.
The one food I totally loved was: Percebes! This goose barnacle also flourishes in America and Portugal, but the percebes of the Galician coast of Spain are known internationally as the cat’s pyjamas. Resembling a cross between a dinosaur’s fingernail and a komodo dragon’s arm, the percebes cling to precarious rocks along the Coast of Death, and fetch sky-high prices at seafood markets across the country. The taste is a melange of flavourful mussels, velvet shrimp and the wanton longing of the sea; if I have not sold you yet, they are also purported to be powerful aphrodisiacs. Boil ten minutes with laurel, and serve simply. Bon appétit!
And the one food I will pass on in the future is: Nothing! In truth there is not a dish or drink in Spain I did not love, particularly the sublime seafood of the Galician coast. But there exists one lurid drink of lore, a nepenthe which polarises travellers, forcing all to love or despise it: kalimotxo. Flowing like water at the bullruns of Basque Country, kalimotxo is nothing more than a 50-50 mix of red wine and cola. The high-brow Spaniards disparage it as a brew of children, the foreigners find it too syrupy to enjoy as a spirit, and the revellers squirt it by the gallon from botas (leather canteens) across three meters into the open mouths of friends and strangers alike in a beautiful arc of cheap inebriation. It fuelled my Pamplona bullrun and the tattoo that night which followed, and for that I will forever genuflect in its sacred presence. Viva Kalimotxo!
I know it may sound weird, but you absolutely have to try: Puenting! It means “bridging” in Espanglish, and it takes regular bungee jumping and raises the stakes in a deliciously Spanish way. A cord is affixed to the OPPOSITE side of the bridge from the harnessed jumper, and upon leaping from the perfectly stable structure, said victim becomes a human pendulum, swinging wildly beneath the bridge struts like giant bait in the wind. Banned in Asturias since 1996 as too distracting to drivers, puenting flourishes in Galicia and Basque Country, and is one of the most heart-stopping adventures you can have in the Spanish north.
But as an independent traveller in Spain, the one thing I would avoid is: getting rutted in 4-star hotels, on bus tours and in the tourist track. Spain has brilliant infrastructure, incredible museums, and one of the oldest traditions of travel in Europe thanks to the Camino de Santiago, but the true Spanish experience is in small towns, sharing café liquor with old men in the plaza, bringing fresh peppers to a txoko dinner in Basque Country. So get away from the throngs in Madrid, hop a train to a small town in Asturias, and meet some locals. The next thing you know you will be bringing La Rioja red to dinner in the kitchen of a family of fishermen, and the memories you form there will eclipse all the blurry photos you take outside the Guggenheim in Bilbao.
I was really surprised by: The Celtic soul of Galicia. I had heard speak that this region in Northern Spain was home to ancient Celt tribes that were, according to legend, the last wave to people Ireland, but I never expected to feel like I was a stone’s throw from Galway! From the drone of the gaiteiros (pipers), to the quick wit and warmth of the Galicians, to the ancient Celtic sun and fire rituals that still manifest in the Costa da Morte’s Noche de San Juan and Finisterra rites, the beating heart of Ireland’s long lost cousins is still very alive in Northern Spain.
The best way to fit in and not draw too much attention to yourself is to: Learn some Spanish! Europeans stereotypically wield a smattering of 3-4 languages; there is no excuse for travellers to Spain to not pick up a bit of the verbiage. In addition, Spanish is easy to learn, and 21 countries list it as their national language, plus many more as a minority language, thereby opening a large portion of the globe to your linguistic comprehension. An arsenal of 20-30 phrases will open doors and ingratiate you to your hosts; there is nothing more irritating than a foreigner who won’t deign to even TRY the local tongue. Often the Spanish will likewise speak a bit of English, but if you won’t try, neither will they. A smattering of Gallego in Galicia and Euskara in Basque country will also grease the wheels of your serendipitous encounters from day to day. Pruébalo!
When it comes to getting around, I recommend: Renting a car or motorcycle! Usually I enthusiastically support taking public transport in order to meet local people, get a feel for the local rhythms, blend with the pack. But Spain has some of the best roadways in Europe, a brilliant network of highways and infrastructure that are well-marked and easy to navigate. Renting your own wheels gives you the freedom and flexibility to linger in forgotten hilltop fortresses, cruise the Cantabrian coast in search of the perfect wave, and schlep your gear to the top of wind-swept peaks to do battle with 23rd century windmills.
OR:
Walking the Camino de Santiago! The Way of St. James was the original birthplace of European travel, a peregrination of hundreds of kilometres across the Spanish countryside to the Cathedral of Santiago. A millennium of pilgrims have checked out from their normal lives for days to months to foot the meandering trail, some for enlightenment, some redemption, some salvation. For those not content with the bones of St. James, the camino continues another 85 kilometres to the Atlantic Ocean at Finisterra, where pilgrims engage in one last purification rite, burning their ripe clothes and plunging into the sea at the spot the Romans knew as the End of the World.
A good place to get basics (bottled water, toothpaste, a snack, stamps, phone cards) is: Any of the mini-markets peppered around city plazas, hotels and bus stations throughout Northern Spain. In España, tobacco shops only sell tobacco, not various asundries like in other European countries, but Spanish family-run mini-marts abound at most major intersections. For a quick snack, follow the regulars into a tapas bar for a tasty bite of local cuisine and a glass of exquisite La Rioja vino tinto (red wine).
And it’s always nice to say ‘please,’ ‘thank you,’ and ‘how much?’ in the native tongue. And that is:
SPANISH / español
Please – POR FAVOR
Thank You / Thank You Very Much / 1000 Thanks – GRACIAS / MUCHAS GRACIAS / MIL GRACIAS
How Much – ¿CUÁNTO CUESTA?
GALICIAN / gallego
Please – POR FAVOR
Thank You – Grazas / Graciñas
How Much – Canto custa?
BASQUE / euskara
Please – Mesedez
Thank You – Eskerrik asko
How Much – Zenbat balio du?
