Enigma del Euskera, a journey into the heart of Basque culture.

Meet “The enigma of the Basque language”, a very complete experience with which to learn Basque while discovering the culture of the Basque people.

The enigma of Euskera, is the name with which they have baptized the guided tour that shows us the essence of the Basque people in Zumaia. A perfect experience to learn about the language, traditions and history of Euskadi while enjoying an idyllic landscape. Included under the brand “Kosta Gastronomika” and accompanied by more than 15 activities offered by Geoparkea, “The Enigma of Euskera” surprises with its theme. Although the visit takes place in Zumaia, this town in Gipuzkoa is nothing more than the setting in which the signs of identity of the Basque people are highlighted. A cheerful, dynamic and complete guided tour, which makes a good review of all the customs of Euskal Herria. We must confess, before making the visit we had already been conquered, and this experience is defined as:“What they had never told you about the country of the Basque language“, words that engage and make you think. To such an extent, that we have realized that it is the only experience of this type that we know of today. Every place, every town, every city in our geography shows us its own charms, but never before have we enjoyed a guided tour in which, leaving aside the attractions of the town in which it takes place, Zumaia in this case, shows us the way of being and the customs of the Basque people in general. Therefore, we can say that this is a unique and different guided tour. An experience that provides a nice base from which to begin to understand those so clichéd oddities with which the Basques are catalogued. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Pay attention to the following lines because this has only just begun.

Although there are dozens of theories about the origin of the Basque language and the Basque people, although our origin is not confirmed, it is clear to us that, like any other culture, we Basques are also different, neither better nor worse, just different. And it is precisely these differences that the experience “The enigma of the Basque language” tries to explain to each person who is interested in our culture, in our way of being. Is the Basque people one of the oldest cultures in Europe? Is the Basque language a pre-Indo-European language? What are the gastronomic societies? What are the covens? What are our most emblematic icons? The answers to these questions and many more are part of the script of this guided tour. Do you dare to discover the enigma of the Basque language with us?

Promoted by the City Council of Zumaia and Geoparkea, framed within the Kosta Gastronomika experiences and praised by critics, “The enigma of the Basque language” is the great experience of the moment. A different guided tour, which, merged with other experiences, can offer us an unforgettable day on the coast of Gipuzkoa. This was our case, and after enjoying Zumaia, we headed to Orio to enjoy its famous “bisigua” (sea bream in Basque), while we reserved the afternoon for a tasting at the Arizia cider house with privileged views over Zarautz. A round plan. The enigma of the Basque language, guides us through the streets and squares of Zumaia to the rhythm of the Basque language to show us different aspects of our culture, language, mythology, sports and traditions. In addition, we will have the opportunity to enjoy the only fish auction machine in the Basque Country and the honor of enjoying a good hamaiketako in one of the gastronomic societies of Zumaia. A nice plan with family or group to know curiosities and secrets of our history and culture.

Online reservations.

If you like this guided tour in Zumaia, we encourage you to reserve your place as soon as possible. We must remember that this is a unique and different experience for which only a dozen departures are scheduled per year. If you want to book this experience quickly and easily, we recommend you to do it online, from here.

Basque.

The Basque language and its influence are reflected in every corner of Euskadi, in every name, in every street. The so-called “lingua navarrorum” is the central axis of this experience. A language that, carried by the force of the wind, travels through every corner of Euskal Herria on a daily basis. Linguistically speaking, we must say that we are in front of one of the few non-Indo-European languages, that is to say, previous to the different conquests that hit Europe. According to experts, Basque has no relation whatsoever with the rest of the languages that inhabit the peninsula today, since it is one of the oldest languages in Europe. However, it is not known how it has been able to survive for so long while the rest of the languages of its time were disappearing. Quite an enigma. Did you know that there are many dialects of Basque? There are a multitude of dialects known as euskalkiak, the 5 most important of which are Biscayan, Gipuzkoan, Navarrese, Navarrese Labortan and Souletin.

Culture and history.

The guided tour that occupies us today, reviews every aspect of our culture and history in a very entertaining way, introducing small games and making more than one wink to the visitor. Among all these aspects, we highlight the mention of our beloved “herri kirolak”, village sports in Basque, and is that these sports derived from the trades found in Basque society (stonemasons, woodcutters, villagers …), are one of our attractions that most attracts the attention of travelers. We are sure you will love it.

Fishermen’s guild.

Although on the Basque coast we find towns with great fishing traditions, Zumaia is not one of them. Unlike other towns such as Getaria or Bermeo, Zumaia did not have a large fleet of fishing boats, but rather created them. The strength of this municipality was in its historical shipyards, shipyards of riverside at the beginning (in its origins) and industrial shipyards nowadays. The fact that it did not have a large fishing fleet does not mean that there is no fishing tradition, and it is here, in the urban center of this town of Gipuzkoa, where we find the last fish auction machine of Euskadi, the only one that has managed to resist industrialization. It is worth seeing the mechanism they devised to be able to auction the fish without incident. Very interesting.

Gastronomic society.

The gastronomic societies, the famous gastronomic “txokos” where the “cuadrillas” get together to enjoy their own creations, are a sacred place to which it is difficult to have access if you don’t have a friend as a member. A task that the “El enigma del Euskera” experience facilitates by allowing us to enter and taste a small hamaiketako as if it were our own home. We have to say, that the members of the society Pulpo de Zumaia treated us like kings, very good hosts, all a detail. Eskerrik asko lagunak, hurren arte!

Experience the enigma of the Basque language.

In this section we will try to break down the experience of “The Enigma of the Basque Language” without revealing all the surprises it has to offer. Taking as a starting point the Zumaia Tourist Office (Calle Kantauri plaza 13, Zumaia) and the Basque language as the central axis, our guide, Violeta, showed us the entrails of Euskadi, its culture, its language and its raison d’être until we arrived at the Pulpo gastronomic society, where we said goodbye to this incredible experience. We tell you some of the highlights. The visit begins with a short introduction in which we are introduced to the subject of the visit while we are given a small pocket dictionary with the basic Basque words and an informative brochure about the visit. The sapling of the tree of Gernika and the old station are witness of it. After passing the Urola River, we enter the historic center of Zumaia to know some of the highlights of the town. It is here, where it explains its relationship with the culture and history of Euskadi, is not wasted. The end of the visit takes much of the limelight. At this point we visit the old fishermen’s guild of Zumaia, San Temo, and the gastronomic society Pulpo. We are not going to give you more details, we do not want to go into all the details of this experience, if you want to discover the great enigma and enter the world of the Basque language and culture, we recommend you to make your reservation online as soon as possible to discover this experience in first person.

Guided tour.

As in any self-respecting guided tour, the tour guide is largely to blame for its success. In this case, Violeta, historical heritage guide of the coast of Guipuzcoa, played her role using all the means at her disposal. She also provided information that most of the people who visit us do not know. What makes this experience becomes a pleasant, enjoyable and fun walk through “the land of the Basque language”. Zorionak Violeta!

Price.

15€ for adults, 10€ for children under 12 years old, a very reasonable price. If you think it is a price according to this type of experience, you do not have to continue reading this section, for the rest, here is our argument about the good quality/price ratio of the guided tour “The enigma of Euskera”. Included in this experience, we find a series of services and unique spaces, which are often difficult to access without being from Euskadi.

Thanks to all these resources, the visitor ends the guided tour with a more than decent idea of the way of life of the Basque people. So, you know, now you have the opportunity to get to know the Basque culture as you have never experienced it before. Expensive? We don’t think so, but to each his own.

Location.

Located in the Gipuzkoa region of Urola Kosta, the experience “The enigma of Euskera” offers us a unique place to enjoy the view, impressive. A place that many of you will already know thanks to the series “Game of Thrones“, a very successful international production, which has made a small part of our coast known to the whole world. If we merge the incredible cliffs of Zumaia, the imaginary mouse of Getaria, the infinite beach of Zarautz, the shimmering green of Aia and the historic center of Orio, we find a territory worthy of royalty. A landscape called the Basque Coast that gives free rein to all our dreams.

Geoparkea.

We cannot leave Zumaia without visiting Geoparkea, the Geopark of the coast of Gipuzkoa, or at least, we cannot leave without seeing the Flysch, that set of geological layers that represent the sediments that for centuries were deposited on the seabed, and that, with the collision of the plates of the Iberian and European peninsula were fractured and came to the surface. The history of the earth told in stone booklets. Geoparkea was declared in 2015 “UNESCO World Geopark”, a compelling reason why we recommend you to visit this Basque enclave both on foot and by sea, each perspective is totally different.

Kosta Gastronomika.

The fusion of two of the most striking attractions of the region of Urola Kosta, the coast and gastronomy, have become a success called “Kosta Gastronomika”. A family of experiences, which, taking gastronomy as the central axis, show us the attractions of Getaria, Orio, Zarautz, Aia, Zumaia and the Basque people in general. A nice range of guided tours that cover all kinds of tastes.

Video.

As we have been doing in the last articles we are publishing, we are going to leave a short video for you to see the scenario in which the guided tour the enigma of the Basque language takes place. If you like this kind of videos, we encourage you to subscribe to our YouTube channel to discover all the experiences and places that we recommend in Euskal Herria. We are waiting for you!

Where to park in Zumaia.

Zumaia has OTA (Ordinance of Parking Tariffs) throughout its urban core, but relax, on the outskirts of town, about 10 minutes walk from the center, there is a free parking where you can park. Both areas, both paid and free, are well signposted at the entrance of the village, you can’t get lost. However, if you do not want to go to the outskirts, the price for parking your vehicle all day has an approximate cost of 8 €.

Where to eat.

Zumaia has very good restaurants where to eat, but taking advantage of the fact that we are talking about a Kosta Gastronomika experience, we would like to recommend you a 2 for 1, 2 experiences in 1. Although the price is somewhat high, it is worth paying a little more to taste one of the best sea breams of our land in the Asador Xixario in Orio .

Geoparkea guided tours.

This is not the only guided tour that exists in Zumaia. In fact, Geoparkea, the geopark located on the coast of Gipuzkoa, encourages us to discover this area of Euskadi in different ways. Among all of them, we find several routes to take into account. Above all, the routes that are made by sea. A clear example of this can be found in the boat routes that set sail from Zumaia to travel along the coast of towns such as Deba, Mutriku and Zumaia itself. You can read all about this experience in the article we dedicated to the boat routes in Zumaia.

What to see near Zumaia.

If you want to complement your trip to Zumaia with a visit to the places and towns that surround this urban center, we recommend that you consider the possibility of planning a trip to some of the destinations that we propose below. We hope you like them.

Many times, people who visit us, walk through all the streets of Basque towns and villages without feeling and understanding the culture that we find inside. Euskal Herria is much more than pintxos, sea and mountains. Basque mythology, Basque history and the Basque language await you in the experience of“The enigma of the Basque language“, to show you the gears that make the heart of Euskadi beat. Do not miss one of the most important aspects of our land, do not miss the real Euskadi. The history, culture, gastronomy and landscapes of the Basque Country are the mechanisms that move tourism in Euskadi, one without the other makes no sense. We take this opportunity to congratulate those responsible for the Basque language and tourism departments of Zumaia, for the great work done to bring Basque culture to all the people who visit the Basque Coast Geopark (Deba-Mutriku-Zumaia), zorionak!