Finding Bilbao

Bilbao is not in Portugal. At first I thought I might be confusing Bilbao with Balboa, but I soon learned that there is, in fact, no city of that name in Portugal or anywhere else in the world. I hang my head in shame.

 Now that these embarrassing geographical discoveries are off my chest, I can tell you that Bilbao is actually located in northern Spain, on the flat bit of the Iberian Peninsula that runs west from the French border. Are you still with me? No? Don’t worry, you won’t be flying the plane.

I’ve actually visited the stretch of coast between Bordeaux in France and San Sebastián in Spain quite regularly. I’ve toured the magnificent foothills of the Pyrenees by car and spent many hours bodysurfing the spectacular waves that roll in off the Atlantic, but Bilbao somehow escaped my attention. I’d seen photos of its shimmering, ship-shaped Guggenheim Museum and I knew there was a professional football club called Athletic Bilbao, but somehow I’d misplaced the city. These things happen when you spend most of your school years gazing out of the window.

Fortunately, the web is my window nowadays. When I started reading up about Bilbao, the first thing that leapt out at me is that it is located in Basque country. Within seconds I found myself immersed in the Basque language, which is called Euskara in Basque and is intriguing because it is completely different from the Spanish and French spoken in the surrounding area. This ancient language was apparently around long before the Romance languages spread across Europe.

I could go on and on about this fascinating topic, but I need to drag you back to Bilbao. I’d like to do this by using Euskara to introduce you to the city. In the past, I’ve learned more about places like Romania and the Philippines by asking local experts to describe their favourite sight, sound, scent and taste in their own language, as well as what one should and shouldn’t say in their home town or country. I’d like to try that again here.

After a fairly lengthy search, I found Gilen Mejuto, an English–Basque translator based in London, who kindly sent me some descriptive sentences about Bilbao, written in Euskara. I hope my efforts to unravel his secrets – using Google Images only! – will tempt you to do some exploring of your own.

Sight: “Uriaren ikuspegia Artxandako tuneletik urtetean” – This looks nothing like Spanish or French. I haven’t the faintest idea what this means. Even Google was stumped, returning zero hits when I pasted the full sentence into the search field. Working word by word, I got: “Uriaren” (groups of people?); “ikuspegia” (landscapes?); “Artxandako” (I see a cableway in several pictures); “tuneletik” (tunnel!); “urtetean” (is that chamomile tea I see?). I think Gilen may be referring to the view from a teahouse on a hill that can be reached via a cableway running up from Bilbao through a tunnel.

Sound: “Zapaten plisti-plasta potxingoetan” – Do yourself a favour and read the first part of that sentence out loud several times before trying to pronounce the last word. Could “zapaten” be shoes? I think “plisti-plasta” is like “splish-splosh”, and “potxingoetan”  might be rain. So maybe Gilen is referring to the sound of footsteps in the rain.

Scent: “7 Kaleetako jatetxeei darien usaina bazkalorduan” – Is that 7 there intentionally? When I google “Kaleetako”, I see pictures of streets and markets. I think “jatetxeei” could be a restaurant. “Darien” is a comic-book hero who has absolutely nothing to do with Bilbao. I think “usaina” may have something to do with fish. When I google “bazkalorduan”, I see pictures of people eating at long tables. Could Gilen be referring to fish frying at a street festival held on the 7th day of a month called Kaleetako?

Taste: “Basokada bat txakolina” – I see all sorts of tasty delicacies when I google “Basokada”. I’m not even going to try “bat”, because I know what I’ll get. And I’m pretty sure “txakolina” is wine. I think I know what I’ll be ordering when I get to Bilbao.

What one SHOULDN’T say: “Espainiako bazter ederra da hau” – “Espainiako” is Spain, I think. There’s a band called “Bazter”, apparently. “Ederra” seems to be a brand of wine. Maybe Gilen is warning us that we should never order anything but wine produced in the Basque Country when we’re in Bilbao. I can comply with this.

What one SHOULD say: “Aste Nagusia munduko jai onena da” – When I google the full sentence, I see a lot of happy people having fun. “Aste Nagusia” is a festival or carnival! I think “munduko” means “the world”. And “onena” could mean “feet”. I think Gilen wants us to say: “Let’s all run over and celebrate Aste Nagusia in Bilbao together.”

I’m definitely taking his advice. Don’t finish off all the “Basokada bat txakolina” before I get there. And please feel free to suggest your own translations and travel tips below. I need to know when “7 Kaleetako” is, so that I can plan my trip.

 

Posted by:   Richard de Nooy  | 
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Gilen

Hey Richard,

I didn’t know whether your article had finally been posted. Today I came across it on a random Internet search and thought it was time to shed some light on my Basque sentences.

I’m glad to see that your guesses are not far from the actual meaning of the sentences (Euskara, as we call it), although at times you’ve got a laugh out of me.

I have to admit that I’ve been a bit mean, because instead of using standard Euskara I’ve written in dialect of Biscay, which is Bilbao’s original speech. In any case, it presents but small variations from the standard, even though enough to make Google go bananas.

Anyway, let’s begin unravelling this gobbledegook of a language!

Sight: “Uriaren ikuspegia Artxandako tuneletik urtetean”

The sentence above literally means “view of the city out of the Artxanda tunnel”. Mount Artxanda is one of the many mountains surrounding Bilbao. Artxanda does have a funicular, but my sentence makes reference to the motorway tunnel you have to go through
when you come by bus from the airport. Upon getting out of the tunnel you’ll see a quite unexpected and very impressive view of the city, including river Nervión and the Guggenheim museum.

Sound: “Zapaten plisti-plasta potxingoetan”

Yes, you got it right! Potxingo means “puddle”, and we have many of them here. In fact, this is a rainy city. You may thing this is not a very appealing feature for tourists, but just think how green our land
is!

Scent: “7 Kaleetako jatetxeei darien usaina bazkalorduan”

You really made me laugh this time! “7 Kaleak” is the Basque name of Bilbao’s old quarter, which is full of restaurants from which an amazing smell (usain) emanates (darien) at lunch time (bazkalorduan). You’ve probably heard about Basque cuisine, so imagine the scene with all those mouth-watering pintxos (Basque equivalent to Spanish tapas) and amazing dishes such as cod in pil-pil sauce or hake in green sauce… Have to be here to experience it!

Taste: “Basokada bat txakolina”

Yes, txakolina is a typical Basque white wine, and basokada is just a
“glassful”.

What one SHOULDN’T say: “Espainiako bazter ederra da hau”

Honestly, you can order wine from wherever you like, as long as it is available. But I recommend you not to address people from Bilbao as if they were Spaniards (the sentence means “this is a beautiful region of Spain”). A majority of them don’t feel Spanish, only Basque, regardless what their passports say.

What one SHOULD say: “Aste Nagusia munduko jai onena da”

“Aste Nagusia” is the main festival of Bilbao, celebrated every year in mid-August. People in Bilbao are extremely proud of their city, so no wonder they glow with satisfaction when you tell them that “Aste Nagusia is the best festival in the world”. It’s funny, but I agree with them, it is the best festival in the world! Just come round in August and get ready for 24-hour entertainment and fun for all ages and types of people — nine days in a row! By the way, it often rains.

Richard de Nooy

Hi Gilen – Thanks for you wonderful contribution and your assistance. Bilbao is high on my wish list for the coming year!

Gilen

Hey Richard,

I didn’t know whether your article had finally been posted. Today I came across it on a random Internet search and thought it was time to shed some light on my Basque sentences.

I’m glad to see that your guesses are not far from the actual meaning of the sentences (Euskara, as we call it), although at times you’ve got a laugh out of me.

I have to admit that I’ve been a bit mean, because instead of using standard Euskara I’ve written in dialect of Biscay, which is Bilbao’s original speech. In any case, it presents but small variations from the standard, even though enough to make Google go bananas.

Anyway, let’s begin unravelling this gobbledegook of a language!

Sight: “Uriaren ikuspegia Artxandako tuneletik urtetean”

The sentence above literally means “view of the city out of the Artxanda tunnel”. Mount Artxanda is one of the many mountains surrounding Bilbao. Artxanda does have a funicular, but my sentence makes reference to the motorway tunnel you have to go through
when you come by bus from the airport. Upon getting out of the tunnel you’ll see a quite unexpected and very impressive view of the city, including river Nervión and the Guggenheim museum.

Sound: “Zapaten plisti-plasta potxingoetan”

Yes, you got it right! Potxingo means “puddle”, and we have many of them here. In fact, this is a rainy city. You may thing this is not a very appealing feature for tourists, but just think how green our land
is!

Scent: “7 Kaleetako jatetxeei darien usaina bazkalorduan”

You really made me laugh this time! “7 Kaleak” is the Basque name of Bilbao’s old quarter, which is full of restaurants from which an amazing smell (usain) emanates (darien) at lunch time (bazkalorduan). You’ve probably heard about Basque cuisine, so imagine the scene with all those mouth-watering pintxos (Basque equivalent to Spanish tapas) and amazing dishes such as cod in pil-pil sauce or hake in green sauce… Have to be here to experience it!

Taste: “Basokada bat txakolina”

Yes, txakolina is a typical Basque white wine, and basokada is just a
“glassful”.

What one SHOULDN’T say: “Espainiako bazter ederra da hau”

Honestly, you can order wine from wherever you like, as long as it is available. But I recommend you not to address people from Bilbao as if they were Spaniards (the sentence means “this is a beautiful region of Spain”). A majority of them don’t feel Spanish, only Basque, regardless what their passports say.

What one SHOULD say: “Aste Nagusia munduko jai onena da”

“Aste Nagusia” is the main festival of Bilbao, celebrated every year in mid-August. People in Bilbao are extremely proud of their city, so no wonder they glow with satisfaction when you tell them that “Aste Nagusia is the best festival in the world”. It’s funny, but I agree with them, it is the best festival in the world! Just come round in August and get ready for 24-hour entertainment and fun for all ages and types of people — nine days in a row! By the way, it often rains.

Richard de Nooy

Hi Gilen – Thanks for you wonderful contribution and your assistance. Bilbao is high on my wish list for the coming year!

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