After a few delightful days in southwest Spain's Basque region, Steven and I caught a tram from downtown San Sebastián for the 20-minute ride to Hendaye, a border town in the French Pays Basque region. We were so excited to stay a few days with old Ottawa friends, Rosine and Jean-Michel, who live in his hometown of Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle in the heart of the Labourd province, spending roughly half the year there and the rest in Ottawa.
Even though Steven and I have traveled far and wide, I still couldn't get over the fact that we could take a tram from one country to another with no border crossing, no guards, etc.! Banners written in Euskara were intentionally placed so they would be visible only from the tram on the Spanish side of the border, expressing discontent with the status quo. Leftist, youth, and local protest groups commonly use such slogans in the Basque Country.
After picking us up, Jean-Michel pointed out the traditional Basque-style exterior of the 18th-century Hotel Villa Catarie in Guéthary, with its distinctive white-and-red timber framing. He mentioned that each of the seven provinces in the Basque Country, four in Spain and three in France, was known for its unique architecture. Rosine commented that the French call their Basque region Pays Nord and the Spanish Basque area Pays Sud, or north and south, respectively.
People often take a ferry across the bay to the small town in Spain to shop because prices are significantly lower, to dine, or simply for a getaway.
Another example of the striking Basque architecture:
Jean-Michel drove along the scenic coastal route to their home to show us The Twins, or Les Jumeaux, prominent rock formations rising from the water near the base of the cliffs just beyond Hendaye Beach.
We stopped for a few minutes to gaze at the dramatic flysch cliffs and tidal rock platforms along the Basque Coast. I read that these distinct, tilted layers of hard and soft sedimentary rock, formed millions of years ago and exposed by tidal erosion, act like giant natural stone ribs along the coast.
In the distance, the Three Crowns stood at the foot of the Pyrenees. Some people imagine seeing Napoleon's face there.
A quick view of the seaside resort town of Saint Jean-de-Luz, famous as the site of Louis XIV's wedding. We'd explore the town in more detail the next day.
We've long known that Rosine and Jean-Michel take great pleasure in preparing fine meals and serving them with the right wines for each course. Much of their life in France revolves around entertaining family and other loved ones, and being entertained by them. He remarked that San Sebastián has more Michelin-starred restaurants per capita than anywhere else in the world!
As we drove past the town's Hôtel Chantaco Golf Club, he mentioned that Charlie Chaplin and other famous people played there. As a teen, Jean-Michel caddied there. Basque people are understandably proud that the Lacoste family, famous for the French Lacoste designer fashion brand, is from the Basque area.
I can’t begin to emphasize how important the Basque pelota game is in Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle and throughout this region of France. This open-air wall, known as a fronton, was a smooth, curved-top practice wall used for playing pelota games like main nue, pala, or xistera.
Across the street was Ferme Inharria, a historic 17th-century Basque farmhouse with its traditional slate roof. Rosine and Jean-Michel, or JM from now on, told us the former owner donated it to the town because he didn't want it sold to out-of-towners. In the Pays Nord, Rosine explained that the house has a very important role in the culture and therefore always has a name. Even when new people move in, the name remains with the property.
In olden times, the bottom floor housed animals, with a living area upstairs. The former owner bought the property thirty-five years ago and amassed a vast collection of Basque items from scouring flea markets and estate sales. Each part of the property showcased a particular collection of pots, dolls, paintings, etc. Each inch was full of items; it was hard to know where to look, let alone admire!
JM pointed out a typical Basque combined seat-and-table setup popular for playing cards.
Above us was the typical red-and-white, seven-striped Basque fabric, with each stripe representing one of the seven provinces I mentioned above. It was traditionally used to shoo flies away on oxen, but now it was adapted for use as kitchen textiles.
Typical Basque china patterns:
There was a two-year wait to get married at the remarkable farmhouse!
In the town's roundabout stood a giant chistera sculpture, a curved wicker glove used in Basque pelota. Rosine proudly pointed out that the glove was invented in Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle.
Beside the home on the right was the 19th-century Legarreta washhouse, a communal laundryhouse for women until the 19th century.
Their lovely home, which they named Errektaldea in Euskara, meaning Beside the Stream, was traditionally oriented to the east because it wasn't favorable to face west toward the sea.
Another view of the home and the large garden:
After settling in for a few minutes, we walked into the village for lunch past some local sights.
JM pointed out that, unlike in Spain's Basque Country, signs in the Pays Nord list French first, then Euskara.
The local public school now taught Euskara, although French was the primary language. It served a free, full hot lunch to every student every day. When JM indicated that the district financially supported public, Protestant, Catholic, and Basque elementary schools, I wondered how the small community could afford it.
Another fronton:
The relatively new Espace Culturel Larreko was built by their friend, the village's former mayor, to host performances, lectures, etc.
On one side of the building was the priest's former rectory, with the upper level rented out. Teachers from the local school lived on the other side of the building.
JM's former school, now the Mairie de Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, or Town Hall:
The village's main street:
You can't get a more French scene than that of a man nattily donning a beret and carrying a baguette, can you!
After a relaxing lunch in one of their go-to restaurants in the town square, Rosine took me on a walk through the village while the men walked home.
She said this was a Basque corner house, as indicated by its name on the Camino de Santiago de Compostela, a network of pilgrimage routes leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northwest Spain.
The shell shape also indicated the route pilgrims took.
As is the norm in the French Basque Country, a stone archway provided the entrance to the local church, Église Saint-Pierre. Built in the late 15th century and modified in the 18th century, it featured a traditional Basque three-level wooden gallery.
Rosine said men and women had customarily sat on different sides of the aisle. Men took off their berets only in church, so the pews had hooks for them!
In the open space outside the church, I took a picture of Rosine in front of the Cloud sculpture.
As the stream behind the church can sometimes overflow its banks, the community benefited from having a large park area, as nothing could be built there. But it had not rained since July.
More examples of traditional local architecture:
Plane trees are common in the village; Rosine added that they are normally trimmed, so they grow together and bloom.
A Basque cross:
We strolled to the Pont Romain d'Utsalea, a stone bridge built in the Roman style in 1738 over the Nivelle River, not during Roman times!
If we had all the time in the world, we could have hiked for miles, or rather kilometers, along the riverbank!
Naomi: As a car buff, you'll recognize that Rosine was standing beside a classic Citroën 2CV, known as Deux Chevaux or Two Horses, a vintage economy car produced by the French automaker from 1948 to 1990.
Rosine told me part of the amazing story of how JM, as a very young teenager, had arranged to move his parents two days later from their much more modest home into an apartment in the largest building in the village.
Hooks on the ground-level walls had held horses.
Built in 1676, the building, now containing doctors' offices, had a magnificent staircase. Town officials had a huge fight on their hands to keep the historic staircase and prevent an elevator from being installed instead.
The front of the building:
The former priest's home across from the church we'd just visited:
We ended our tour of the village near the ruins of the historic local castle, where Rosine showed me a memorial to a sad chapter in Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle's history. The Labourd Witch Hunt of 1609 in Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle was one of the deadliest and most intense waves of witch trials in early modern France.
I read online that King Henri IV sent Bordeaux magistrate Pierre de Lancre to the Labourd province in June 1609 to investigate and root out alleged witchcraft. As most local men were away at sea in Newfoundland, women were left to manage households, own property, and enjoy unusual social independence. De Lancre viewed their customs, unique Basque language, and relative autonomy as devilish and accused hundreds of people of attending witches' assemblies.
Normally, the ruins were inaccessible, but we could wander around.
Later that afternoon, JM and Rosine treated us to a drive up a mountain pass or col to Irun, a community just over the border in Spain, although there was no demarcation, of course, within the European Union. They often shop there because gas and food are less expensive. I had difficulty getting my head wrapped around grocery shopping in another country!
Minutes later, we were back in France, in the charming town of Ascain. JM jokingly said that since there was extra paint left over after all the fishing boats near the coast were painted blue and green, they painted the homes the same colors!
Then over Col St. Ignace, toward the 16th-century French village of Sare, which also had the fronton for pelota and the square-style church.
Napoleon's troops planted the row of trees so they wouldn't be visible in the shade!
Sare's Chapelle Sainte-Catherine, a17th-century religious building:
Next post: Exploring the nearby Basque town of St. Jean-de-Luz.
Over just four months, de Lancre's commission interrogated and tortured hundreds of people, resulting in dozens of executions, with estimates of around 80 to over 100 people burned at the stake. The wave of terror ended in late 1609 after de Lancre targeted local Catholic priests and provoked backlash from returning sailors and community leaders, leading to his recall to Bordeaux.
In 2010, the village erected the Oroit Mina memorial, meaning Pain of Memory in Euskara. It stood directly opposite the ruins of the historic château where de Lancre interrogated and tortured the accused.
Normally, the ruins were inaccessible, but we could wander around.
Later that afternoon, JM and Rosine treated us to a drive up a mountain pass or col to Irun, a community just over the border in Spain, although there was no demarcation, of course, within the European Union. They often shop there because gas and food are less expensive. I had difficulty getting my head wrapped around grocery shopping in another country!
Minutes later, we were back in France, in the charming town of Ascain. JM jokingly said that since there was extra paint left over after all the fishing boats near the coast were painted blue and green, they painted the homes the same colors!
The Basque town church in Ascain, where we were soon in for a treat!
Then over Col St. Ignace, toward the 16th-century French village of Sare, which also had the fronton for pelota and the square-style church.
Napoleon's troops planted the row of trees so they wouldn't be visible in the shade!
Sare's Chapelle Sainte-Catherine, a17th-century religious building:
Now, this was the life! I could get used to being wined and dined by JM and Rosine as he poured a delicious local wine for us in the traditional fashion.
Next post: Exploring the nearby Basque town of St. Jean-de-Luz.
Posted on November 5, 2026, from Fes, Morocco, before moving on tomorrow to the High Atlas Mountains. Please take care of yourself and your loved ones.
