The Basque Country

The first two days of my walk have taken me through the Basque country of France and Spain; Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port was the capital of the old Basque region of Navarre. The author of the Codex did not have much positive to say of this area:

'[This] is the Basque country, with the city of Bayonne on the north coast. The language spoken here is incomprehensible. The terrain is woody and mountainous with a serious shortage of bread, wine and other food supplies, except for plenty of apples and cider and milk.' 

My current language problems stem from my shameful French although it is not surprising that Basque was seen as incomprehensible; it is apparently one of the oldest living languages and is completely unrelated to what the experts call the 'Indo-European' languages that are the root of other major European tongues.  It is thought to originate from the people and culture that occupied Europe as far back as 7,000 years ago. 

I am told that today the region is well known for its food, so it would appear that things have improved somewhat in the last 900 years, and Basque cider still seems to be a significant local product from what I saw in the shops in Saint-Jean-Pied-de-Port. I'm not sure the Italian meal I had on my first night really allows me to comment with any authority on their food.  However, I do have a bottle of Basque wine in my bag for emergencies and local Basque saucisson which I am enjoying....