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Sport is big in the Basque lands. Football is an obsession, and strongly connected to the political situation: a win for Athletic Bilbao over Real Madrid, the darlings of the Spanish establishment, carries meaning far beyond the pitch. Similarly, great importance is placed on traditional Basque sports. These tend to be fairly unreconstructed tests of strength, such as wood-chopping, or the alarming stone-lifting, in which stocky harrijasotzaileak dead-lift weights which can exceed 300 kg; you can almost feel the hernias popping out. The best places to see these sports are at village fiestas . The best known Basque sport, is pelota, or jai alai, played on a three-sided court. In the most common version, two teams of two hit the ball with their hands against the walls seeking to prevent the other team from returning it. The ball is far from soft; after a long career players’ hands resemble winning entries in a root-vegetable show. Variations of the game are pelota a pala, using bats, and cesta punta, using a wickerwork glove that can propel the ball at frightening speeds.
Bullfighting is big during the summer fiestas. Bilbao is the best place to see a corrida but tickets are tricky to get. Many of the small towns have other bovine events during their fiestas, one involves teams of two attempting to put brass rings on a cow’s horns.
With its long coast and green hills, Euskadi is made for outdoor activities. Cycling, horse trekking, watersports, and walking are well-catered for and rewarding. Cycling in particular is popular; when the professional circuit comes to the area, the country roads become full of enthused cuadrillas of friends, racing each other through the rural landscape. Miguel Indurain, possibly the greatest road cyclist of all time, is a legend (he was born in Navarra). His achievement of five consecutive Tours de France is unmatched.
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