We pick you up at the airport in Bilbao (or as pre-arranged) and after getting you to your hotel we regroup for a brief introduction of the week’s program and embark on a privately guided walking tour of Bilbao, a city founded 700 years ago.

It is the biggest and the most cosmopolitan city in Basque Country, reflected vividly in the character of its inhabitants: arrogant and extremely proud of their home. All the jokes about the supremacy of Bilbao's people over everybody else have some point of truth… Life here feels the other way, Bilbao style!

The city has an intense history: born as a merchant village, it grew up to be an industrial super city, although that didn't last forever, it now Bilbao has a new place: a dynamic business city with a lot of life! The streets of this amazing city tell their story of how the District of the 7 Streets struggled through the centuries and became what it is today. The history also lives in its stone: ultra-modern buildings like Guggenheim Museum and Isozaki Towers are good neighbors of the XVIII -XIXth century houses.

Highlights of the walking tour include Guggenheim Museum, Spider "Maman", Sculpture Puppy, Glass Bridge, The 7 Streets District and Lopez de Haro Avenue. At the Guggenheim we give you free time to explore architect Frank Gehry’s fascinating building and its collections which have given a completely new face to Bilbao’s waterfront. We’ll enjoy our first sampling of Basque Cuisine at dinner tonight.

We shuttle to the center of Euskadi (Basque Country) to the Urkiola Nature Park located in the mountains around Durango and made up of the Aramotz, the Montes del Duranguesado and the Arangio mountain ranges, which form the Bay of Biscay-Mediterranean watershed. Nicknamed the little Switzerland, the park boasts a stunning limestone range of green pastures and majestic, craggy peaks whose crowning glory is Anboto (1330m/4362ft), the mythic dwelling place of the Basque country’s most important pre-Christian deity, Mari, aka the Dama de Anboto. Mari is said to live underground, normally in a cave in a high mountain, where she and her consort Sugaar meet every Friday (the night of the witch-meeting) to conceive the storms that will bring fertility (and sometimes disgrace) to the land and the people. Over the centuries the figure of Mari is also linked to the kidnapping or theft of cows.

For two days we walk within this enchanting range along a route that follow old bridleways and traditional mountain routes. Our first hike starts from a path distinguished by a shady corridor formed by walnut, alder, maple and ash trees along the banks of the River Arrazola as we walk to Marzana, perhaps the most striking hamlet in the Atxondo Valley. Then the narrow green valleys broaden, and reveal stone farmhouses standing among the woods of Mount Memaia and the limestone crags of Mount Anboto. The trail rolls along the top of a curved bank and provides a superb viewing balcony over the valley before we cross the stream running down from the village of Axpe. From the chapel here, you can clearly see the opening known as “Ojo de Bentaneta” (the Eye of Bentaneta), where water has hollowed out the limestone rock of Mount Anboto. It is said that when the sun sets the last rays of sunlight that fall on Atxondo shines through this opening. We return to our Relais du Silence to relax and prepare for evening meal.

Lodging (2 nights) Relais du Silence Hotel

Continuing our exploration Urkiola Nature Park we begin today’s adventure from a farm and cheese dairy, and help in milking the sheep, and, if the correct time of year, we also help to shear them. Once the milking is done, we make a fresh cheese or curd, or if preferred, we can take part in a soap workshop. Following this, enjoy a stroll through the fields of this stunning natural setting with your host shepherd accompanied by the attentive border collie sheepdog. You will be amazed at their deftness at rounding up the Basque latxa sheep from one field to another, following the orders of the shepherd. And what better way to cap the day than with a tasting session of the famous Idiazabal Designation of Origin cheese, with the people who produced it.

After a hearty Basque lunch you have choices on how you wish to spend the afternoon from relaxing at the hotel spa, to horseback riding, to rock climbing, to a visit of the Salt Valley, to a short walk not far from our hotel to the Gujuli Waterfalls (if conditions are worthwhile). Or we can do a second hike within the Park of approximately 1.5 hours that highlights a historically significant Spanish Civil War site, a stock breeding area and a panoramic view point. This route is just a short stretch across the pastureland to the peak of Mount Saibi (945 m). The Saibi was the scene of bloody battles during the Spanish Civil War and the plaque on the cross bears an inscription to the memory of the fallen soldiers. The remains of the trenches and bombing can still be made out in the surrounding countryside.

A visit of the Basque area would not be complete without seeing one of the oldest markets in Spain, the Ordizia farmers market. This market has been held every Wednesday since 1512 and it is here that prices are established for fruit and vegetables sold elsewhere in the Basque Country. This market is a reference for farmers throughout the San Sebastian Region and a showcase for local, seasonal produce. Ordizia – the market of markets. If interested, we can arrange a pintxo making workshop, and enjoy tasting the freshly-made pintxos.

We then head north to the impressive coast with its memorable seaside roads hugging the abrupt coast interspersed with small towns and beautiful sandy beaches and walk to a local winery. In Zarautz, on the sunniest slopes of the mountain of Talai Mendi, stands the family-run Talai Berri txakoli winery, perched on a hill surrounded by 12 hectares of its own vineyards. Innovation has enabled them, generation after generation, to keep their essence alive while improving on their predecessors' wine making processes. It is precisely this fusion of heritage and modernity that is reflected in the wines made here. After a guided tour of the winery, discovering every step in the process of making txakoli, you'll enjoy a tasting of typical local produce (chilli peppers from Ibarra, tuna, chorizo from Navarra and Idiazabal cheese) washed down by the winery's own txakolis.

Lodging: (2 nights) Ideally located Hotel showcases sea view terrace, beach access, and spa services & seaview rooms

When walking in the Basque Country, a “don’t miss” is the 8 km-long coastal stretch between the towns of Deba and Zumaia better known as the Flysch Trail. The coast here reveals some extraordinary rock formations that are now protected as part of the Basque Coast Geopark. The most striking formations are made of what is known as the flysch – a sequence of sedimentary rocks that make up one of the longest continuous rock strata in the world; formed nearly 100 million years ago by the crashing of waves against the cliffs and creating a platform of alternate hard layers of limestone and sandstone, and soft layers of clay and loam.

To orient ourselves we first visit the Algorri Interpretation Center in Zumaia to learn more about the flysch. From the center we have several options; we can opt for a 3-hour boat trips from Zumaia along the coast westwards, which enables the best of the entire geopark to be viewed from the sea. Or we can choose from hikes that range from 10 miles/4.5 hrs to 5 miles/2hrs to a 2 mile/1 hour hike. Each trail offers us the chance to witness the natural beauty along the coast and the chance to enjoy fantastic views over a wide variety of different landscapes. In the middle section of the longer walk, we go out to the edge of the impressive cliffs at Mendatagaina and Sakoneta. At low tide in the same area, you can also walk along the spectacular sea cut platform, where flysch outcrops have given rise to beautiful cliffs. Although it may seem unbelievable today, in the 1970's plans were being made to build a nuclear power station here.

This whole coastline has a rich history of stories about smuggling, octopus fishing and many, many more. At one point during each of our routes, we walk along part of the thousand year old pilgrim’s trail, which led pilgrims along the coast during their long journey west toward Santiago de Compostela.

Today our trailhead is in Sare, France, so we transfer via picturesque French Basque villages to get a taste of Basque Country on the other side of the border before our walk from France into Spain. Located in the Franco-Iberian border area known as Xareta throughout history.

 Sare has enjoyed a privileged relationship with parts of the Basque country on both sides of the border, especially when it came to smuggling: not just of goods, but of people during war-time. But it is also host to another unique feature: its famous caves. Two million years ago, the caves of Sare were home to prehistoric families; today they provide a unique insight into the geology and history of the Basque region.

We start with a one-hour guided tour, along a path with sound and light, that enables visitors to discover the unusual geology and the origins and mythology of the Basque people, as uncovered by anthropologist José Miguel de Barandiaran. Next to the caves, a museum and a megalithic park complete the visit. We’ll then walk through rolling farmland along ancient smuggler’s paths that were used most recently to help Jews flee from Nazi occupied France.

Sheep and semi-wild horses, pottoks, graze in these hills as the wooded trail heads over the border to the Spanish caves of Zugarramurdi , the Spanish equivalent of Salem, Massachusetts. In 1609, over 7,000 accused women, children, and even certain priests were tried and burned at the stake as purported witches from the village. Today, this history is embraced with adorning witches’ faces, and witches' brooms hanging over buildings.

Lodging: (2nights) 4-star in San Sebastian

A short drive takes us to one of the Basque Country’s most beautiful natural ports, Pasai Donibane , featuring just one street as there is no room for anything else between the ocean and the mountain. It is such a charming town that Victor Hugo, the novelist, lived here for some time and described it with great admiration in his book “Los Pirineos.” An historical note of interest to Americans: it was from Pasai Donibane that Lafayette set sail for America to aid the Americans against the British during the American Revolution.

From here we embark on a magnificent coastal trail which leaves the village via a steep, ascending trail past a picturesque lighthouse which protects the entrance to the harbor. The undulating trail enters forests, soars along the cliffs and transports you back in time to the days when the hillside, Uliamendi, was used by local whalers to spot the great sea beasts approaching the coast.

Our destination is back into the beautiful city of San Sebastian and along our way into town we’ll wander the streets of the old quarter, to enjoy its maritime walkway, and admire the more than 100 types of lamp posts decorating the city as we wind our way back to our hotel.

Day 8: Departure after breakfast to train station or airport as pre-arranged