Discovering the treasures of the north

MANILA, Philippines — Aside from the Camino Real at Santiago de Compostela, the north of Spain has been uncharted territory for most Filipino tourists.

I myself have always been south-bound during my previous visits to Spain – Madrid, Toledo, Sevilla, Cordoba, Granada, Malaga, Huelva, Cadiz, Cuenca and Jerez de la Frontera. The magnet has been the warm weather, the flamenco culture and the easy-going way of life that are typical of south Spain. This time, on my sixth visit, I ventured northward to La Rioja, Basque country, Cantabria and Asturias – unknown regions to many Filipinos but an area that holds a quiet fascination for me.

The north of Spain is quite different from the rest of the country because of its topography, weather, vegetation, culture and cuisine. The socio-cultural life of the people of Northern Spain has been shaped and defined by two natural features –  the wind and water forces of the Bay of Biscay interacting with the Picos de Europa, a range of mountains towering up to 2,650 meters.

Diners take in the view at the Eguren Ugarte vineyard.

My trip started in Madrid where I spent a few days doing the typical tourist itinerary – Palacio Real, Prado Museum, Parque de la Montaña, Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the inevitable walk along the Gran Via. The late spring weather was pleasant with a little sunshine, some showers and temperatures ranging from 15º to 23°C.

Then we headed off for our road trip to Segovia, La Rioja, San Sebastian and Bilbao. I was fortunate to be traveling with my Spanish friend Pablo who knew northern Spain like the back of his hand. Although the distances in our itinerary were long, the travel was relatively short due to the efficient highway network. And the scenery along the way was varied – and definitely Instagram-worthy.

Our travel to Segovia, a historic city in the Castile and León Region, took only an hour and a half. I was amused by the fact that most of the tourists that day were mainland Chinese, whom I was told are the principal year-round visitors of Segovia because of their fascination with the Roman aqueduct. Perhaps because it compares well with the magnificent engineering work of the Great Wall of China?

Meson de Candido’s cochinillo, presented by Candido himself.

The aqueduct was constructed by the Romans in the 1st century AD to transport water from the mountains to the La Acebeda region. It is one of the best-preserved elevated aqueducts of that era consisting of 167 majestic arches made of granite ashlars (large square-cut stones). What is astonishing about the aqueduct is it was built unmortared, meaning without masonry paste in between the ashlars. So in simple terms, the huge stones were just meticulously “piled’ one on top of another. Looking up at the aqueduct from beneath the arches, I thought Segovia is fortunate not to be located on an earthquake belt like Manila. 

The other attraction of Segovia is something Filipinos will surely crave. Ask any Spaniard what food one should try when in Segovia and the common answer is “cochinillo” or roast suckling pig. “Really?” I asked in amusement for I consider myself a gourmand of different cochinillo versions in the Philippines.

A variety of pintxos from San Sebastian.

Pablo brought me to Meson de Candido, a landmark, decades-old restaurant known for serving the best cochinillo in Segovia. And guess who greeted us at the reception desk of the restaurant? Candido himself, the owner and descendant of the original Candido who established the restaurant. He was so enthused that I’m from the Philippines because he’s been here and was so ecstatic about his experiences during his visit.

The cochinillo asado was, to say the least, the best I’ve ever had – thick crispy skin and soft, tasty meat that melts in your mouth. The preparation is quite meticulous: the pigs, which come from a special breed, should weigh 4 to 5 kilograms only, milk-fed, not older than three weeks and the breeding mother is fed a special menu. Roasting should be done in a special oven. To maintain the culinary standard, the city organizes an annual competition among the dozens of cochinillo restaurants.

Marques de Riscal hotel in La Rioja.

Our next destination was La Rioja, a small region in the Ebro River Valley, famous for its rioja and tempranillo wines. Originally, I wasn’t too keen about visiting wineries but Pablo was insistent that there is more to La Rioja than wines. And I’m glad I relented because first, there was the spectacular scenery of endless vineyards dotted with green mountains and hills, and the bonus of amazing architecture by some of the world’s finest – Frank Gehry, Santiago Calatrava and Zaha Hadid – rising out of the valleys like alien spaceships.

We first visited Eguren Ugarte, a 140-year-old landmark family-owned winery known as one of the longest-standing vineyards in Europe. The winery has approximately 2,000 meters of wine cellar caves and an average of 30 different varieties of wine. I was lucky to meet the current owner, Vitorino Eguren Ugarte, fifth generation descendant of the founder. Vitorino is a charming man in his 70s who takes great pride in what his family has built.

Our next stop was the Marques de Riscal, the oldest and also the most iconic winery in La Rioja. The wine estate is known for two things – the exquisite Baron de Chirel wine which they launched in 1986 and their luxury hotel designed by Frank Gehry which opened in 2006. The design is avant-garde using colorful platinum cladding purposely and chaotically set as roof and casing.

Guggenheim Museum Bilbao

After all the wine tastings, we were craving for pintxos, the Basque version of tapas or small bar bites. And of course there’s no other place to go but San Sebastian, the Spanish capital for pintxos! The drive took us only an hour and we arrived in San Sebastian just in time for late cocktails at Donostia, the old part of the city. We went bar hopping and sampled the specialty of each bar – anchovy pintxos, pimiento verde con jamon Serrano, wild mushrooms, bacalao and pulpo capped by the best cheesecake in Spain at La Viña.

On the following morning we drove up to La Concha, one of the most famous beaches in Europe. What makes it so beautiful is its wide and spacious beach area topped by fine, golden sand; its accessible location at the northern edge of the city and the picturesque bay shaped like a conch shell, thus the name La Concha.

Our next destination was Bilbao, part of my bucket list because of the world-famous Guggenheim Museum Bilbao. The city has been slowly transforming itself from an industrial capital to a modern business and tourism center thanks to the museum. The city has over a dozen museums but the most visited is the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, noted for its iconic titanium-clad architecture by Frank Gehry.

La Concha Beach

While I focused my visit on the exterior and interior architectural design, I was also wowed by most of its modern and contemporary masterpieces including those by Richard Serra, Mark Rothko, Jeff Koons, Andy Warhol and San Sebastian sculptor Eduardo Chillida.

Half-a-day was admittedly not enough to savor the museum treasures, but it was time to move on to our final destination, Asturias, aptly called “nature’s paradise” for the final leg of our road trip.