Oh my god, guys.  Look at that.
That's my foot.
That's a 150 foot cliff that I'm about to repel down.
Sometimes I forget that I have a fear of heights.
And then I get to places like this and I realize
that I think I just pooped my pants.
We just got to this natural park called Urkiola
One of the main themes of today's video is
about contrasts.
Right now we're going to go to a viewpoint
and learn a bit more about the early roots of
Basque mythology,
in particular the Mother Godess
named Mari.
The plan is pretty cool.
We're going to be hiking up
into these foggy, misty hills
to a cave that has some mythological significance.
There, we're going to be repelling down
into the darkness, into the unknown.
A mountain is similar to Mari
Mari is the mother of the earth.
OK.  So...Pacha Mama!
Pacha Mari.
Pacha Mari.  Pacha Mari
Even though Basques are not necessarily
Pagan or animists today,
they're still a huge respect for nature here.
People love the outdoors.
We're only 30 kilometers from Bilbao,
which is one of the major industrial cities in the north.
One of my favorite things to do
back when I lived in the Basque Country
was to go trail running up in the mountains
and in the forests,
but I never got anywhere as amazing, remote,
and beautiful as this.
Listo?  Guys, we're ready?
Doing it.
Next up on our Basque Bucket List
repelling off the edge of this cliff
down into this cave.
It's probably about 150 feet, maybe 50 meters
repelling, and what an incredible location, you guys.
This way?
Okay.
It's not that far down.
I know Alex is going to love this, though.
You're about to get the biggest wedgie of your life.
Ready?  Let's go.
This cave is called Baltzola
But right now we are about to take it to another level,
a deeper level.
Apparently, this is the cave that belongs to Mari's husband,
and you're supposed to wait for an invitation.
I didn't get a text message
so I don't know if we're invited, but......
we're not.
We're going to see what happens
so hopefully, we're not cursed by the gods.
I wouldn't jinx any of that stuff, Bro.
All right, guys.  We're in this cave right now
There's a bunch of spiders and bats
and myths.
I can see the light at the end of the tunnel.
Ready for lunch.
Ring the lunch bell, Bro.
Vamanos.  Let's go.
Activate the scanners!
We have arrived,
and I'm going to be completely honest.
I don't much about where we have arrived,
but I know that we're here to eat.
We are in for a serious treat right now.
We're right below the mountain of Anboto
where Mari, the Basques goddess lives,
but right here is a place of legends, as well.
This is  Asador Etxebarri.
It has a Michelin Star because it's supposed
to be one of the best grill houses in the world.
And the man behind the grill, Victor Arguinzoniz,
is supposed to be a master of his craft.
We're about to see how he does his magic.
Can we use epic here?
This sounds like something of epic proportions.
Epic, maybe, but it's something of myths and legends, for sure.
This is going to be a mythical place.
Well let's demystify and try it on our palette.
Let's go.
Splurge.
It gives a whole, new meaning to pea soup.
Of course, we've come to a
Michelin Star restaurant...ordering an IPA.
California boys, through and through.
That was delisioso...  So good, man.
It was supposed to be 13 courses.
I think we had about 15 or 16 different things.
I lost count.  it was so good.
The dishes are not super complex,
they're just high quality ingredients
with an emphasis on local cuisine.
Cooking it over the wood fire kind of
imbues everything with a smoky taste.
What I thought was awesome about it is that
the recipes were ones that were inspired
by his childhood...great ingredients, high quality
and just generally a really pleasant dining experience.
We're going to see a lot more examples of this
in the coming episodes, so stay tuned.
There's definitely no shortage
of great food shots to come.
But for now, we're going to a place that is very special
in the Basque world,  Arantzazu.
We've just arrived to Arantzazu,
which is a monastery
and a place of pilgrimage
for believers in the Catholic Church.
Apart from its spiritual significance,
it's just an absolutely incredible location.
It is jaw-droppingly gorgeous.
You are perched on the top of this rock
out-cropping thousands of feet above the valley floor,
opposite a couple of monoliths of rock.
You can just feel the serenity of nature.
This is one of my favorite places in the Basque Country.
It's one of those spots that
just exudes the sense of peace.
It's really the heart of the Basque Country.
We are between all the provinces.
Bizkaia there.  Gipuzkoa here.
Araba and Navarra
About 500 years ago, a pastor... a goat pastor
found an image of the Virgin Mary,
and over the years it's become a place of pilgrimage
and now has this avant-guard church,
which you can see behind this big tower.
I don't know if you remember
all those years ago.
When we first started Vagabrothers
four years ago,
we hitch-hiked up here
and we were trying to film,
and our camera kept getting blown over.
Each time we tried to say something,
bells would ring.
This is just ridiculous
It's kind of insane that 3 or 4 years later,
we're back up here...full circle again.
Is it that really that surprising?
This place is what inspired us
to start making our travel videos.
We made our first travel videos
about the Basque Country.  It was all about
we've lived in San Sebastian,
we go off on these little weekend trips.
Obviously, we've loved this place for years,
and we've wanted to make this series
come back and finish what we were starting.
Anyways, this is an incredible place.
I hope that so far we've shown you three videos
three days.
I hope that you're starting to get
why we love the Basque Country
The adventure continues tomorrow.
We're going somewhere else.
We're keeping it a secret.
We'll show you tomorrow
Be sure that you guys stay tuned for that.
In the meantime, give the video a thumbs-up.
share it with your friends,
and if you haven't already, subscribe to Vagabrothers
for new travel videos every week.
As always, stay curious, keep exploring,
and we'll see you guys on the road.
Agur.
It's a long way to England
See you next year, English friend.
Nice coat.
