Puenta la Reina and Obanos

After driving from Cherbourg through a rainy and cold France we spent Christmas in the Basque Country enjoying the Navarre region. We stumbled upon the traditional folk festivities in Puenta la Reina featuring the character of Olentzero - a kind of Basque Santa, a shepherd who brings the children presents on Christmas Eve. This involved a procession of children through the streets carrying flame torched and an effigy of Olentzero, and sweets being thrown from the balcony of the town hall. We rented a cosy Air BnB cottage in foggy Obanos, a lovely cobbled traditional town in the Region and rested and ate on Christmas Day and boxing before driving on through Spain to Portugal.Read more