What does he have Baztán Valley What causes us so much mystery? Is it mythology or truth in those woods there is magic ? The gaze of those who walk through them on a daily basis is essential to understand them and to walk through them, and all of this is collected in his new book 'The language of the forests', by the **Navarre writer Hasier Larretxea **.
Madrid It has been the perfect perspective to write a story about his land, the Baztán Valley, Arraioz -the town where he grew up- and the history of his family dedicated to wood, Basque rural sports and the forest.
But the story must be understood from the beginning: “There was a day in a youth log cutter championship and with bloody hands I couldn't cut the six logs I had to cut. That day was a before and after. My father threw in the towel with me in relation to his dream, which was for his children to continue with that tradition of rooting in rural sports, ”Hasier Larretxea tells Traveler.es.
Set of old houses in Baztan.
Though he never disassociated himself from the forests for that , he understood and embraced them from literature, and all those things that he had learned from Baztan, he wrote them himself.
“My childhood and adolescence have passed in the town of Arraioz , a town of three hundred inhabitants in the Baztan valley. In that **north of Navarra** of stories of smugglers, exhausts, witchcraft -a few kilometers to the north, in Zugarramurdi -and great symbolism around nature and forests”, he adds.
THE MAN IN THE FOREST
Who is the man of the forest and why Hasier dedicates the book to him? 'The language of the forests' is a story of stories, a book of reunions and families , and of all those mythological legends told by the grandmothers in the heat of the fireplace.
In addition to a work that he also dedicates to his father: the man in the woods . “For that man of the forest, that habitat is a refuge and a place where he has hardened and strengthened himself through adversity in working with wood and inclement weather. He is a strong, tough person with a heart of oak. With wonderful values but outlined by the hardness and the containment of emotions”, Hasier underlines.
Photographs by Paola Lozano for 'The Language of the Forests'.
And what stories did the man in the forest tell his brother and him, that fascinated him so much in his childhood? “They were stories about his relationship with wild animals and how he represented them around the caravan where we slept in the summer season in those days. Pyrenees forests ”.
He also told them about the time they heard the Pyrenean bear screaming while they slept and how scared they were. “There is an account that he also collected in the book of how he saved the life of a co-worker who almost lost his leg in a remote forest. He had to carry it on his shoulder through streams and through the woods for over an hour.”
'The language of the woods' is a path into the woods.
THE PATH TO ENTER THE FOREST
With illustrations by Zuri Negrín and photographs by Paola Lozano Hasier's book is the perfect path that you must choose to enter the Baztan Forest . And it starts at his favorite childhood spot: Señorío de Bertiz Natural Park.
Also in the Irati Forest, the second largest forest in Europe after the Black forest .Continues south of the Baztan valley and in the ulzama valley ; there is also room for Orgi's Forest with its oak groves.
And on the map of essential places of it? “I would recommend the Xorroxin waterfall, located in the Erratzu district, where, in addition to being able to take a walk, you can enjoy the green landscape in the Gorostapolo neighborhood. It is a great plan to be able to eat a talo, similar to an arepa or a corn tortilla, at the Zubi Punta bar.”
also missing the source of Urederra in the Urbasa Andia Natural Park , Nature Reserve since 1987. “Without a doubt, I would recommend the Día de la Almadía festival in the town of Burgui, a festival of national tourist interest since 2005 in honor of the rafters of the Roncal, Salazar and Aezkoa valleys”.
What do the Baztan forests hide?
HOW TO VISIT IT NOW
Hasier is clear: from spring to fall; his favorite month is september . "For me, the best time of day is sunset through those walks."
Your best plan for him when he visits from the capital? “I like to make the journey between the town of Oronoz-Mugaire, which is the town at the entrance to the Baztan valley from the west, and the town of Arraioz. It is a route through which you can glimpse the neighborhood of Zozaia, the town of Ziga and Mount Auza in the background”, the writer points out.
Perhaps the time has come to rediscover him through these lyrics, delving into him to take care of him and letting himself be carried away by his legends. Because as Hasier says, the boque is generous and never expels anyone.
Shall we go into the forest?