From Azpeitia one can either return to San Sebastian over the Col de Regil and down through Tolosa , or run back to the coast and proceed to Bilbao .sx It is usual to run along the coast to Bilbao from Deva and take the inland route back from Bilbao to Deva by way of Durango .sx Situated at the mouth of the river of the same name , Deva is very like an estuary town in Devon or Cornwall with hills shrouded in soft haze , a stone bridge across the river , and shipping lying in the tideway .sx The river is one of the prettiest in this beautiful country .sx Beyond the little fishing cove of Motrico ( birthplace of Churruca who was killed in the Battle of Trafalgar ) , one crosses another river , the Marquina , and passes out of the Province of Guipuzcoa into that of Vizcaya or Biscay .sx There is generally as much activity on the partof the " migueletes " or provincial militia as if one were crossing the frontier from France into Spain , instead of passing from one Spanish province to another .sx The secret is the levying of octroi duties .sx The " migueletes , " as they are called in the Province of Guipuzcoa , or " minones " in Vizcaya and Alava , add much to the picturesqueness of the railway stations of the Basque country , where they carry on police duty , and collect the provincial tax , or " octroi " duty .sx Their uniform consists of a red flat cap , with a brass disk in the centre , and blue cape and red trousers .sx There are only infantry .sx In Alava and Vizcaya , they wear white caps , and there are cavalry as well .sx Very proud are the Basques of their militia , and it has ever been their boast that they can put into the field as many men as the Government may require .sx They cannot be ordered for service out of their province , but can volunteer for foreign service , as they did in the war with the United States .sx As in France , " Pelota " is the national game of the Spanish Basques .sx Another popular amusement among the Spanish working classes and peasantry is cock-fighting :sx here again betting is carried on in a way that must rival the State Lottery .sx Ondarroa is quite one of the most picturesque fishing villages on the coast , with a big fleet of fishing boats and curious houses .sx Another quaint little seaside hamlet is Lequeitio .sx Before reaching the considerable fishing village of Bermeo one comes across the River Mundaca .sx Higher up this valley is Guernica where the Deputies of Vizcaya .sx were wont to meet in solemn conclave under an ancient oak tree .sx Guernikako Arbola , a song written by Jose Maria Iparraguirre , is the national anthem of the Basques .sx Practically independent until after the Carlist Wars of 1876 , the Basques are very proud of their history and ancient rights called fueros ; they are essentially Basque first and Spanish afterwards .sx One might call this Oak of Guernica , the Blarney Stone of the Basques .sx On the alternative route between Deva and Bilbao lie Durango , a small town containing the oldest church in the Basque Provinces , and Eibar where they make the inlaid cutlery and jewellery one finds all over Spain .sx Coming along the coast one reaches the seaside suburb of Bilbao , Las Arenas ; as its name implies , it is a fine sandy beach , with grand waves rolling in from the Atlantic .sx A flying ferry crosses a transporter bridge , the Puente Vizcaya , to Portugalete , a port at the mouth of the Nervion , where most of the British colony of Bilbao reside .sx Here also is the Yacht Club .sx Several moles and breakwaters have done much to tame the Bay of Biscay and make it possible for shipping to cross the bar and proceed up the Nervion to load iron ore .sx Although they are not in the Pyrenees , no one should leave Bilbao without visiting Castro Urdiales , Laredo , and Santona , three very picturesque fishing coves on the way to Santander .sx One cannot visit Spain without seeing a bull-fight , and it was at Bilbao that I was first sent .sx to witness a Corrida in the company of a friend's retired butler who had been a banderillero of note in his day .sx I am not going to attempt to describe a bull-fight , in detail .sx It consists of three acts :sx first the horse killing , when the picadores take the edge off the bull's appetite with their horses , or goad him on with their lances , then the banderilleros , who stick darts in the bull , and finally the matador who , clad in silk stockings and dancing-pumps , faces the bull with a red rag round a piece of stick in his left hand and a sword in the other .sx When the matador has enticed the bull into the position he requires with the red rag he kills it with his sword .sx The bull should fall stone dead without moving .sx More has been written about Tauromachia than about Boxiana or Fox Hunting .sx It has many aspects .sx Without the killing of horses it would be sport .sx But one cannot have the one without the other .sx Not to have seen a bull-fight is not to have seen Spain , and not to have seen a bull-fight in the company of a Spaniard is not to have seen a bull-fight .sx It is impossible to initiate the reader into the various strokes and passes that make bull-fighting almost a science .sx A " primera espada " generally retires , or " cuts his pig-tail , " as " the fancy " have it , at about fifty-five .sx A few then start training-schools for young " espadas , " but most live on their handsome earnings .sx Formerly , there was an official school of bull-fighting , but now , the young men pick up the art as best they can by practising on bulls at the slaughter-houses in big towns .sx It is quite untrue to say that bull-fighting .sx is dying out ; nothing is further from the truth .sx New rings are often opened in big towns , and special illustrated papers are devoted entirely to bull-fights .sx The cinema rights are sold as at boxing matches .sx So deeply rooted in the national life is bull-fighting , that nothing will ever stop it ; it would be easier to forbid football or horse racing in England .sx Queen Isabella tried to stop it and failed , as did Pope Pius V , who issued a " Bull " which was ignored .sx A bull-fighter is ever in the glare of the limelight .sx He is acclaimed everywhere ; his reception is almost regal when he appears to show his skill in the ring .sx As a mark of his calling , his hair is always dressed with a pig-tail , which he never cuts off until he retires from his profession .sx In his private life he is far more of an actor than an athlete ; perhaps he is best compared to the modern boxer .sx Many have retired with large fortunes , and live in great luxury at Seville or Cordova .sx Bilbao is too wealthy to enable one to conjure up any pictures of the long gone days of " trusty bilboes " and true-lovers' knots .sx Indeed there is nothing of Shakespeare or Good Queen Bess about Bilbao to-day .sx It is an essentially modern town , exporting millions of tons of iron ore annually mostly in rusty old Tyneside tramps , flying a patched and grimy " red-duster , " innocent of paint , and manned by a sturdy crew of hard swearing , hard drinking " Geordies " of the Captain Kettle type .sx Most of the iron ore trade is in the hands of Englishmen , who haveestablished an excellent Sports Club .sx During my short stay in the city , I met a young Englishman fresh out from I forget which University , who taught his Spanish clerks to row every evening , that they might compete in the local regatta .sx My hotel was situated on one of those squares of high houses , with arcaded streets that one always associates with Spanish towns .sx Founded by Diego Lopez de Haro , Lord of Biscay in 1300 , Bilbao was a good deal knocked about by the Carlists , who , however , never captured the town either in the War of 1833 or in that of 1874 .sx From Bilbao one will do well to look at Pamplona , the capital of Navarre , travelling by way of Vergara and Zumarraga .sx It was at the former town that Espartero concluded the peace with the Carlists that ended the first War in 1839 .sx All the Basques provinces are full of memories of the Carlist Wars that were the result of Napoleon's meddling with Spanish affairs ( see Bayonne) .sx At Ormaiztegui , where there are sulphur springs , was born one of the fiercest of the Carlist leaders , Zumalacarregui .sx At Zumarraga were born three Basque heroes , Miguel Lopez de Legazpi , who conquered the Philippines in 1569 ; Jose Maria Iparraguirre , author of the Basque national anthem , " The tree of " ; and Gaspar de Jauregui , who fought against the French in 1810-13 and against the Carlists in 1833 .sx Travelling by train in the Spanish Pyrenees gives one plenty of time to study the scenery and .sx local types .sx Expresses unprovided with restaurant cars stop for half an hour at meal times at some station where there is a " fonda , " or " buffet .sx " The trains waste an incredible amount of time at stations .sx Before a train can start , three bells are rung :sx first , a warning bell hung near the station-master's office , then a porter walks slowly the whole length of the train , ringing a hand-bell , and howling in a kind of chant " Senores viajeros al tren , " the equivalent for .sx " take your seats .sx " Then the bell is rung again , and if one is in luck , the train starts .sx A " Guardia Civil , " or gendarme , travels on each train , a relic of the days of Jose-Maria , for it is this corps that has stamped out brigandage .sx They are the best force of this kind in existence .sx All are old soldiers , though they are not old men .sx There are foot and mounted men .sx Steady and severe , though doing police work , they form a part of the regular army ; they always work in couples , a young man and a veteran , the former to supply dash , the latter , ballast .sx They have power to shoot after giving one warning , " Alto , " " hands up , " and no questions asked by the civil authorities for they are under the War Office .sx Their workaday uniform is a kind of green , but on " gala " days they wear a black tunic with red and yellow facings , white breeches , and a three-cornered hat .sx This , on week days , in common with the head-dress of all Spanish uniforms , is covered with a black waterproof cover .sx " La Guardia Civil " are the only police with a sense of the picturesque :sx they lend romance alike toriver or mountain , and I cannot think of Spain without them .sx They stand for law and order in a land of the knife .sx To them the tourist owes the freedom of the road and the extermination of the " bandolero .sx " They are , alas !sx by no means the only police , though the only effective ones .sx Next to them in power come the " Guardias del Orden publico , " a kind of political police under the Ministry of the Interior .sx They are strict , and great busybodies , and the best-hated men in Spain .sx The Municipal Police are seldom taken seriously ; they are dressed in long blue coats and helmets , in most towns , feeble copies of our English uniforms .sx They carry a stick to whack " drunks " and small boys , and are known as " corridors , " " lockers-up .sx " At night , their place is taken by watchmen called " serenos , " from the fact that they used to cry , and still do so in the small towns and villages , the hours , ending with the words " y todo sereno , " " and all is well " ( serene) .sx They have the keys of all the houses on their beat , a great comfort to diners out .sx All kinds of amusing stories are told of their comments on the nocturnal doings of their fellow townsmen cried aloud under the moon .sx Such as " two o'clock of a thirsty night , Old Antonio not home yet !sx " and later , " three o'clock , and his wife is still thrashing Antonio , who came home as drunk as a lord !sx " Such are the tales one hears of serenos in small places .sx I should add that they carry spears or pikes , and wear soft slippers , an idea that might be copied to advantage by our London police .sx Specimens of all these police encumber the railway stations throughout Spain .sx