Well I have stopped working as a frelance tourguide as for the last two years I have been doing a teacher job. History, latin and spanish literature. BUT if you think I can help you for your trip to Basque Country or Rioja don't hesitate to contact, as I will. You have my email at the right sidebar.

And of course if you need a tourguide I can foward you to great guides in Basque Country and Rioja I know!!

Last week I started the 2014 touring to Mike's group from Californa, one of the 6 members was Pam (from Florida). The rest of them Renneè, Scott, Dolores and Connie. We did have a very good time together during the three days we toured from their hotel in Bilbao to Cantabria, Lourdes and Rioja.

But what makes me more happy is the fact that I got such a good review as this one:

 Patxo was wonderful in designing a three day tour from Bilbao for us. He was very cooperative through many emails to combine his suggestions with our ideas to come up with an itinerary just for us. He is personable and knowledable and speaks English very well. His contacts with wineries and restaurants enabled us to go places usually closed to the public and experience outstanding local hospitality. He was great with mobility limited members of our group. He made our visit to Pais Basque memorable!

And after that much fun I get this full report of our trip together: MIKE'S REPORT Thanks a lot Mike for your kind words and for all the things I learned touring you and the good ideas I had thanks to you.

Feedback from La Jolla (California)

I got this great feedback from some Californinan customers I met in the fiesta de la vendimia de la Rioja Alavesa.

September 2013

We met Patxo by pure good luck at the 'Fiesta de la Vendimia' in Villa Buena. He was so outgoing and knowledgeable about the area that we booked him for a private tour the following weekend. From the onset of our tour which was to a private Bodega (one of the most beautiful and private settings we visited on our entire trip) the experience there with his old friend a 5th generation wine maker was incredible!

 Driving the countryside with Patxo was so much more fun for us as he could explain and describe the history of the Rioja region and the different idealic villages we saw in perfect English. 

We ended our day at a fabulous gourmet Asado restaurant where we were treated like VIP's being with Patxo and then sadly parted company to drive back to Madrid but not without promising our new friend we would come back for more wine touring with him in Spain... there are at least 3 more regions to visit!

Gina and Rob/ Alison and Eric

La Jolla, California - USA

Great feedback from a customer from Hong Kong on a Tour I did this september:

My friends and I approached Patxo initially for a wine tour in Bilbao (Rioja). As we had very specific requirements and we are extremely particular about tasting great wines and food and also include a museum tour, we needed an experienced guide who not only able to get us to all the places we want to visit within limited time (as we only had a day) and who knows about wines as well. I have to say, as a customer, I was quite difficult on Patxo as I set out all my requirements and I changed some of them quite frequently to ensure that all my friends' requirements are met (eg, some of my friends were particular about museum, some were extremely particular about tasting the best wines, some about food). Patxo is probably one of the most patient and flexible tour guides I have come across - he answered all my questions promptly and he also tried his best to come up with a flexible but efficient itinerary to meet all our requirements. And the tour turned out extremely well and all of us were very happy. It's definitely one of the best tours for all of us as Patxo managed to get us the appointment with a great winery, he also brought us to a great lunch place with an efficient control of time. We also managed to squeeze in a museum tour at the end of the wine tour. Patxo also took the effort to explain a lot to us about the history of the Bilbao. We were back on our cruise at the end of the tour right on time. Thank you Patxo!

Calvin & friends

Thanks Calvin and you guys from such a fun tour! What you don't say is that we laughted all day long, and you made me pass a great day too!!

June 2013, Battlefieldtour for the british army, 4th Royal Artillery Regiment, 97 batery, Lawson's company

Last month I have been very busy with visits from many friends, attending the reanacmets and hosting this Royal Artillery unit on the 200 th aniversory of the Battle of Vitoria and Siege of San Sebastian. We had an intese week indeed here you have some pics of it:

Some of the memorial ceremony on June the 21st. by british army members and families:

Some of the battlefield tour on bicycle we did on June the 22nd.:

And on the 23rd we went to San Sebastian to revisit the siege:

 Officers of the battery at the picture of the breach 50 years after the siege:

 Even the local newspaper wanted to know on the visit: Diario Vasco Lawson's Battery

A guide must have his blog:... So here I am!

First page of a new blog! I should talk about myself and the job I do as a guide, but may be better is just adding a few pictures of what I do: