Original subtitles

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ANNOUNCER: WHEN YOU SEE THIS SYMBOL YOU KNOW YOU'RE

WATCHING TELEVISION THAT'S EDUCATIONAL AND INFORMATIONAL.THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

DYLAN: I'M DYLAN DREYER.

TODAY WE'RE TRAVELING TO THE MAJESTIC COASTLINES OF

NORTHERN SPAIN.

WE'LL EXPLORE THE TREACHEROUS WESTERN SHORES

OF THIS ANCIENT LAND, DISCOVER THIS REGION'S

BEAUTIFUL ARCHITECTURE, MEET THE PROUD MEN AND

WOMEN WHO STRUGGLE TO KEEP THEIR TRADITIONS AND WAY

OF LIFE ALIVE, AND REVEL IN THE BREATHTAKING BEAUTY

OF SPAIN.

VAMONOS!

THE JOURNEY STARTS RIGHT NOW.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: SPAIN HAS AN ASTOUNDING 3,000

PLUS MILES OF COAST BORDERED BY THE WILDLY

DIFFERENT MEDITERRANEAN SEA,

ATLANTIC OCEAN AND THE BAY OF BISCAY.

ITS COASTLINES VARY FROM SOFT,

SANDY BEACHES TO WIND-SWEPT HILLSIDES AND

JAGGED, ROCKY CLIFFS.

IN NORTHERN SPAIN YOU CAN FIND WHATEVER SUITS YOUR

FANCY IF YOU JUST KNOW WHERE TO LOOK.

♪ ADVENTUROUS MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: SPAIN IS AN ENORMOUS MOSAIC OF

LANDSCAPES.

GARDENS, PALACES AND TEMPLES THAT SHOW THE

VALUE OF TOLERANCE AND CO-EXISTENCE.

A BIRTHPLACE OF THOUSAND YEAR-OLD CULTURES AND

ANCIENT TRADITIONS.

A COUNTRY FULL OF LIGHT, COLORS,

FLAVORS AND BEAUTY.

♪ MUSIC CONTINUES ♪

♪ MUSIC CONTINUES ♪

DYLAN: IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE COUNTRY SITS

LAXE, AN OLD FISHING PORT AND COMMERCIAL AREA.

HERE THE SENSATIONS OF SPAIN ARE ON FULL DISPLAY.

THE HOUSES REMIND US OF ITS ANCIENT SEASIDE

CHARACTER WITH THIS SMALL STONE CHURCH THAT LOOKS TO

THE SEA AND ITS BEAUTIFUL HOUSES WITH GALLERIES OF

WHITE BALCONIES.

IT'S HOME TO MORE THAN 3 MILES OF SANDY BEACHES.

A PEACEFUL HAVEN WHERE PEOPLE CAN RELAX,

ENJOY THE SUN OR GO FOR A SWIM.

SOMETIMES IN THIS PARADISE NATURE IS UNPREDICTABLE.

IN THIS SMALL COVE NEAR LAXE THE SHORE IS A

SYMPHONY OF COLORS BELOW THE SUN'S SPARKLING RAYS.

SURPRISINGLY THERE USED TO BE AN OLD GARBAGE DUMP

HERE.

THE DISCARDED GLASS MADE ITS WAY TO THE SEA AND WAS

RETURNED POLISHED LIKE PRECIOUS STONES.

IT SEEMS LIKE THE SEA IN ITS WISDOM KNOWS THE

IMPORTANCE OF RECYCLING.

[♪ SOFT MUSIC ♪- BEACH SOUNDS]

DYLAN: THE NORTHWEST COASTLINE OF SPAIN KNOWN

AS THE COSTA DA MORTE IS ONE OF THE MOST BEAUTIFUL,

WILD AND DANGEROUS LANDSCAPES IN GALICIA.

[♪ SOFT MUSIC ♪ - SOUNDS OF WAVES]

DYLAN: HERE THE MIGHTY ATLANTIC OCEAN HAS

SCULPTED IMPOSING CLIFFS THAT HAVE POSED SERIOUS

DIFFICULTIES TO ANYONE WHO DARES TO REACH ITS SHORES.

THE SCATTERED WOODEN BONES OF COUNTLESS SHIPWRECKS

LITTER THE ROCKS AND GIVE MEANING TO THE NICKNAME

"DEATH COAST." CAPE VILAN IS THE MOST DANGEROUS

POINT OF THE COSTA DA MORTE.

IT'S SITUATED IN THE CAMARINAS MUNICIPALITY IN

THE GALICIAN PROVIDENCE OF A CORUNA.

THIS LIGHTHOUSE IS ONE OF THE MOST POWERFUL ON THE

ENTIRE PENINSULAR ATLANTIC COAST.

ITS LIGHT CAN BE SEEN FROM UP TO 43 MILES FROM THE

COAST.

THE PINK GRANITE TOWER RISES TO 410 FEET ABOVE

SEA LEVEL.

IT WAS THE FIRST ELECTRIC LIGHTHOUSE ON SPANISH

COASTS BUILT IN 1890 AFTER ONE OF THE MOST TRAGIC

SHIPWRECKS THAT OCCURRED IN THIS REGION IN WHICH

172 ENGLISH SAILORS DIED.

BEFORE CAPE VILAN OR ANY LIGHTHOUSE WAS BUILT

SEASIDE RESIDENTS ACROSS THE GLOBE WOULD LIGHT

LARGE FIRES ALONG COASTLINES HOPING TO WARN

INCOMING FISHERMEN ABOUT THE ROCKY DANGERS BELOW.

THE HIGHER THE FIRE THE MORE LIKELY IT WAS THAT

SAILORS WOULD SEE IT.

SO TALL PLATFORMS AND EVENTUALLY BUILDINGS WERE

CONSTRUCTED TO HOUSE THESE FLAMES.

BY THE TURN OF THE 18TH CENTURY THE MODERN

LIGHTHOUSE WAS BORN.

COMING UP NEXT, WE'LL DISCOVER GALICIA'S ANCIENT

FISHING TRADITIONS.

AND LATER, WE'LL HEAD INTO A CULTURE CAPITAL OF

WESTERN EUROPE, SAN SEBASTIAN.

DON'T GO AWAY, THIS JOURNEY WILL BE RIGHT BACK.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO JOURNEY,

I'M DYLAN DREYER.

AT ONE POINT IN TIME THE ANCIENT ROMAN EXPLORERS

BELIEVED THAT THE STEEP CLIFFS LINING THE

NORTHWEST COAST OF SPAIN WERE THE VERY EDGE OF THE

WORLD.

THE REGION IS HOME TO MEN AND WOMEN WHO HAVE SPENT

COUNTLESS GENERATIONS CONTRIBUTING TO ONE OF

SPAIN'S LARGEST ECONOMIES; FISHING.

[♪ MUSIC ♪ - SOUND OF SEASIDE AND SEAGULLS]

DYLAN: IN THE AROUSA INLET IS CAMBADOS.

ITS HISTORICAL CENTER HAS BEEN DECLARED A HERITAGE

OF CULTURAL INTEREST DUE TO ITS BEAUTIFUL STONE

HOUSES, CHURCHES AND NOBLE PAZO.

A PAZO IS A TYPE OF TRADITIONAL GALICIAN HOME

WHERE NOBLEMEN AND KINGS RESIDED BETWEEN THE 17TH

AND 19TH CENTURIES.

48 PERCENT OF THE GALICIAN TRADITIONAL FISHING FLEET

IS IN AROUSA.

THE BAIXAS GALICIAN INLETS MAKE UP THE MOST IMPORTANT

REGION FOR TRADITIONAL FISHING AND SEAFOOD

FISHING IN EUROPE.

♪ [ADVENTUROUS MUSIC ♪ - SOUNDS OF PEOPLE WORKING]

DYLAN: SINCE TIMES LONG PAST THIS WORK HAS BEEN

MAINLY DONE BY THE WOMEN WHO GATHER SHELLFISH.

THEY USED TO WORK EVERY DAY FROM OCTOBER TO MARCH,

BUT NOW ONLY ON HIGH TIDES BECAUSE THERE ARE LESS

SHELLFISH.

THE MAJORITY OF THEM ARE SAILOR'S WIVES,

DAUGHTERS AND GRANDDAUGHTERS OF THE

WOMEN WHO ALREADY GATHER SHELLFISH.

THEY'VE WORKED ON THIS DIFFICULT TASK SINCE THEY

WERE YOUNG GIRLS AND NOW BARELY GET BY.

FOR 4 OR 5 STRAIGHT HOURS AND ALWAYS IN THE SAME

POSITION THEY COMB THE SAND WITH THEIR RAKES IN

SEARCH OF THE PRIZED CLAMS.

THEY CHECK THE TEXTURE, THE MEASUREMENTS AND

CLASSIFY THEM.

THERE WERE VERY GOOD TIMES WHEN CLAMS WERE PAID UP TO

$100 EUROS FOR EVERY 2 POUNDS.

NOW IT'S BARELY HALF THAT RATE.

HIGH ADMINISTRATIVE FEES AND POACHERS WHO FISH

ILLEGALLY ARE THE CLAMS' GREATEST THREATS.

♪ GAITA MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: GALICIAN WOMEN ARE HARD WORKERS AND

TRADITIONALLY ACCOMPLISH THE MINOR ARTS OF THE SEA.

THE NET WORKERS REPAIR CARVING TOOLS WITH THEIR

OWN HANDS; A JOB THEY'VE DONE SINCE THEY WERE YOUNG

GIRLS.

[GAITA MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: THE OLD AND HARD WORK OF THE SAILORS

CONTINUES TO FORM PART OF THE IDENTITY OF THE

GALICIAN PEOPLE.

PERSISTENT AGAINST THE WIND AND TIDE,

HOSPITABLE AND HAPPY LIKE THE SWEET SOUND OF THEIR

BAGPIPES.

[GAITA MUSIC CONTINUES]

DYLAN: COMING UP NEXT, WE TRAVEL EAST TO THE

SPECTACULAR CITY OF SAN SEBASTIAN AND UNCOVER ONE

OF ITS MOST DELICIOUS TREASURES.

AND LATER WE'LL EXPLORE THE WATERWAYS THAT HAVE

LAUNCHED REVOLUTIONARIES TOWARDS A BRAND-NEW WORLD.

THE JOURNEY WILL CONTINUE RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: OUR TRIP THROUGH THE MAJESTIC REGION OF

NORTHERN SPAIN CONTINUES AND ALTHOUGH THIS ANCIENT

LANDSCAPE MAY NOT BE AS WELL-KNOWN TO FOREIGN

TOURISTS AS ITS SOUTHERN COUNTERPART,

THAT DOESN'T MEAN IT'S LACKING IN PLACES TO SEE.

ONE OF THE BEST-KEPT SECRETS OF THE REGION,

THE STRIKING CITY OF SAN SEBASTIAN.

♪ SPANISH GUITAR MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: EMBRACED BY THE BEAUTIFUL BEACHES OF THE

CANTABRIAN SEA, SURROUNDED BY MOUNTAINS,

PARKS AND GARDENS, SAN SEBASTIAN IS ONE OF THE

MOST BEAUTIFUL CITIES IN SPAIN WHERE TRADITION AND

MODERNITY GO HAND-IN-HAND.

THE CITY HAS URBAN BEACHES OF SINGULAR BEAUTY.

CONCHA BEACH, THE MOST FAMOUS AND ELEGANT,

IS CONSIDERED ONE OF THE BEST URBAN BEACHES IN THE

WORLD.

[DRUM MUSIC AND SOUNDS OF WAVES]

DYLAN: ZURRIOLA BEACH WITH 800 METERS IN LENGTH

IS THE MOST OPEN TO THE CANTABRIAN.

SURFERS ARRIVE HERE FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO FLY

OVER ITS ENORMOUS WAVES.

♪ MUSIC CONTINUES ♪

DYLAN: DURING THE 19TH CENTURY ITS PRIVILEGED

ENCLAVE TRANSFORMED IT INTO A PLACE OF REST AND

RECREATION FOR THE ARISTOCRACY AND SPANISH

NOBILITY.

MODERN AND COSMOPOLITAN, SAN SEBASTIAN IS KNOWN

WORLDWIDE FOR ITS ENORMOUS CULTURAL SCENE AND FOR ITS

AMAZING FOOD.

RESTAURANTS HERE ARE AMONG THE 50 BEST IN THE WORLD.

STROLLING THROUGH ITS BEAUTIFUL HISTORICAL

CENTER AND BEING SWEPT UP BY THE AROMAS AND FLAVORS

IS A PLEASURE FOR THE SENSES.

ONE OF ITS CULINARY TREASURES IS THE PINCHO,

SLICES OF BREAD WITH A SMALL PORTION OF FOOD WITH

LOCAL PRODUCTS FROM THE REGION.

AFTER SOME OF THE BEST FOOD IN THE WORLD THE

PEOPLE AND TOURISTS OF SAN SEBASTIAN HEAD OUT TO

EXPLORE THE GORGEOUS COUNTRYSIDE.

[♪ SOFT MUSIC ♪ - SOUNDS OF SEASIDE]

[♪ SOFT MUSIC ♪ - SOUNDS OF SEASIDE]

DYLAN: THESE CLIFFS HOLD THE SECRET OF 60 MILLION

YEARS OF THE PLANET'S BIOLOGICAL AND GEOLOGICAL

HISTORY.

♪ MUSIC CONTINUES ♪

♪ MUSIC CONTINUES ♪

DYLAN: IMPRESSIVE ROCKY CAPES OF SEDIMENTARY

ORIGIN FORM DURING MILLIONS OF YEARS

UNDERWATER.

THE ACTION OF THE WIND AND THE FEROCITY OF THE

CANTABRIAN HAVE MADE THESE CLIFFS EMERGE TO 150

METERS IN HEIGHT.

WHEN THE TIDE RECEDES WE CAN SEE THE TIDAL FLATS;

THIN, SLIPPER SHEETS OF ROCK THAT EXTEND UP TO 3

MILES INTO THE SEA.

TOURISTS COME ON A QUEST TO FIND PEACE.

THE JOURNEY CONTINUES RIGHT AFTER THIS.

ANNOUNCER: WE'LL BE RIGHT BACK TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

.

ANNOUNCER: WE NOW RETURN TO THE MORE YOU KNOW ON NBC.

♪ MUSIC ♪

DYLAN: WELCOME BACK TO JOURNEY,

I'M DYLAN DREYER.

ALTHOUGH SAN SEBASTIAN IS MOSTLY KNOWN FOR ITS

HIGH-END TOURISM AND EXCEPTIONAL CUISINE,

THE LOCALS HERE HAVE CREATED AN ECONOMY THAT

REVOLVES AROUND ONE OF SPAIN'S GREATEST

RESOURCES.

IN THE SURROUNDING COUNTRYSIDE OF SAN

SEBASTIAN BETWEEN THE MOUNTAINS LIES THE PASAJES

INLET; A NARROW, NATURAL CANAL THAT HAS GIVEN LIFE

TO A SMALL PORT.

A STARTING POINT OF INTERNATIONAL ROUTES OVER

CENTURIES.

IT WAS FROM HERE THAT THE REVOLUTIONARY FRENCHMAN

LAFAYETTE DEPARTED, HEADING TO THE UNITED

STATES.

HE WAS A KEY FIGURE IN THE NORTH AMERICAN WAR FOR

INDEPENDENCE.

ON BOTH SIDES OF THE ESTUARY YOU FIND PASAJES

DES SAN JUAN AND DES SAN PEDRO;

TWO SMALL TOWNS THAT STILL HOLD THE MOST TRADITIONAL

FLAVOR OF VAST SEA LIFE.

THIS BEAUTIFUL INLET CONTINUES TO BE THE STAGE

FOR TRADITIONAL SMALL FISHING BOATS.

CENTURIES-OLD REGATAS THAT DATE BACK TO THE PORT

CITY'S PERIOD OF PROSPERITY WHEN THE

SAILORS FROM THESE TOWNS COMPETED AMONGST

THEMSELVES TO DELIVER FISH FIRST.

THE PORT OF PASAJES HAS HISTORICALLY BEEN A PORT

OF GREAT IMPORTANCE FOR COD;

ALTHOUGH ITS FLEET HAS REDUCED CONSIDERABLY IN

RECENT DECADES AFTER THE CLOSING OF THE CANADIAN

FISHING GROUNDS.

TODAY THEIR COD FLEET HAS RETURNED TO PLOW THROUGH

THE FAR SEAS OF TERRANOVA IN SEARCH OF BIG FISH;

A JOB THAT SUPPORTS SOME

300,000 PEOPLE.

[♪ MUSIC ♪ - SOUNDS OF BOAT]

[♪ MUSIC ♪ - SOUNDS OF BOAT]

DYLAN: THE BREATHTAKING BEAUTY OF SPAIN,

FULL OF MYSTERY AND LEGEND,

A BEAUTIFUL, ABRUPT LANDSCAPE OF STORIES,

OF LIVES AND OF DEATHS.

THE POWER OF THE WIND AND SEA ALSO FORGE THE BRAVE

AND ADVENTUROUS CHARACTER OF THE BASQUE.

A LAND THAT SAW MEN BORN THAT CHANGED THE PATH OF

HISTORY.

LIKE JUAN SEBASTIAN ELCANO,

THE FIRST SAILOR TO SAIL AROUND THE WORLD.

THE BASQUE COUNTRY WHERE SAN SEBASTIAN IS LOCATED

IS UNLIKE ANY OTHER PLACE IN EUROPE.

ITS UNIQUE LANGUAGE AND RUGGED LANDSCAPE WERE A

PERFECT RECIPE TO CREATE A NATION OF EXPLORERS.

IN FACT, WHEN THE SPANISH SET OUT TO CONQUER THE NEW

WORLD MANY OF THOSE ON BOARD WERE BASQUES.

ALTHOUGH THE NEW WORLD HAS LONG BEEN DISCOVERED,

THERE'S PLENTY MORE ON THIS PLANET FOR YOU TO

EXPLORE.

UNTIL WE MEET AGAIN, SAFE TRAVELS.

♪ CREDITS ♪