The eight islands of the archipelago of Saint-Pierre and Miquelon are located south of Newfoundland, in the Atlantic Ocean. Saint-Pierre and Miquelon are the two main islands which can welcome you should you want to move here. When settling to live and work on the small French territory, you’ll discover theFrench way of life with a unique culture and heritage linked to the ocean.
Today, 6,000 French citizens live on St. Pierre, with six-hundred more on the wilder, naturally spectacular Miquelon. Together, the islands are a hidden gem, with colorful rows of houses and its history of fishermen and rum running. As an overseas collectivity of the Republic of France, French is the recognized language of the islands. Most of the population descends from Basque and Breton fishermen. An estimated 99% of the population identifies as Roman Catholic.
This one-hundred perecent Basque sporting and cultural event takes place every year in August, for a week. Throughout the week, there will be traditional ball games which take place by a different team every evening. An occasion for the local seniors to compete with the pelotaris invited from France and Canada and for the youthfulgeneration to show off their know-how.
The highlight of the event is Sunday, where locals and visitors celebrate the music and gastronomy of the Basque country, participate in Basque games of force and they also offer demonstrations of Basque dance. The day closes with a popular ball in the square of Zazpiak Bat. Discover our identity through our Basque roots!
Then again, people here are fiercely proud of literally everything about their corner of the Earth. We take a two-hour hike through the Cap de Miquelon, stopping often to study about carnivorous plants, lambkill, bunchberries, cinnamon ferns and the white-tailed deer that were introduced decades ago for bowhunting. There’re boardwalks through parts of the well-worn path, but plenty of spots where we sink in the muddy bog. At the highest point of the trek, Orsiny-Olaisola leads us blindfolded to the perfect spot for the big reveal of ocean, forest and lake.
