Here are 14 fun facts we learned during our visit to the French Basque region today:

The Basque language is the only language in Europe that is not related to Sanskrit. It uses a lot of "x"s and it is impossible to guess what things mean when reading signs.

Jai Lai was invented in the village of St. Pee (yes, that's the name…we drove through it) when a young local decided to use his fruit basket to throw a ball against a wall. I was assured there is no village named St. Poo, much to my disappointment.

Jai Lai is the fastest ball sport in the world, with the highest speed ever recorded at 204mph.

The large, fluorescent yellow pile next to where our ship was docked was sulfur, which is mined nearby but is about to run out. The pile was a bit surreal and oddly beautiful.

The bayonet is named after the city of Bayonne, where it was supposedly invented.

A Basque man discovered Argentina and its first President was Basque.

The Basque people have a unique genetic makeup and the highest percentage of the O negative blood type in the world.

There are more Michelin starred restaurants per capita in the Basque Country than anywhere else in the world.

Tapas in the Basque Country are called pintxos. They are always on bread and pierced with a toothpick. The bar counts the empty toothpicks on your plate to determine how much to charge you.

Gateau Basque, i.e. Basque Cake, is filled with cherry jam or cream, and it is really, really delicious.

There is a Ferrari dealership on the outskirts of Bayonne.

The txalaparta is a musical instrument in which large batons are banged rhythmically against tuned wooden or stone planks. It was used traditionally as a method of long distance communication.

The Basque never had kings and queens; they were one of the few societies in Europe where farmers traditionally owned their own land.

Red peppers are very popular around here. Farmers used to hang them from the walls of their homes to dry the peppers until that was forbidden in order to prevent from getting dusty.

There are many mysteries regarding the Basque, and some of the facts listed above were told to us by proud local tour guides and are thus not necessarily true. Except the one about the cake, that one is definitely true. I tried it.