Ben’s Secret Bizkaia
Bizkaia is a large region in the NW of the Basque Country and is the home of the modern and ancient Basque capitals of Bilbao and Guernica. These recommendations are for those who want to leave the cosmopolitan metropolis of Bilbao behind and sample something a little different. Just put on some more rugged footwear and go find fishing boat regattas, pristine sandy beaches, old mining towns and extraordinary estuaries.
1. Lekeitio - my favourite Basque town
location
Along the wild Atlantic coast of Spain you can unsurprisingly find a vast number of beautiful little fishing villages and towns. But what is somewhat surprising, unlike many of their other European counterparts, is that these coastal settlements still have small but active fishing fleets. Lekeitio is one of these, nestled along the mountainous coastline away from the main Basque highway route. Where Basque whalers used set out centuries before, now the odd local fishing crew head off into the deep dark blue waters, returning with all sorts of bounty from the sea. Sitting at one of the harbourside cafes and watching the boats come in is a beautiful way to pass a morning. The reason Lekeitio is a particular favourite of mine is that, in the afternoon you might then walk out along the strange tidal causeway to the small forested island which lies just offshore, explore the woods and rocks for a bit, before returning to the beach and cooling down with a dip in the crystal clear water of Karraspio beach. Hanging out with the smiling Lekeitio locals always reminds me that it’s just a good place to be.
2. Cima Ogono - a wild hill climb
Accessed from the car park located above Elantxobe (“Eh-lan-cho-beh”), there are a few marked trails leading you around this wild mountain, ideal for short walks of up to an hour. A mixture of the cursed eucalyptus (I’ll tell you more about these some other time...) and glorious native forest, you’ll definitely come across wild boar tracks if not the creatures themselves, and feel like you’re pressing deeper and deeper into some kind of wild enchantment. The final part of the climb is a rock-to-rock scramble through montane scrub to a quite spectacular view of the coastline and estuary below you. There are some odd stainless steel boxes mounted up here. If you find out their function, let me know. Also, keep an eye out for local walkers - Basque folk love hiking and you want to make sure you don’t miss the opportunity to say ‘aupa’ (“ow-pa” literally means ‘wow’, but used for ‘hi’) or ‘agur’ (“a-guur” = goodbye)
3. Urdaibai Bird Centre - an extraordinary biosphere reserve
This is quite niche but I truly believe there’s no better way to regularly connect with the marvels of nature than to get some binoculars and watch the birds. Their colours, movements, variation and majesty can bring a deep peace, and they’re found everywhere. The bird hides at Urdaibai are positioned around the brackish lagoons and reed beds of the upper estuary and as well as seeing a host of waders (storks, egrets, sandpipers etc.), you’ll see kingfishers and woodpeckers among many others, and may even get the opportunity of watching the rare and weird looking spoonbill sifting for invertebrates or maybe an osprey on the hunt. If this isn’t your cup of tea and you need a bit more vicarious excitement, you could head a bit north to the estuary mouth where, if you’re lucky and the world famous wave at Mundaka is working, you’ll have a grandstand view of the surfers trying their luck on the breakers barrelling over the sandbars. If you do surf and are keen, be mindful of quite a territorial local crew.
4- Picasso’s Guernica - a town steeped in stories
A little to the south of Urdaibai, you find Guernica, a fairly ugly town in the heartland of the Basque Country that holds a special, if tragic, place in Basque history. During the Spanish Civil War of the 1930’s, Franco’s fascist forces were supported by Hitler’s Luftwaffe. The German air force, as a ‘dry run’ for the coming global conflict, used Guernica to observe the effect of bombing civilian rather than military targets. The result was a terrible atrocity that Picasso captured in his large scale painting called ‘Guernica’. There’s a large mural of it in the town. Go and see it. It’s heavy but worth it, particularly seeing it in situ. What the town lacks in beauty, it more than makes up for with sheer gravity. Guernica is also the site of the Tree of Guernica, the remnants of an ancient oak tree under which the Basque rulers have met and sworn fidelity for centuries. More gravity.
5- Gaztelugatxeko – a real life Game of Thrones castle
You don’t have to have seen Game of Thrones to appreciate The San Juan Hermitage, whose Basque name I can’t even start to pronounce. The jagging, raised causeway that runs across the rocks to join the island to the mainland is iconic and will immediately transport fans to Dragonstone and the Targaryens. It’s a remarkable sight, let alone an experience to cross with the often raging sea on both sides. The 9th century hermitage, as is fitting, is very modest indeed and definitely not a castle, so it’s really the wild ruggedness that draws people here. Feel the wind in your hair, the salt on your skin, and maybe the whispers of Daenerys on the wind.
