Tuesday, August 10
Not long after getting up I reached Mundaka, a pleasant town, with a small farmer’s market, which I had the pleasure to visit. The town has Danish origin, it has been proven that the Vikings arrived there 900 years ago. In fact, there were a number of medieval houses in the old town. There was a fraternity building, also served as a casino, with glass panels all around, surrounded by a beautifully maintained green lawn. The church of Santa Maria had its origins in the 10th century, it was destroyed and rebuilt multiple times since then, it had Romanesque, Gothic and Renaissance characteristics – quite eclectic.
Soon thereafter I arrived in the wonderful town of Bermeo, a former capital of this region (from the 15th to the 17th century), with a very rich history, where you can find houses painted in vivid colors and narrow streets with squares. I climbed up to the Ercilla Tower, which is the only remaining tower of 30 towers which defended Bermeo during the Middle Ages. The town hall, in the Sabino Arana Goiri Square, was built in 1732. There was a flea market going on, seeing all the colors of the buildings, the people and the goods, I really felt like being in Spain. Of the seven gates surrounding the city, one remains – according to the legend, St. John the Baptist went through it, his footstep is carved in stone. One other highlight was the Church of Santa Maria from the 19th century. I felt very welcome and at home here – a great place to see history unfold right in front of your eyes.
More Alpine scenery followed outside town, but of course there was also the coastline, with huge rocks or little islands just off the shore. I was at first quite lonesome, but then I saw more and more car and even pedestrians. What is going on here? Well, I reached Gaztelugatxe, an islet connected to the mainland by a man-made bridge. On top of the island is a hermitage from the 10th century, dedicated to John the Baptist (remember the gate in Bermeo?). And remember Girona with the Game of Thrones? A number of episodes of this series was shot on this little islet. I started at it, but alas, reservation was needed to visit and it was booked out for like two weeks, so I had some food at a restaurant overlooking the rocks and then rode on.
Bakio was the name of the next town, with a huge sandy beachfront, I decided to ride on. On the west part was came a big climb, from far, one could still see Gaztelugatxe. Here I started thinking about my return leg back to Austria. Santiago de Compostella was still 600 kilometers away as the crow files, I would have had four full days (Wednesday to Saturday) to make it, but that would have meant doing at least 150 kilometers per day – not undoable, but would not have allowed for any sightseeing…and if there is a rain day, that would be rather yucky. Bilbao was only a few dozen kilometers away and checking flights, there were good options from there, so I decided to call it a day, or call it a couple of days, I’ll explain. Well, I thought it might be a good idea to check in a camping and stay there a few days, just relaxing. So I purchased my return flight for Sunday – having to start in the new job the following day.
Riding through the nice towns of Areatza and Gorliz, I reached the resort town of Plentzia, on the estuary of the river with the same name. The town was a mixture of medieval and modern architecture and was relatively lively, the terminal station of the metro from Bilbao arrives here. There were folks biking, and supping on the river.
For me, the beach was not only somewhat crowded, but also much too civilized, so I rode on. I found a nice, secluded beach on the other side of this bay, with a view of the large beach – and really liked it. With a width of just 80 meters, you had to climb down stairs to get to it – and I took a dip in the setting sun. Climbing back, I pushed on gravel roads and found a campground a couple of kilometers away – and really did not like it. It was a crowded place, with lots of concrete – so I rode back to the cliffs over “my” beach. There was an excellent spot for wild camping, a large ore or less flat area with wild grass, I was surprised not to see more “homeless” people like me. The view was amazing, below me was the sea, opposite some rock walls of black, next to it white stone, and the lights of Plentzia in the far. Apparently, more of the Game of Throne was shot from this area. As I have never watched this series, I cannot confirm this statement.
I was occasionally “disturbed” by joggers or dog-walkers, but they greeted me politely, minding their own business.
Here you can see the trip in Google Maps, it was 40 kilometers, with 863 meters of climbing and 878 meters of descending - well, more or less.