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Hiking the Pyrenees and Basque Country

‘We want to do some hiking in the Pyrenees and the Basque Country’

Hiking said the email. Friends of an old client of ours, Manu Feildel who came to record the TV Show ‘My France with Manu’ in 2015, I couldn’t refuse! 6 friends all the way from Sydney Australia.

Months of organising, hotels, hostels, mountain refuges, transport and guides. The tour was a complete success! Starting in San Sebastian at the Hotel Villa Soro we headed east into the Pyrenees via Pamplona. A night in the Hotel Santa Cristina in Canfranc was followed by a tough days hiking, 24km,  in the Pirineo Occidental National Park.  Tired and very weary the group, which included a professional guide and myself as a driver over-nighted in the Refugio de Lizara. The spas in the great hotels we arranged were a godsend!

Ziga

Day 2 and out of the refuge and a shortish 12km trek keeping to the GR -111 route to the Refugio de Gabardito. Picnic lunches everyday meant that the evening meals were hearty and our evening dinner in the Country House in Ziga was no different. The family-run Zigako Etxezuria was exactly what the doctor ordered. From Ziga we walked for part of the Camino de Santiago through leafy and verdant beech forests for a full-days trek. Finishing in Lanz the beers were cold and well deserved!

San Sebastian

Last day saw us make our way back to San Sebastian. The route out of Osses in France saw us visit Espelette, famous for its peppers and chocolate before having  a light lunch or oysters, sardines and wine in the charming seaside and fishing town of St Jean de Luz. The tour was rounded of with a superb dinner in the Ilunpe Sociedad Gastronomica in San Sebastiáns old town, who counts as a member the chef Martin Berasategui owner of 8 Michelin Stars!

 

  • Hiking Pyrenees
  • Basque Hike

Armintza – Getxo Coastal Hike

Armintza to Getxo along the beautiful Bizkaian coast…

Armintza, where is that? Well here at Basque Experiences we love a stroll. Or to put it more exactly a long walk along our fantastic trails, paths, walking routes and hikes. From the shortest city wander, to days on the Camino de Santiago to the hardest mountain climbs, we have them all here in the Basque Country.

One of our favourites, and one that fits perfectly in a day is the great coastal trail from Getxo, to Armintza. We have talked about Getxo and the coast before in an earlier blog (here it is so you dont have to look for it…). However the coast and the paths continue east along this spectacular coast. Its a trek we love to offer to our visitors and combines perfectly with a local lunch. A true Basque Tour, or Basque Experience, one rarely seen by visitors…

Visit Armintza as part of a Private-guided Basque Tour.

This hike along the coast takes around 4-5 hours, depending on your ability, and how long you stop off in Plentzia for a pintxo and a beer 😉  Its a fairly easy trek, with only a couple of parts where the incline and descent are tough on the knees. Accompanied by the Bay of Biscay at all times, the route passes along beautiful light sandy beaches, surfers coves, coastal cliffs, farms, small villages and old farmhouses. You will also get to see vineyards, and lighthouses, civil war bunkers, golf courses, cows, windmills, goats, wild mushrooms, oak woods, eucalyptus plantations… want me to go on?

It really is a great walk, which coupled with that stop in Plentzia half-way for my favourite tortilla de patata, juicy not dry of course, and a cold beer for 3.5€, will see you tired and happy! My favourite way of doing it is to leave Algorta metro station, which is 35 minutes from the centre of Bilbao by metro, and head up to the Getxo windmill and keep going. Leaving at about 10:00 should see us end up in the charming and little-visited fishing village of Armintza for around 2-3:00. Perfect timing to grab a ‘Menu del dia’, for around 10€… Returning is easy, there is a bus leaving back to Getxo on the half hour every hour, you don’t even have to walk back!!! Just don’t fall asleep on the bus though…

Here are some of the latest pics I took…

  • basque coast
  • Path to Armintza
  • Armintza cows
  • Armintza harbour
  • Armintza - Arminza.... guess the difference?

 

Coast walk to La Galea

La Galea and the coast of Getxo are only a short hop from the Bilbao Metro. Spring days with the sea breeze and the sun shining are a perfect way to work up your appetite…

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