Northern Spain Beaches

Just to be clear, Bilbao, Spain is not on the coast, but the Atlantic Ocean is not far. Counterintuitively, we headed east not west to the beaches because the Spanish coast meanders east as it nears the French border. The beaches are dazzling, and at least at the beginning of June it wasn’t touristy.   Unexplored (by us) beaches  are the most worthy of destinations and our specialty–we seek them out. More importantly, we were on a quest. Both Raphael and I were huge Game of Thrones fans of  the books way before they were televised on HBO. Whether you like the series or not, no one can deny that the locations they chose to film are other-worldly and awe-inspiring. We had heard that San Juan de Gaztelugatze where Daenerys and Jon Snow meet in on a stone walkway bridge in Season 7 was nearby.

Sopelana Beach

Playa de Sopelana, the first beach we hit and the closest to us was only twenty minutes from Bilbao. Sopelana’s contrast of pale blue waves and silky tan sand with grassy hills fired up our pleasure centers.  Almost deserted except for a few straggling surfers, a Surfer’s Code sign above the beach attracted our attention. We live in Encinitas, notorious for great surf but also famous for surfer rivalry and disputes in the water over waves. The sign is quite civilized with explicit drawings and instructions on who has priority on a wave. Encinitas, take note! We got instructions from some surfers on how to hug the coast and travel north to the next beach and closer to our quest.

 Barrika Beach

Soon we reached Barrika Beach high on a velvety green cliff with a zig-zaggy steep and long stone walkway down to the grayish  blue and turquoise ocean along a rocky coastline. At first, we thought this was the Games of Thrones setting because the stairway seemed familiar, but some surfers told us it was further north. We marched down the over 200 glorious steps down to the sand, took a deep breath and marched back up. Heading north, we were told to follow the signs for Plentzia and to avoid getting back on the highway. This led us to a more uncivilized road that paid off in scenic highlights.

Driving along a woodsy, winding road, we stopped often to take in the beauty and take photos of the pebbly creeks, shale rock, dense wild foliage, and towering cliffs. We ended up at the unfinished, somewhat spooky Lemoniz Nuclear Power Plant, abandoned in 1983 after a change of government. Still on our quest, we continued north.

Bakio Beach

Still no GOT beach–we kept feeding our GPS variations of the spelling of San Juan de Gaztelugatxe, but our GPS snubbed them all. If you’re trying to pronounce Gaztelugatxe, “txe” is Basque and is pronounced “che.” Even though we pronounced it (we thought) correctly, strangers we asked had no idea where it was. Until we reached Bakio Beach, a small picturesque harbor town where we met Salvador, an older man walking his small Maltese dog, who gave us the best directions so far. We were close! Only a few kilometers up the coast on the way to Bermeo.

San Juan de Gaztelugatxe

Instinctively we knew we had reached our destination because of the sheer number of parked cars and GOT pilgrims hiking along the road.  Tragically, the afternoon light was waning when we arrived, and the hike would take at least two hours. We chose to contemplate the small island of San Juan from above at  the Eneperi Restaurant strategically located above Dragonstone. Comforting ourselves with  a couple of beers and pintxos (individual tapas), we solemnly swore to come back another day.

For more insights on Bilbao and the surrounding areas, click here

Regrets, I’ve had a few

It was when I returned home and googled San Juan de Gaztelugatxe that I suffered post vacation stress syndrome when I saw the thrilling, chilling photos of the walkway to Dragonstone. This is why travel blogs were invented! To prevent future travelers from missing out. Thankfully, Lauren Aloise of Spanishsabores.com gave me permission to use her stunning photos (see below). If only I had read her travel blog before I arrived in Basque country–it’s excellent.