Gernika and Mundaka

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22 September 2016

A 100k drive along the wild and rocky coast of North East Spain called The Costa Vasca and passing through several fishing ports and holiday resorts was followed by an unexpectedly interesting and entertaining afternoon.

On April 27 1937 the town of Gernika, the location of the Basque parliament until 1876, was destroyed by German bombers acting for Franco’s forces during the Spanish Civil War. One of the few buildings not demolished was the Parliament Assembly House and it is now a Basque pilgrimage site. As we passed through the town we stopped and had quite an emotional visit.

Proceeding onwards we stopped the night at the attractive village of Mundaka situated at the mouth of the Rio Oka estuary. Mundaka is a legendary surfing centre having what is claimed to be the longest left break wave in the world. We had a great view from the plaza next to the church of the surfers having amazingly long rides.

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