Astondo

Astondo is located in the north of Spain, in the Basque Country, Bizkaia, Gorliz.In the same sea, with Plentzia and Gorliz forms one of the biggest beaches of the cost of Bizkaia, concretely has a length of 4 km and 200 metres of cliffs. In the north-west is making boundary with the Bay of Biscay. The main neighborhoods situated near Astondo are: Areatza, Andra Mari, Gandia and Urezarantza.

In this small area are placed a large variety of natural surroundings, and in the east part are situated Ermua (288m.), Urzuri (270m.) and Aizkorri (148m.) mountains. In the south part is located the Martiartu ( 123m.) and Junkera (84m.) mountains. Near Astondo it is also located the Billano isle.

Region:	Biscay
Location	43º 24´ 84´´ N, 2º 56´03´´ W
Population(Gorliz)	5151 and in summer this number increases

History

Because of its geography, the people that lived in Astondo and surroundings used to work in the seamanship. There are lots of advantages that the fields and lands of this village allowed for having ranching and stock breeding. The extraction of the wood was also popular in these lands giving the working-class the opportunity to earn money. A big quantity of trees of the hills were chopped down for the industry of the ships. In 1740, it was considered one of the most important pieces of the fleet merchant of all Biscay according to the traffic of the iron mineral. Goliz and Astondo had 15 vessels with the cavity of 5280 hundredweight, this is 264 tonnes.

When the Bay of Biscay notified the presence of the English war-naves in 1741, they decided to protect this coast for preventing possible attacks. This land had the support of its bunkers which were built in XVIII, and they used to work until the middle of the XIX. Nowadays, they are located between the Areatza borough and Azkorriaga, where today they are still some remains.

Because of the period of the industrialisation, the hospital of Gorliz was built as residences for the summer. Here we can see the start of the turim and summer break of this place.

Place to visit

Astondo has lots of interesting and amusement environments, and because of its kind climate, makes it one of the most visited places in the Uribe kosta. Walking down to the beach, we can see the hospital of Gorliz which at first it was built for the Heliotherapy Sanatorium Marine, founded in 1919. At that time, it was so important for the therapy of tuberculosis of children. This building was the first of the Iberian Peninsula erected with reinforced concrete.

In front of the hospital and in the middle of the promenade, is the monument of Doctor Areilza, the prime mover of the masterpiece.

In the middle of Astondo, there are sand dunes which are so popular for being unique along the Basque country and for having more than 6,000 years of antiquity.

Near those natural phenomenons, you can walk inside the forest in some stairs bordering the coast over the cliffs. There are 4 lookouts that offer gorgeous views of Astondo and surroundings. In the last viewpoint, there are the remains of de bunquer of Aizkorriaga of the 18th century built for the defense of the bay. This space is formed by stones with more than 100 millions of years, and here we can see some tracks, footprints and fossils.

Another walk that you can do is the one which takes you to the Lighthouse of Gorliz . It was built in 1980, and it is located in a space where you have fantastic views of the beach.

In front of the lighthouse is the Billano isle. In Cabo de Villano, Billao in Basque, about 30 minutes from downtown, you can enjoy magnificent views along the lighthouse. In this area, there are cannons and underground galleries built after the Spanish Civil War by the Franco regime, using prisoners of war on the Republican side, in anticipation of a hypothetical landing of the Allies after World War II that never came.

One of the biggest attractions of the municipality is the beach and nearby pine forest, it is situated near the beach. You can barbecue and spend the day there.

Festivities

San pedro. 29 June Iberre borough

Santiago. 25 July

Andra Mari. 5 August

Urezarantza-Fao. 3 August

Transport

It is accessible from the BI-2120 road to Mungia, taking the exit from the Saratxaga roundabout to Gorliz and then taking the BI-3158 (Uresarantze Bidea), that goes to Gorliz Hospital. There are also several bus lines close directly to the beach and from the last stop on line 1 of the underground Metro Bilbao, "Plentzia", it is a pleasant walk of around 2 km along the edge of the River Butroe estuary to Gorliz beach.

External links