The seventies Hippy Trail 18

18-10-1974
Mundaca Spain

Hiya folks,

Well, here I am in Northern Spain somewhere near Bilbao in a small fishing village. I got so sick of England and the cold that I split from there about three weeks ago and caught a boat to Brittany in France and hitch hiked down to Biarritz hoping to get some surf but there was none, only small waves. So after a week there I split for Spain and I am now heading to Madrid, Portugal, Morocco and then I might come home. I do not know.

Note - What really happened.
I got a lift in a kombi with a couple of Australian guys to Mundaka which is just past San Sebastian in Northern Spain. It is in the Bay of Biscay, inside basque country. Mundaka is a fishing port which has a sandbar out the front of it which sometimes gets a filthy left hander wave breaking. When I was there, there was nothing. The guys I was with were playboys and wanted to go out clubbing and stuff like that. I got a lift with them to Bilboa and caught the ferry back to England. That Bay of Biscay is really rough. I went to London, bought a ticket to Sydney and went home. I was thinking of going to Morocco but I was fast running out of money. I did not think being penniless in Morocco was a fun thing to do, but you never know. The End.

Northern Spain Resources

Mundaka or Mundaca is in Northern Spain and is located near Guernika and Bermeo. There is a little fishing harbour there and is in a river mouth. The wave for surfing is a left hander which breaks on a sand bank that is just off from the harbour entrance. A lot of international surfing contests are held at Mundaka and it is quite famous in surfing circles. Some surfing pundits say that Mundaka is the best left in Europe and it may well be but I have only seen it when it was very small. And of course it is in Basque country in the Bay of Biscay.
Bilbao is in Northern Spain and is the capital of Biscay. Bilbao has a major shipping harbour as well as a fishing fleet. You can catch a P&O ferry from here to the south of england in Portsmouth. Something incredible that Bilbao has is the Guggenheim Museum. And to top that off, Bilbao is the cod capital of the world.
San Sebastian is along the coast from Mundaka and you can get there by train from Paris or Lisbon. Buses are a good way to get around in Basque country, however and can be a lot cheaper than trains. Vitoria is 2 hours from San SEbastian and Bilbao only an hour on the bus. You can catch an overnight bus to Milan, Madrid, or Barcelona. San Sebastian is a trendy holiday resort that has the usual melange of third rate celebrities that flock to get a sun tan. It gets a bit crowded during July and August and at the Playa de las Concha you may have to reserve your square foot of space on the beach. Take your sunlounge down at four o'clock in the morning if you want your space in the sun.

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