3rd to 7th Aug Bilboa

We have spent 2 nights in Getxo Marina, 2 at anchor in the harbour and now 2 in Real Club Maritimo, which is older but in a better location. Cara Mara has spent a day out of the water having one of her sea cocks replaced, whilst Wendy and Dave went on a hunt for a bottle of cooking gas. You wouldn’t believe that it could be hard to get gas, Getxo marina has hundreds of boats, most of which will use gas, the marina is surrounded by shops, restaurants, chandlers and a boat yard, but no one sells gas. We walking into Getxo town, no gas, were directed to catch the metro to a petrol station, they had sold out, a woman took pity on us and drove us to a campsite 3-4 miles away, guess what! Luckily the owner of another camp site was there and he came up with the goods. We were back at the marina 4 hours after setting off. Anyway, Bilboa is wonderful. The modern metro takes 15 minutes to get from the port into the 14^th century city. In the 19^th and 20^th centuries was based on steel, shipbuilding and heavy industry but has been reborn as a commercial and cultural centre. The “rebirth” of the city started with the construction of the Guggenheim Museum, which sits on the river front and is now just part of a lovely landscaped area with other modern buildings. Together with the narrow streets of the old city it is a wonderful place to wander round.

Bilboa is nicknamed The Hole, as is surrounded by steep hills 

 

The floral puppy guards the Guggenheim Museum

 The Guggenheim Museum

 
Guggenheim Museum We are planning to back to continue exploring later today, then meet Mary, who is joining us for a week as we head down the coast.