Astondo is located in the north of

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, in the

Basque Country Basque Country may refer to: * Basque Country (autonomous community), as used in Spain ( es, País Vasco, link=no), also called , an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain (shown in pink on the map) * French Basque Country o ...

, 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 Bay of Biscay (), known in Spain as the Gulf of Biscay ( es, Golfo de Vizcaya, eu, Bizkaiko Golkoa), and in France and some border regions as the Gulf of Gascony (french: Golfe de Gascogne, oc, Golf de Gasconha, br, Pleg-mor Gwaskogn), ...

. The main neighborhoods near Astondo are: Areatza, Andra Mari, Gandia and Urezarantza. Astondo

In this small area there is a variety of natural surroundings, and in the east part are situated

Ermua Ermua is a town and municipality located in the province of Biscay, in the autonomous community of Basque Country, northern Spain. In 2019, Ermua had 15,880 inhabitants. Ermua is a town in the Durangaldea comarca of the province of Biscay in nor ...

(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.

History

Because of its geography, the people that lived in Astondo and surroundings used to work in the seamanship. There are many 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. Many trees on the hills were chopped down for ship-building. 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. Plentzia, Gorliz and Astondo

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

Place to visit

Astondo has many interesting environments, and because of its gentle 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 Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

of children. This building was the first of the

Iberian Peninsula The Iberian Peninsula (), ** * Aragonese and Occitan: ''Peninsula Iberica'' ** ** * french: Péninsule Ibérique * mwl, Península Eibérica * eu, Iberiar penintsula also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in southwestern Europe, defi ...

erected with

reinforced concrete Reinforced concrete (RC), also called reinforced cement concrete (RCC) and ferroconcrete, is a composite material in which concrete's relatively low tensile strength and ductility are compensated for by the inclusion of reinforcement having hig ...

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

* http://www.gorliz.eu/eu-ES/Turismoa/Leku-Interesgarriak/Orrialdeak/lugares_02ElPinar.aspx * http://www.eitb.eus/es/eltiempo/playas/436455/gorliz-astondo/ * http://www.gorliz.eu/en-US/Tourism/Places-Of-Interest/Pages/default.aspx * http://www.bizkaia.net/Ingurugiroa_Lurraldea/Hondartzak/detallePlaya.asp?nPlaya=11&Tem_Codigo=350&Idioma=IN&banoAsistidoPulsado= * http://um.gipuzkoakultura.net/itsasmemoria6/369-380_cavamesa.pdf * http://www.gorliz.eu/en-US/Tourism/Festivals/Pages/default.aspx {{coord missing, Spain Populated places in Biscay