Children’s route 9
Route published by Pedro Pablo Uriarte “15 circular routes from Gorliz for families with children”
View map of the route on Wikiloc
FILE OF THE ROUTE:
Duration: 2 hours 29 min
Distance: 12,12 km
Cumulative elevation gain: 281 m
Difficuty: Easy
It is a route to do with the family somewhat longer than usual (12. 12 km), but practically without significant climbs. It is a route that has real natural charms and some curiosities that we will find along the way. Most of it is located in the municipalities of Plentzia and Barrika. Except for a beautiful stretch of forest, we will go on isolated roads with little traffic.
We leave Iberre Zeharbide and cross Iberreta Plaza we reach the roundabout of the boat to go along Andra Mari bidea, the road BI 3154 to the roundabout of Mungia. As soon as we reach it we veer to the right for Arene barri. We walk between the walls of several hamlets and I pick up a couple of ripe figs that are within reach of the hand hanging from a fig tree that peaks over the road. It’s the end of August and they’re almost at their point. I had breakfast recently, but they’re delicious.
I cross the road behind the old church and direct my steps going straight, towards the Ermita de Nuestra Señora de Agirre y de las Nieves, patron saint of Gorliz (2 km). Once past the chapel I continue straight down the Andra Mari bidea until I pass by the chapel of Santa Kurutze. There I turn to the left at the level of the house of culture, going down the street and stairs of the same name to the placita (Plazatxoa) in front of the bridge of the station, which I cross.
Once at the metro station we go ahead along Geltoko kalea, until we reach a kind of sidewalk on the right stuck to the wall, which goes up little by little. It is Matrillune bidea and little by little we reach a junction and continue straight ahead, without detours, passing in front of some apartment houses on our right. The wide road gets under some trees and little by little we pass in front of the beautiful and old Etxetxubarri farmhouse, long abandoned (see Route 4 Gorliz for families with children).
We come to a junction with a road that goes up from Musaurieta and turn left next to a bank and a public fountain. The road climbs quite steep until we reach another junction, where we choose to go on our right. The road turns into an earthen road, which after a first bend passes through the rear of a shed for farm tools. Now the road forks, but we chose to go on the left. By the one on the right we would also go up to Gane, but by a very intricate path full of bushes that have made it almost impassable. It is not advisable to go there with children, the road has been closed a lot and you have to clear it if you want to pass.
However, along the road to the left we enter a forest of eucalyptus trees, although it soon transforms into a spectacular, beautiful mixed forest. It is worth going through it as it is very comfortable to walk, with no steep ups or downs. In the permanent shade of the forest we will pass by superb specimens of eucalyptus mixed with pines and oaks. We will see leafy acacias that some of their leaves are already starting to yellow, and that we are in August. We will pass under a couple of fallen logs on the path and little by little the forest ends to, walk already for a road flanked by shoots of acacias and of eucalyptus trees of still small size.
At a bend of the road, in a clearing that leaves the forest to the right, we notice something that is very beautiful to see but it is rare to see: someone has hung several artificial nests from the branches of the acacia trees with the healthy intention of making it easier for the birds to nest. Next to it are several large pots painted in colors that will surely be seedlings. This is the first curiosity of the day of the several that we will see today. Coming around here with kids and seeing these things with their own eyes is always enriching.
Soon after, and after a climb, the road we took dies already outside the forest on a concrete track near a hamlet. If we continue straight ahead we would go towards Urduliz, but today we are going to the right, since we want to head towards the top of Gane, which is seen a little higher to our right with two antennas protruding from the trees, which we will not reach.
Shortly after the detour we reach a road junction and go to the right. We passed by a farm with a green fence that ends next to a water facility (or that’s what I think) surrounded by a high fence. We go up a gentle slope leaving to the left the road that goes up from Urduliz and along which we have come on several routes, among them the “Ruta 19 de Gorliz”. Little by little we pass a hamlet and we see to our left a beautiful panoramic view of Sopela and the sea. We go ahead and find a triple crossing next to a reservoir of water. If we go to the right we will arrive in a few minutes to the top of Gane, although later the road dies. If we go to the left we would go down to Urduliz, but hy we want to go straight, on the road called del Goierri, which is very nice to walk and has little traffic.
We first passed large greenhouses, and then we skirted pastures and estates for almost a kilometre. We pass by a large eucalyptus tree that we leave to the right and after a few hundred meters, in front of a hamlet, we turn sharply to the right, to go on the road that will take us to Musaurieta and Txipio. A few meters from the turn there is a house and next to it a road that goes down. This road is part of the GR 123 that comes precisely from Txipio, but it is a bit intricate to take children around. On a wall of the hamlet next door was painted the classic red and black sign of the GR, but someone has made it disappear. There are people who don’t want us to come here.
Now we have to walk along the road for a while and in this section we will find some curious things. After walking for a while up and down small slides on the road, we come to a sharp bend next to a large hamlet. I am a little perplexed to see a table with plasticized advertisements written in four languages that speak to us of the “Basque DNA”, announcing a “critical etymological dictionary of Spanish”, “twenty volumes of thematic content that offer us a different origin of this language”. I imagine it refers to Basque, but it does not mention any reference or website to be interested in such an encyclopedia.
I am still somewhat perplexed when I resume the road and soon I begin to see a few electricity poles to whom eyes and noses have been placed.
And often I come across a garden that has a tree next to the road from which hundreds of pacifiers hang, and finally, a little further down, another garden with some curious sculptures. This is certainly the route of surprises and curiosities.
I continue down and pass the junction of Musaurieta, located on the right, but I continue along the road, which after a steep descent comes to a junction. From the front I go towards Txipio, to the right I would go towards a hamlet, and to the left along the GR 123, the stretch that ends after crossing an intricate forest in the house located above and that we have previously passed through it.
But we go to Txipio, a district of Plentzia with a large wetland or marsh belonging to the municipalities of Barrika and Plentzia, which is flooded with tides and has been considered a “Special Protection Area”. After taking a picture of one part of the marsh, I head towards the metro station and the pedestrian bridge, which I cross to the other side.
Today I head back to Gorliz walking along Erribera Street, the main street of Plentzia, which turns at the level of the town hall square to continue to become Areatza Street. Through it I go straight for almost a km to the PIE (Plentziako Itsas Estazioa), and to the beach of Gorliz, where I turn right at the roundabout to go up to the village.
But instead of going up through Itsasbide I make a small detour to the left to get into a little path as soon as I pass the entrance to the hostel of Gorliz. After a few hundred meters I arrive at the camp of Eloisa Artaza, where the landing of Osakidetza’s helicopter draws attention, which surely comes to make an urgent transfer and is the only place where it can land on the ground. It is the last curious sight that I found on the route this morning, which is certainly possible to perform by families with their boys and girls.
I don’t have to go up the street Eloisa Artaza to Itsasbide, plazuela de San Pedro and again Iberre Zeharbide, from where I left.
