Sopelano, near Bilbao

Today was to be a sort of get to know, greet Spain, and find out about it. Well, find out a little that's important in terms of basic living. That is, what can one get in the supermarkets, where are the banks, can new get money, what are the streets like and so on.

Having got a map form our camp guardian w set off to walk to town. We are in a newly developed part of what, we guess, is a commuter town to Bilbao. But it is also a surfer town with its beaches and opportunities for holiday makes. We wander past large houses and land that obviously was supposed to contain houses of the expensive type: individual, imposing and, in one case unique as it is covered in shinning, silver marble.

The town looks newish and with only a few signs of poverty eg quite a lot of graffiti but few empty shops. The supermarket was definitely at the cheap end of cheap but it did have a fresh fish stall with a reasonable selection. Lacking the language we plumped for cod and a few prawns; large prawns as well. Supper would be good!

After lunch it was time for the bike ride, just to get started and warmed up for later rides. With some cycle routes marked out we explored a little of the local area: beaches, cliff tops and the new housing. The cliff tops gave some stunning views along the coast and explain its popularity with the locals. Some para-gliders were jumping off the cliff edges and drifting on the breezes against the cliff edges, circling, rising and then swooping back towards the cliff top.

In the waters below, surfers were riding the waves whilst others, in kayaks, were attempting to paddle out to sea. The route, part of a long distant European route, was good but annoyingly had flights of steps - not much use for us on cycles!