The Wine and Fish Route (Gr-38)

Fish was a fundamental dish in the Middle Ages diet. Sardines, breams and herrings, either fresh, in salt or smoked, were common in the mainland markets. Bermeo, Lekeitio and Ondarroa became the destination for  trade routes  with the inland through the Urkiola mountain pass, which lies between Durango and Vitoria.

Fish exports were carried out mainly in winter, when the muleteers arrived at the Fishermen’s Guilds from those ports in order to buy fresh fish, which they kept in  snow barrels, taking advantage of the low temperatures of the season. When they made the reverse route, they brought back wheat, salt, vinegar and wine from La Rioja, Navarra or Castille.

On the basis of this fish and cereal traffick, the trade of a luxury product began: wine, which came mainly from La Rioja Alavesa, and was more appreciated and expensive than the local txakoli. The muleteers crossed the tough orography of a land which was quite transited daily, as fresh fish from Bizkaia arrived at the Vitoria-Gasteiz market every day. The route was kept until the beginning of the 20th century; nowadays, converted into a Tourist-Cultural Itinerary and a GR (GR 38), it aims to restore its former glory with the new hikers of the 21st century. The route is divided into two parts, one heading to Ondarroa and the other one heading to Lekeitio.