The surprising story of the Mundaka “left wave”

The surfing website Magic Sea Weed has a section called First Session which tells the stories of the first surfers in different famous places all over the world.  They’ve already “paid a visit” to Teahupoo, Waimea, Anchor Point, Cloudbreak, Bali, J-Bay, and Puerto Escondido, and now they’ve come to Mundaka to tell the take of this location on the Basque Coast, where what’s known as the “The best rivermouth wave in the world” is.

Matt Rode tells us about this surfing paradies that has become a worldwide celebrity.  It’s a story that began when the first foreign surfers came to a place where surf was still not a “thing”, despite the fact that a Basque man may have been the first European to surf.  And then goes on to how our country has become one of the leading world hot spots of surf, both as regards the practice of the sport itself as the industry, and even the development of artificial wave centers.  This story through the history of this “wave” ends with the Basque surfers who are making an impact in the world of surf.

This article tells us how the presence of this sport started developing, and also about the changes and dangers he’s experienced in this extraordinary location: some storms, and the dredgings and other events, which fortunately never got past the planning stages, as they might have meant the disappearance of this wonder of nature that is the Urdaibai Bioreserve.  It would have been an abomination.

It’s worth it to read the comments, where some of the first surfers at Mundaka share their experiences.  We can even find some comments from the person who was there when some Australian surfers rescued some local sailors.

Unfortunately, we can also find some comments from the typical know-nothings who claim that life under Franco wasn’t so bad, pushing the idea that Franco didn’t kill so many with his death sentences.  Some even dare to tell the author, “Death penalty existed indeed, but was rarely used and surely not for such a matter.I think this shows that the author holds none- to little knowledge about Spain in 1972 and I wouldn’t like this to be the pìcture of Spain to be brought to the public.”  These people should ask Salvador Puig Antich, killed by the garrote vil in 1974, or José Humberto Baena, José Luis Sánchez Bravo, Ramón García Sanz, Juan Paredes Manot (Txiki), and Ángel Otaegui, shot to death after a sham court martial in 1975.

We hope Mr. Roland Maier will understand: criticizing the murderous Franco régime ever be equivalent to “criticizing Spain”.  It’s simply explaining the truth of a criminal, illegal dictatorship.

Magic Sea Weed -23/10/2020 – Great Britain

FIRST SESSION AT MUNDAKA: HOW THIS RIVERMOUTH GEM ALMOST SUFFERED A MAN-MADE DEATH

Our First Session series peels back the legend on the first surfers at various famous spots from across the globe. We’ve already covered Teahupoo, Waimea, Anchor Point, Cloudbreak, Bali, J-Bay and Puerto Escondido but let us know in the comments if there is anywhere else you’d like us to shine a spotlight on.While a pioneering session at a world-class wave is always monumental, in many cases it is difficult to nail down precise details about who exactly was the first person to paddle out. And other times, the first session isn’t quite as memorable as one that came somewhat later and effectively put the wave on the map. When it comes to Mundaka, the crown jewel of Spanish surfing, both cases apply.

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Last Updated on Dec 20, 2020 by About Basque Country