The Town Community of Lea Ibarra - Munitibar - Aulesti - Gizaburuaga - Amoroto - Mendexa

In 2004, the program conducted by the Provincial Council of Bizkaia to enhance the status and quality of beaches, beach Karrapio obtained ISO 9001 quality certificate and ISO 14001 environmental certificate.

There is only one beach in the Lea Valley, Karraspio; at high tide it has an area of 140.380 m2, and of 28.380 m2 at low tide. The beach offers many services, such as lifeguards, coastguards, showers, fountains, toilets, changing rooms, bins, a public-address system, a sink to wash the feet after leaving the beach, information panels etc.

Added to this, there are four bars during the summer, plus ice-cream stands. In the last few years the beach has also achieved the Blue Flag of the European Federation of Environmental Education.
Visitors can enjoy many different activities: sunbathing, swimming, playing paddle, walking along the beach, diving, playing beach football or volleyball, canoeing...

It is a great opportunity to enjoy the exceptional surroundings and views. In front of the beach we have San Nikolas or Garraitz island, and the port of Lekeitio can also be seen. Behind us we also have an amazing landscape, full of beautiful hills and fields.

As far as rocks are concerned, there are lots of them in the beach for people to sunbathe. People usually sunbathe in these rocks, although they are not prepared for this purpose.

In the Baurdo neighbourhood of Mendexa, in the place called Hatxazpiko Lapatza (Itsas gain), there is an area fitted for sunbathing. They have built stairs with a handrail to get there, and added to that there are tables, benches, bins and fountains in the area.

It is the oldest farm in Mendexa; it was built at the beginning of the VXIth century on a land belonging to the Likona family. The mother of St. Ignatius of Loiola was a member of this family.

The columns of the farm are made of oak logs, and its structure is also wooden.

Although recent alterations have changed it significantly, the family´s coat-of-arms, the door with a semicircular arch and the lancet arch with two windows are still visible.

It is a dike in a pond, and belongs to an old sea mill.

This peculiar mill which operates with the tides was built in 1555 by the City of Lekeitio (then Mendexa was subordinate to Lekeitio), and rebuilt in 1625.

The pond is reinforced by a support with a regular shape, and it used to be filled at high tide. Then the water was slowly released, and the hydraulic wheel started to turn.

In 1980 the house was pulled down. Nowadays only the dike and the pond remain.

They are at the mouth of the river Lea, on both sides of Isuntza bridge. They used to build and repair wooden ships with traditional methods.

The factories were redesigned at the end of the XIXth and the beginning of the XXth century, but they are on the same Middle Age location. They are nothing but big roofs standing on pillars, buildings without walls. They used to have ramps to launch the ships and rails to help raise them onto land.

They are the best ancient shipyards in the province, and probably also in the whole of the Bay of Biscay, and even if they are not in use today, they still show the rails that launched the ships.

There are two caves in Mendexa: Argorta I and Argorta II.

It is in the Zelaia neighbourhood, at the top of the hill, next to the pelota court and in front of the town hall.

It has a gothic-baroque style and was built between the XVIth and XVIIIth centuries.

The bell tower is above the portico, and it also has a shored up wall at the front.

It is situated in Zelaia, next to the church and the pelota court. Above the door there is a skull representing death, and a bit higher, in a stone cross, an inscription dating from 1903. It says:

Anayaak
zuek orain zariana gulenguiñian
oraingariana zuek laster izangozara dirialako
labur larrita contuak gure lurreko egunak
P.TPN
JOB. C.XIV V.XXIX.

(Brothers / we used to be what you are now / you will soon be what we are now / as our days on earth are so short / P.TPN / JOB. C.XIV V.XXIX.)

It is in the Leagi neighbourhood, and believed to date from the XVIth century. It has a single ship, and a cross-shaped ground plan which can be noticed from the outside.

At the front of the chapel there is a pointy bell tower. There is also a stained glass window of many colours and interesting notches, representing a flower of six petals.

It is a beautiful representative of the fights between the relatives of Adan of Iarza for his property. It is in Leagi; it is a cubic building with a rectangular ground plan, and its cavities, corners and facade are made of ashlar.

Between the two windows above the main entrance stands the coat-of-arms of the Leagi family: it is constituted by a helmet decorated by a feather and an acanthus leaf and two children or angels at the bottom. Higher up stand the arms divided into quarters; the first and the fourth show a boar, and the second and the third a star with eight points.
It is an XVIIIth century baroque palace.

It a big building located in the Leagi neighbourhood; its rough stone walls measure 9 x 4 meters and are 80 cm. thick. It is a neoclassical building from the XIXth century.

It has the characteristics of the typical fortified house: no verticality, walls strengthened with ashlar in the cavities and corners, narrow doors and a patio.

The farm is an element which has constantly structured this town´s society:

XVIIIth century farms:
Iturraspe in the Likona neighbourhood; Agarre, also in Likona, has a press and tools to make cider, all very well preserved. Also Leagi Basterretxea, in the Leagi neighbourhood.
Neoclassical farms:
Algorta farm, Zubiko house and Bista Alegre house built in 1879.
Farms which cannot be dated:
Leagi-etxebarri in Leagi; Agarre goikoa in Iturreta and Mendexakua in Zelaia.

Isuntza bridge is in the river Lea, and links Lekeitio to the Likona neighbourhood of Mendexa. It has a single span and a semicircular arch.

It is used by pedestrians and cars.

Leagi bridge is also in the river Lea, and links the Lekeitio-Aulesti road with a building called Hospitalzarra; in other words, it links Ispaster with Mendexaga. It is made of stone and has a rather big semicircular arch. It has one span, so that boats in the river can go under it.

It is a big stone cross with a rectangular base, and it indicates the way to Leagi.

It has a Tuscan column held by a rectangular base; on top of it there is a small stone cross with rounded arms and a stone circle in the middle. It is close to Leagi tower.

It stands on an octogonal limestone column, and the circle where its arms meet is decorated by notches.

There is an inscription that reads: "Se construyo a espensas de la barriada de Likona año 1896" ("it was built with the support of the Likona neighbourhood, year 1896". The following can also be read: "por Francisco de Uzcolay y por Francisco de Goikoetxea" (by Francisco of Uzcolay and Francisco of Goikoetxea).

It is to the left of the road Aulesti-Lekeitio near the area of Amoroto Oleta, along the River Lea. If you visit the site without having previous knowledge of the building, one can be shocked, being in ruins.

The building is very distinctive, high-volume and large dimensions, built with masonry, and has two levels. It has a square base. Its role in regard to the health of the territory (Lekeitio, Amoroto, Gizaburuaga, Ispaster and Mendexa) was very important.

The current location is near the river and the road increases their separation. Is linked through the bridge Leagi.