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Axpe
The village of Axpe, in the valley of Atxondo, nestles under the limestone heights of 4,777-foot Amboto—one of the highest peaks in the Basque Country outside of the Pyrenees. Home of the legendary Basque mother of nature, Mari Urrika or Mari Anbotokodama (María, Our Lady of Amboto), Amboto, with its spectral gray rock face, is a sharp contrast to the soft green meadows running up to the very foot of the mountain. According to Basque scholar and ethnologist José María de Barandiarán in his Mitología Vasca (Basque Mythology), Mari was "a beautiful woman, well constructed in all ways except for one foot, which was like that of a goat."
To reach Axpe from Bilbao, drive east on the A8/E70 freeway toward San Sebastián. From Gernika, drive south on the BI635 to the A6/E70 freeway and turn east for San Sebastián. Get off at the Durango exit 40 km (24 mi) from Bilbao and take the BI632 toward Elorrio. At Apatamonasterio turn right onto the BI3313 and continue to Axpe.
