Students from our Spanish school take a boat cruise along Bilbao’s river

On Thursday the 27th July, a large group of 16 students went on an excursion along the River Nervión in Bilbao. The so-called “Bilboat” excursion set sail in “a luxury monohull vessel made of fibre”, which has been designed especially for the characteristics of the estuary in Bilbao.

We got on board in the gorgeous July sunshine and took our seats as the boat pulled round from its mooring and headed out along the river. As one of the few boats passing along the river at that time, everyone enjoying the sunshine on the riverside walks was waving to us as we took pictures of Bilbao´s most attractive buildings lit up by the sun. The Guggenheim was resplendent in the sunshine, the buildings lining the river have a sense of disused charm about them, and the Torres Gemelas stood tall in the clear July sky.
The students on the top deck of the boat had a great time taking photos and those of us on the lower deck did Titanic impressions and enjoyed getting a little wet from the spray of the boat.
We reached parts of Bilbao that we´d not seen before, such as the areas Zorrozaurre and Olabeaga, and the budding urban planners among our students saw huge potential in the disused buildings along the river. It’s clear that Bilbao as a city is developing constantly and there are some fantastic examples of architecture to be seen along the course of the Nervión.