Albaola, a treasure of our history

Albaola hides in its interior the construction of one of the most important naval replicas in the world.

Located in Pasaia, in an environment of enormous natural value, we find Albaola, the Basque Maritime Factory. Before entering Albaola, we thought it was a museum, but now we know the reality. Leaving aside the figure of a museum and using the construction of the replica of the whaler San Juan as the main axis, Albaola faithfully and dynamically represents the way of life of the Basque people in the 16th century. A “living” project that changes its appearance as it progresses.

View of Albaola from the Pasaia Donibane coastal pass.

Albaola hides behind its doors a long list of points of interest for which we should visit its facilities, we will try to break down some of them.

History of the nao San Juan: The history of the nao San Juan begins where Albaola is today, in Pasaia. It is here, in 1563, where the adventure and legend of one of the first transoceanic cargo ships leaving the Basque Country for the new land, Newfoundland, began. This vessel, an example of Basque naval power, was wrecked off the coast of Canada (Red Bay) in 1565.

Scale replica of the nao San Juan

In 1978 Parcs Canada found it and began a 30-year investigation that resulted in the most detailed plans of a 16th century merchant ship. Plans on which today Albaola is based to build the replica. As a result of this research the nao San Juan became the symbol of the underwater cultural heritage of UNESCO. In 2013, with the scientific support of the Government of Canada and as a star program of the project to present Donostia – San Sebastian as European cultural capital in 2016, the construction of the replica of the nao San Juan began.

Investigation of the Nao San Juan in Canada

Construction of the replica nao San Juan: For the construction of the replica of the whaler San Juan, traditional methods and materials are being used, respecting the historical process of construction. Many materials are needed to build this colossal ship of 28 meters long and 7.5 meters wide, but the most important are:

• 200 oak trees (structure): These 200 oak trees have been obtained from the forests of Sakana-Barranca, forests historically used to supply the needs of the Basque shipyards. In these forests the oaks were cultivated and maintained by guiding their branches to obtain curves impossible to see in nature.

Forests of Sakana, Albaola

• 20 fir trees (masts and poles): For this type of elements, trees of colossal dimensions were necessary, some of them up to more than 35 meters. These were obtained from the Irati forest, just as they were obtained in the past. The rivers were used to transport them, as mentioned in our article on the Almadías of Navarre.
• 560 square meters of cloth and 6 kilometers of hemp ropes: The hemp ropes and cloths were obtained from the Ebro Valley, a historical place in the manufacture of these elements.

Tar: The waterproofing of the hull is essential, for this purpose they use tar created in a traditional way by distilling pine resin. Currently this tar is obtained in Quintanar de la Sierra (Burgos).

With all this, the 3 decks of the whaler will be created, for now, the first one is not finished, what are you waiting for to visit it and tell us the progress of its construction?

The replica of the Nao San Juan, Albaola

Citizen participation: Xabier Agote, is one of the key people in this project, we can say that the construction of the replica of the San Juan is his dream come true. Albaola, arises as a social project, supported by an extensive network that little by little and with the help of citizens, companies and public organizations extends its tentacles to reach all corners of the world. Witness to this are all the volunteers who day after day collaborate with professionals to raise this historic ship.

Volunteers and professionals working in Albaola

Location: In Pasaia (formerly called Pasajes), a municipality cemented around the bay of the same name, we find Albaola. The municipality of Pasaia is divided into 4 districts, San Juan (in Basque Donibane), San Pedro, Antxo and Trintxerpe. Albaola is located in the district of San Pedro on an old shipyard next to the emblematic Jaizkibel dredge and the road to Santiago. The fishermen’s houses, the bay, the trawlers, the fishing boats and an endless number of elements make us enjoy a unique maritime environment.

We highly recommend a visit to the district of San Juan – Donibane, a district with a beautiful old town, a nice coastal promenade and lots of charm.

Houses Pasaia Donibane

If you visit Albaola during the weekend, please note that the access to San Pedro is closed. Therefore, we recommend parking your car in the Trintxerpe parking lot with the option of accessing by boat to Albaola’s own dock in its facilities.

Albaola Swamp

Ancient trades: Albaola not only recovers the legend of the San Juan ship, it also recovers trades that unfortunately are falling into oblivion. An example of this are the carpenters, blacksmiths and a long list that you will discover during your visit to the Factory.

Arrantzale, Albaola

Price and opening hours: Albaola is open all year round except on January 1st and December 24th, 25th and 31st. Hours vary depending on the time of the year:

The facilities: Created with reused elements and wood as main materials, Albaola has managed to create cozy and practical facilities where you can learn details of the history of the Basque Country unknown to many.

Interior expo Albaola

Nao San Juan Facilities, Albaola

All in one: As we published in our social media accounts at the end of our visit to Albaola, this place is the all in one of the Basque Country. The most complete point of tourist interest that we have seen so far. The contextualization made by Albaola, gives us the opportunity to know in detail the contribution of the Basque whalers in the development of our towns and people. In it, we will verify the existing nexus between the sea and all the facets of the Basque people.

Contextualization of the Sagardo and the life at sea

Accreditations: Albaola has numerous awards that accredit it as one of the most interesting places in the Basque Country. For our part, we awarded Albaola the “TurismoVasco Tiketa” accreditation, for creating a project that helps to keep our history and traditions alive and make them known throughout the world. Albaola, a 100% recommended place.

Tourism AccreditationVasco Tiketa

For more information we recommend visiting Albaola’s website if you need more information. We leave you a video of Albaola’s project that we loved.

After a year since our first visit to Albaola, we decided to return and see with our own eyes the progress made on the boat. Building a 16th century ship in an artisanal way takes many hours of work, but the social mass and the professionals working on this project have done a great job. In one year, they have raised a new level of the nao San Juan, little by little our little one is becoming a giant.

Advance of the nao San Juan in Albaola

Without a doubt, it is worth coming back and discovering how the boat you visited comes to life as the days go by.

Itsas kultur faktoria

Albaola continues to unite trades, continues to create a Basque whaler using 16th century techniques. On this occasion, we went to Albaola on the occasion of a new project, a new news, the tar necessary for the construction of the Nao San Juan was going to start its way from Burgos to Pasaia. The ox carts, as in the past, are the ones in charge of carrying out this route full of obstacles that will have to be overcome to guarantee the necessary tar for the most important cultural project of our town.

After our visit, we can say that the Nao San Juan is progressing as expected, the ship is taking shape, our giant is making its way into the pavilion that will soon see it set sail. The small details, the smallest pieces are appearing on the horizon, delicate elements of great quality that we will soon see aboard the Nao San Juan.