Many athletes feel dizzy when it comes time to retreat. It was not the case of Aitor Ocio (Vitoria, Álava, November 28, 1976), former footballer of Osasuna, Sevilla and Athletic Club de Bilbao. There were tears in his farewell, on June 14, 2012 in the San Mamés press room, but that same day he became a businessman, inaugurating the Henao Clinic. Now, the winner of two UEFA Cups, a European Super Cup and a King's Cup is a sports lover and an entrepreneur with a network of centers and clinics dedicated to care, health and beauty. He tells us about the treasures of his hometown.

"Vitoria is the city where I was born and grew up glued to a ball. In it there are two things that make it unique for me with respect to other fantastic places: its green areas and the historic center. Being lucky the first makes it something different on a sporting level, for example, recently, in 2019, it was named a

Global Green City

and years ago, in 2012, it was already elected the Green Capital of Europe.

For those of us who love to play sports, as is my case, Vitoria is an open window with infinite possibilities. It is something that you can feel in people, whom you often see practicing different activities. You always find someone

running

on the Green Belt, which is a group of parks that surround the city: Alegría, Las Neveras, Larragorri ... You also meet the neighbor who, as soon as he gets home, takes the bicycle or who already is preparing a hiking trail with friends for the weekend ...

The old town of Vitoria

is an incredible, wonderful place. We who are from there know him a lot. But luckily, there are also more and more people from outside. In fact, one of its cathedrals, Santa María de Vitoria, traditionally known as the Old Cathedral, inspired novelist Ken Follet to write

A World Without End

, the continuation of

The Pillars of the Earth

. It is said that he came to the city to give a lecture and, when he discovered the restoration works of this unique Gothic cathedral, he was fascinated. And is not for less. What's more, in the end he presented the book in Vitoria.

In general, I recommend signing up for one of the guided tours to get to know and understand the city in depth.

Worth.

For example, knowing that the old town maintains its Gothic layout and its narrow streets intact, but that there are also Renaissance, Baroque, Neoclassical remnants ... To choose which route to take, I advise you to go through the Tourist Office (Plaza de España, 1) .

When I go with family and friends, I always go to one of the terraces or establishments in Plaza Nueva or Plaza de España, such as

Morro Fino

(Plaza España, 14) or

Gracia y Salero

(Plaza España, 5).

Next door, in the Plaza de la Virgen Blanca and surroundings, there are also many restaurants where you can eat wonderfully, such as

Arkupe

(Mateo Benigno de Moraza Kalea, 13).

And then there is the

Plaza del Matxete

, which I love. It was the limit of the medieval town and it is so called because in a niche the Vitorian machete on which the high officials of the city took their oaths was kept. What many people don't know is that you can see the machete today. It is not the original, which is in the Municipal Archive (Paseo de la Universidad, 1), but if you approach the walls of

the Church of San Miguel

you will see a replica of it next to the oath in which the prosecutors promised to defend the city and its people, because if they did not, their heads would be cut off with the machete itself.

And the truth is that every time I go home I visit my own personal training center,

THEFITSports

(Abendaño, 3).

We have resumed the activity as soon as they allowed us, finally leaving behind all the limitations that we have had in this time.

Since its inauguration, I have wanted to bring together a human team made up of personal trainers, sports doctors, physiotherapists and nutritionists.

Sport, in times of a pandemic, is fundamental

, although some seem to have misunderstood it. "

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

Know more

Plans Six proposals for a 'slow' getaway without crowds to the Sierra de la Demanda

AgendaSix plans for this week

GetawayCartagena exhibits its charms to the world

See links of interest

  • Last News

  • Work calendar

  • Home THE WORLD TODAY

  • Master Investigation Journalism

  • Horoscope August 11