Getaria is a fishing settlement and it is where Juan Sebastian Elcano, the first man to circumnavigate the world, was born. Although the expedition, which set out in 1519, was captained by Magellan, he was murdered in the Phillipines. Elcano completed the voyage in September 1522. There are many statues to him in the town. Near the harbour is a Gothic church with a floor that slopes upwards to the altar.