Lastres and the delicious Cantabrian fish market
First thing in the morning, the fish market of the tiny town of Lastres receives the first boats arriving from the sea . The fog has not yet lifted from the sea floor and the horizon is the miracle through which countless small boats appear dancing to the sound of the waves. Hungry seagulls squawk restlessly over the port, keeping an eye out for any loose guts. This is how it dawns in this small corner of the Asturian west coast, so forgotten long before a television series made it famous.
There is no need to look for more life in Lastres than calm. A calm that climbs up the side of a slight mountain with views of the sea. It is on that slope where the little houses with colored facades and old brick roofs are swirling , opening its maritime windows to the Bay of Biscay.
You have to forget about the car in this Asturian corner. Leave it at the top of the town, next to the Church of Santa María de Sábana or next to the Hermitage of San Roque, from where you can have the first image of this paradise: to one side you can see the Cantabrian coast, the boundaries that they separate Lastres from Colunga and Ribadesella; on the contrary, Sierra del Sueve surprises you , which creates a protection shield against bad winds.
Lastres does not skimp on beauty. His fish market, where every day some of the best pieces of scorpion fish, monkfish, anchovies, spider crabs … the catch of the day is weighed, it is photographed and with the click of a button you bid on the tastiest catch. Few sailors remain in this village, but still its fish market is a benchmark in this little piece of Asturias.
It was a whaling port that gave wealth to the town in the 16th and 17th centuries, so much so that many nobles built their beautiful mansions there . Today, in the old town of Lastres, you can see some of them, such as the Birthplace of the mathematician Agustín de Pedrayes.
From the fish market to the kitchen
We are in Asturias with what you must not miss trying the scorpion fish cake, the fried pixín (monkfish), the sins of the sea such as spider crab, lobster, small crabs... but above all it is almost an obligation to try the preserves prepared by the family of ** Casa Eutimio **: the first and only cannery in town is a canned delicacy made with the best raw material from its fish market.
places to eat
The potbellied Bertín (Ctra. General, s/n Barrio Barrigón. Lastres Tfno: 985 850 445)
** Casa Eutimio ** (C/San Antonio, s/n .Lastres, Colunga) The Lastres Lookout (San Roque s/n council of Colunga. Telephone: 985850365)