Colunga, a sea of possibilities
Colunga is a land of prodigies that are easy on the eye. By land and by sea, Colunga dazzles with its landscapes, surprises with its nooks and crannies and seduces with its stories.
It is obvious that Colunga is a land of wonders. You only have to contemplate the Sueve, and its Pienzu Cross, or walk through its towns and villages, with their panoramic views of the sea and the mountains at the same time. Or enjoy its beaches. Or walk along the Way of St. James. Or admire its Pre-Romanesque Art in Gobiendes. Or feel like a sailor sailing the oceans from the Lastres lighthouse... From the sea and from the land, Colunga dazzles with its landscapes, surprises with its nooks and crannies, seduces with its many stories.
It is not surprising that the piper of pipers - the one from Libardón -, or that the father of modern nutrition - Francisco Grande Covián -, or that the dinosaurs themselves could never get rid of the magical effluvia of this discreet, silent and resilient territory that seems to have been created by the mind of an artist with an overflowing imagination.
Colunga is mountain and orchard, coal and fishing, art and history, peaceful life. Sailors, navigators, researchers, Indianos, pilgrims, world travellers, and so many others who have passed and pass through this place that leaves a deep mark, and in which they leave a deep mark - think for example of the ichnites of the dinosaurs on the beach of La Griega -, or the mysterious apparitions of giant squids in the Fosa de Carrandi...
It is clear that Colunga will make you float on a sea of possibilities!
Lastres, seafaring ancestry
Whether you arrive by land or by sea, Lastres has hundreds of faces, perspectives and different shots, perhaps this is why it is so attractive, so photogenic, so coveted for filming and filming of all kinds. It gives so much visual play!
From the highest point or at sea level, its beauty takes on unusual nuances, and depending on where you look at it from, it changes completely. It could be said that Lastres is the village of a thousand faces, and each one more suggestive.
It is literally hanging or hanging - depending on the point of view - on the slope of a mountain that goes into the sea, and its staggered shape makes it sinuous and hidden, full of small and steep streets with dozens of houses that are like the bridges of ships, they seem to be designed to sail day and night, or to be a constant balcony to its oceanic vision.
Lastres is like a puzzle of hundreds of meticulous pieces that fit together mathematically, and where nothing is left to chance, and the truth is that walking through this village is an atypical sensation. You will constantly change altitude, and in the midst of the swaying of its narrow streets, you will smell fish, seaweed and pure sea, it will be like being at sea. How different from other visits to the mainland!
You will go through dozens of seafaring neighbourhoods, from El Rancho, hanging from the cliff, to San Pedro or El Piquero, perched on the highest point and where a part of the old fishing village of Lastres was born. You will see all the ages of the town and all its social classes of yesteryear, from the palaces and main houses to the most humble houses.
And when you finish your tour, in which you cannot miss the Mirador de San Roque viewpoint and its chapel, you will have a perfect idea of the seafaring ancestry of this village!
Mount Carrandi and its wonders
Are you familiar with Monte de Carrandi? It is no more and no less than the Sueve, which has appeared since ancient times, especially on navigation charts, as Monte de Carrandi, and the cross that crowns the Picu Pienzu, as the Cross of Carrandi...
It is true that the stories surrounding this mountain are truly prodigious, to such an extent that sailors say that when they approached the Asturian coast, from ten miles away they could see the unmistakable profile of the Sueve, which rises majestically above the village of Carrandi, through the clouds, like a faint broken line. They saw it and they still see it from ten miles before arriving, that is, about eight hours away by boat! Truly impressive!
So, for centuries, the first thing that can be seen in the distance of Asturias is this mountain, which happens to be one of the highest and closest to the sea of the whole continent.
Territory of asturcones - the native Asturian horse breed -, humanised and cattle-raising mountain range, refuge for mountaineers, obligatory stop for lovers of panoramic views at El Fitu, challenge for sportsmen and women behind the wheel, dream of hikers, the Sueve is much more than a simple mountain, it is a symbol of the orography and lifestyle of eastern Asturias.
And when it looks towards Colunga, its gentle mountainous outlines embrace the village of Carrandi, perched on the heights, with splendid views of this magical mountain and the sea.
Carrandi jealously guards in its entrails a great black treasure. Underneath its houses and orchards, underneath its paths, the sap of the Asturian carboniferous rock penetrates the sea, shrouded in mystery and reality. Yet another prodigy!
And if we look west from Carrandi, as if to go towards the Cachucho, we first come across the Carrandi Trench, a deep underwater valley, habitat of the kraken and other fish, and a place of prodigies such as the Monte and the village that give it its name...
Libardón, the bagpiper's village
When Colunga gets lost between mountains and hills, between green and leafy valleys, always under the watchful eye of the Sueve, we find dozens of hidden villages, warm, welcoming, waiting for those who want to visit them, or even stay.
They are like a metaphor for time in suspension and inspire total serenity. This is how, after a few turns and more than one Asturian curve, along these mountain roads that should be a tangible heritage of humanity, we come across Libardón, or Lliberdón in Asturian, which, seen from the road coming from Carrandi, looks like a fairytale village, as if carved out of a hillside.
One of its illustrious sons and a great figure of traditional Asturian music, Ramón García Tuero, better known as the piper of Libardón, put his home town on the world map of culture forever. As a well-deserved tribute, he has his own museum in the village where he was born.
Libardón will be unforgettable, with its palaces, with the palm trees of its houses of indianos wanting to touch the sky, with its memories of coal mines. With the belfry of its church at the bottom of the valley, with its free-standing bell, it is a curious and unusual place in Asturias...
So now you know, if you go to Colunga... Don't miss Libardón!
Why did the dinosaurs fall in love with Colunga?
This question will be on your mind as soon as you find yourself in the Rasa de San Telmo - very close to Lastres -, at the very gates of the Jurassic Museum. There, among life-size replicas of "dinos", and as expressive as if they were real, you will feel as if you were in that period of the Earth.
They look totally authentic, so much so that it is as if they were talking to us and telling us why they felt so acclimatised in this area of the Asturian coast, which is already popularly known as the dinosaur coast.
Why did they fall in love with Colunga? We can think of many reasons, but the person who really knows a little about what happened thousands and thousands of years ago is the Asturian scientist José Carlos García Ramos, discoverer of the first footprints on La Griega Beach and the inspiration behind the Jurassic Museum.
If you let your imagination run wild among the 39 replicas of the "dinos", perhaps you too will be inspired, and you will feel how at ease these great specimens were in the green Asturias, among forests, mountains and beaches, and looking at the sea, the sea that in Colunga you can breathe at every step...
There is no doubt that Colunga is a land of scholars and researchers, and also of dinosaurs in love!
Pre-Romanesque for sailors
If the first thing sailors see when approaching continental Europe is Mount Sueve, the first thing pilgrims and visitors who come to Santiago de Gobiendes see is the blue of the sea. A sea that is the ideal backdrop for the lattices and pre-Romanesque windows of this peaceful church almost at the foot of the Sueve and bathed by the sea breeze.
Gobiendes is another of the idyllic and panoramic villages of the Colunga council. This time, unlike others, the historical culmination perched on the highest point is one of the "living" jewels of Asturian Pre-Romanesque Art: Santiago de Gobiendes, dating from the 10th century and one of the last pre-Romanesque creations.
Santiago de Gobiendes is a Pre-Romanesque for lovers of sailing, because from its surroundings you can see the ships passing by!
A Way of flowers
The Way of St. James in Asturias may not literally be a road of roses... but it is certainly a road where flowers and nature are a constant presence and protagonist.
Colunga is one of the areas along the Coastal Way, which is becoming increasingly popular and has recently been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site. And in this sweet passage you can breathe a mixed air, of sea and mountain at the same time, of peace and quiet, of peaceful walking. In the vicinity and in the town of Colunga itself you will meet pilgrims on foot or by bicycle who take the opportunity to make a stop in the area and immerse themselves in the surroundings.
They will be accompanied - just like you - by the flowers and dreams of the Jacobean Colunga!
The guiding light of Luces
The Lighthouse of Lastres, or of Luces, which is the name of the village where it is located, is a simply spectacular site. The cliffs it overlooks and which provide light at night and during the days are a wonder of nature, and the panoramic views will leave you speechless. No wonder it is so photographed and televised.
It's like a painting, with a green meadow all around, where Asturian cows graze and look out to sea and land, just as we do. And if you look a little to the west, you will see the charming port of Tazones, where almost five hundred years ago the adolescent Emperor Charles V first set foot on Iberian soil.
The light of Luces guides us by land and by sea! Blessed lighthouse!
Colunga, Grande Covián's dream town
The town of Colunga, the capital of this council, is an unavoidable stop on this journey. Quiet, with its atmosphere of old cafés, its modernist and Indian architecture, its medieval and Renaissance palaces, Colunga will add a note of distinction and elegance to your trip.
Here you will discover the family home of the father of modern nutrition, the well-known doctor Francisco Grande Covián, with a small square next to it where a bust of this biochemistry scholar is exhibited. You will discover the occasional pilgrim who takes off the fatigue of the Camino, and you will discover why Grande Covián always longed, from wherever he was in the world, for his native Colunga.
In fact, Colunga is like the dream village of a wise man, his spirit swarming in the air!