Category Archives: Spain

I finally had the Spanish meal of my dreams, not far from the sweet cottage where we’ve been staying with our friends at el Mozucu restaurant in San V. I remembered the grilled and salted sardines from our last visit here in 1989. Nothing like the little ones packed into a tin with oil (although I like those too and bought some as gifts.) we also had an outstanding seafood paella that arrived in a large red ceramic pan, very moist and full of flavor, with large chunks of seafood (clams, crab, octopus.) all eaten outside overlooking boats bobbing in the harbor and mountains in the distance on a suddenly warm and sunny day. Bliss.

We also walked around the ancient part of the city which is somewhat hidden by the newer parts. We walked up a narrow cobblestone path to the castle and beyond that done beaucoup carved stone buildings to the lovely old church. It’s the kind I like, fairly simple, not too ornate, with almost folk art looking sculptures, including an angel holding an oar.

Along the water is a pretty promenade lined with thick palm trees and a square surrounded by squat plane/sycamores. We had another must-have at a cafe liver looking rhe square: fresh churros with hot chocolate the consistency of chocolate pudding to dunk them in. We also bought some tinned sardines and chorizo to take home as gifts.

We drive two hours west along the stunning jagged northwest coast past high mountains to visit two charming fishing villages, both wrapped around harbors with brightly colored boats bobbing in the water and pretty old white washed buildings trimmed with red or blue and dramatic waves crashing into breakwaters and jagged rocks rising from the seabed.

Luarca is the bigger of the two and we ate at a small charming seafood restaurant overlooking the harbor, La montenesa del muelle. There’s a gorgeous botanical garden atop a cliff between the harbor and the coast that wasn’t really open but we sloshed along a green grassy path past palm trees and pink and yellow camellia trees.

We had razor clams which were strangely long and chewy and grilled octopus with potatoes that also was a little too chewy for me. M&C wisely ordered a salad which came with corn, hard boiled eggs and tuna; and a huge crispy grilled white fish with crispy thin sliced potatoes.

A photo of famous Spanish chef Jose Andreas with the restaurant staff hung near our table. He lives nearby in this region called Asturias.

Cudillero was more compact and spiffed up and I’d like to have spent more time there. We picked up some local sidre (cider). Sadly the grilled sardines I remember eating when we were here in the early fall of 1989 are t available this time of year. Some businesses are closed because it’s off season by the upside: we had these towns almost to ourselves. Apparently they are overrun with tourists in the high season, which displeases some judging from occasional graffiti reading “Locals Only!”