Spain’s most scenic fishing village
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If you’re in search of Spain’s most scenic fishing village, we think we found it in lush Asturias, Northern Spain.
The best way to get out and about and explore is to hire a car, where you’ve got the freedom to stop wherever your heart desires.
At first we were both pretty freaked out that I was going to drive on the other side of the road for only the second time in my life on a wet, miserable day in an unfamiliar country. Were road rules even the same on the other side the world?
After unsuccessfully trying to convince Hertz to hold our bags so we could explore Oviedo in Asturias, we spent the better part of the day wandering around in the rain navigating a complex locker to leave our bags in and waiting for siesta to be over so we could kick off our road trip.
As we were finally waiting for our paperwork to be completed, we watched as a local backed their car into one of the Hertz hire vehicles parked on the street. We stood in awe as they drove off, and quickly rushed in to tell the laidback customer service representative.
“Don’t worry – that’s not your car,” he said, dismissing the incident immediately with a wave of the hand.
As someone who had previously worked in the rental industry, I was gobsmacked and so was Aaron. But, when in Spain…
The roadtrip from Oviedo to Cudillero
We were soon on the road, thrown onto a roundabout and straight onto the highway in rain pissing down so hard there was no visibility. I went into meltdown while Aaron navigated us onto another highway where the rain subsided and we eased into a comfortable speed. Our hearts racing, stomachs still somewhere back in Oviedo.
The Asturian landscape out the window was a lush green and bull statues were a frequent sight along the highway. We were en route to one of Spain’s most scenic fishing villages, just 40 minutes drive from Oviedo. As we descended upon the village, past pedestrians and down a narrow, winding street, it was clear why this place topped Spain’s travel lists of most scenic villages.
Our host from our accommodation had given us parking instructions, so we headed towards the marina area about 2 minutes drive through the village. Lucky she had because it looked as though parking within the village really wasn’t a thing.
Arriving in Cudillero
As we stepped out of our little hire car, the view of Cudillero from the distance was enough to take our breath away. The small village amphitheater sat above a marina and colourful houses popped under the stormy sky. Despite it being the first week of September, from a distance there appeared to be more seagulls in town than humans.
We rolled our suitcases toward the village and followed the accommodation’s instructions up hill through narrow lane-ways where the thunk of my suitcase wheels hitting the cobblestone steps attracted amused looks from locals. We were both sweating and breathless when we reached our destination.
If we thought the view from the marina was spectacular – then this was somethin’ else.
Apartamentos La Casa del Pintor
Our accommodation, Apartamentos La Casa del Pintor (house of the painter), was the most perfectly located casa in the Spanish fishing village. It overlooked the rooftops of Cudillero down to the restaurants and marina. After realising no one was home, we both sat on the steps and admired the sweeping view together. An elderly lady wearing her dressing gown was pacing in front of us, looking mildly curious but not enough to break a smile. She then started a conversation with a tall lady who appeared out the front of the place who I instinctively knew was our host.
When she saw us on the steps, she fell into apologies and helped us bring our suitcases inside a small but perfectly formed reception area with a narrow staircase and colourful paintings of Cudillero proudly on show. She spoke perfect English and her accent told us that she too was originally from somewhere else in the world.
“This house originally belonged to a painter. He also did many nude paintings and I often wonder if my elderly neighbours were his subjects,” she said with a smile.
After analysing the size of my suitcase, she insisted on carrying it up to our first floor room and gave us a tour of our beautiful apartment equipped with a small kitchenette and comfortable living area – perfect for a month of seaside living, yet we only had one night. The real highlight was the open window which framed the picturesque view of Cudillero below us.
When our friendly host left, we settled in for some view-admiring and enjoyed a moment of rest before venturing out for late afternoon exploration and sustenance. My appetite was finally back after more than a week of sickness and we were both ready to get stuck into the local delights.
Exploring the village
We roamed together down the narrow stone staircases to the marina where we poked around the back streets, seagull-watched and tested out the portrait setting on my camera.
Dining at the local sidrería
When it started to get dark, we headed toward the strip of restaurants and cafes at the marina. We were immediately drawn to the bustling local sidreria (cider house) where waiters were rushing between tables and pouring cider the local way (from about a metre above the glass to aerate the cider). So this was where the action was at.
We were lucky enough to secure a table outside the restaurant where we gushed about how amazing the place was and struggled to restrain ourselves from ordering everything on the menu (we’d both shared an intense love of Spanish food). We ended up with a bottle of the local cider (poured the old fashion way) along with peppers, Galician octopus, squid and bread to mop it all up.
It was a Friday night and soon obvious that most people around us were local Asturianos, visiting family or meeting friends. Kids were running between the tables and a line started to form outside the sidrería. Were we the only tourists in the village?
We ate every last crumb (and drank every last drop) before making our way back through the dark to our apartment. The view of the amphitheater village was just as impressive by night, if not more so. The street lights in the village illuminated the marina and we both took turns hanging out the window admiring the view. Aaron fell asleep uncharacteristically early (obviously well fed and ‘hydrated’) and I lied up late finishing my book, trying to figure out how we could stay for longer. The window was open and the only noise piercing through the peace and quiet was the strong pommy accent of a fellow guest (so we weren’t quite the only tourists in town).
In the morning we walked the entire breadth of the village to its many viewpoints. We had breakfast by the marina at a busy local cafe where dogs were accepted as patrons and the scent of freshly baked croissants and biscuits wafted out the door. Aaron ordered a hot chocolate that looked nothing like the packet-crap from home, and I threw down a strong coffee that seriously wasn’t going to help my anxiety driving on the other side of the road but tasted amazing all the same.
We ventured back up to our painter’s house to collect our bags and say goodbye to our kind host. On the way out we saw her elderly neighbour wandering up the pathway again, prompting a reminder of what our host had said about the neighbours being subjects of the nude paintings in the casa many years ago.
It was time for us to tear ourselves away from Cudillero, get back on the road and explore the many other small medieval towns of Northern Spain.
Rosie & Aaron
