Known as “the white town on
the green coast”, Luarca is another attractive fishing village of white-washed
houses on the Asturian coastline, but this time considerably bigger than
Cudillero with a bit more to see. For me the most fascinating place was the
historic slate table in the fisherman’s quarter where the sailors would meet
each day. 
On mornings when the weather was particularly rough they would cast a
vote on whether they should set sail that day, or stay at home, by placing a
token into either a model ship or a model house. If more tokens were placed in
the boat, off they sailed, more in the house and it was deemed safer to stay at
home – fishing after all can be a dangerous business in these storm-filled
waters.
This was an early example of micro-democracy in action and indeed the
community-minded locals also provided for the widows of dead seamen, by reserving
them their fair share of any catch. Aside from learning about these old
traditions I also loved the seaside cemetery, with its gleaming white
gravestones overlooking the Atlantic, and the port itself was fun to spend some
time in, with colourful boats moored to the quay and several bars full of a
young people (watching Euro 2016 at the time of my visit).
The white town on the green
coast…
A mural above the table depicts life
of old…
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