On the northern coast of Spain, where misty mountains slope down toward the Cantabrian Sea, there is a port town of uncommon simplicity and beauty. A fleet of fishing boats painted firetruck red and forest green unload their catch every morning at the rula, the commercial fish market that anchors the port. The buyers—think gruff men in Members Only jackets—eye the fish from the auction floor or from the balcony above it, make their bids using handheld clickers, and then truck the fish to restaurants around Asturias.
Some of that fish never gets on a truck, never meets a middleman. Instead, it is carried by fishermen up a steep hill with stone streets to an unassuming restaurant called Mesón el Centro. And there it is delivered into the hands of a self-taught chef named María Antonia Fernández—Mari to all who know her—whose gales of laughter and restless spirit seem to match the energy of the wild Cantabrian Sea below.
In the years since we started coming to Asturias with the League of Travelers, Mari has been our tireless culinary guide through the bounty of Puerto de Vega. Journalist María Elizondo spoke with her by phone recently to learn more about her life at the edge of the sea and why the taste of oyster should "remind you of being thrown around by a wave in the Cantabrian Sea."
Read the full Q&A on Roads & Kingdoms here.
And if you want to experience that same wild Cantabrian seafood, we still have space available in the League of Travelers' Asturias journey (Sep 24-Oct 1, 2023), If you're interested send us a note. And you can find all our other itineraries that still have space available, including in 2024, on the League site.
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