Coast of Asturias

The coast of Asturias faces the Cantabrian Sea, where headlands and small harbours break a shore backed by green mountains. Fishing sustained communities along this exposed coast, and whales were also pursued from shore. Basque crews continued to hunt whales in Asturian and Galician waters into the seventeenth century, even as their voyages reached the distant shores of Labrador. The sea offered a livelihood, but Atlantic weather could make it a dangerous one.