North Eastern Atlantic

Beyond the Asturian coast, the Cantabrian Sea opens into the broad waters of the Bay of Biscay. Atlantic winds and swell reach the exposed headlands of northern Spain, where Cape Peñas projects towards the sea. Ships crossing these waters passed fishing grounds used by coastal communities. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries Basque crews also hunted whales along the shores of Asturias and Galicia, working from the ports and inlets beneath the cliffs.