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LuARca 2013

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Points of Interest for Visitors to LuARca

30/01/2013

LuARca


LuARca 2013

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LuARca 2013

TABLE OF CONTENTS Las Arreas 4

The Mouth of the Black River

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The Lighthouse 6

Mesa de Mareantes 7

Luarca’s Cemetery 9

Portizuelo Beach 11

The Kiss Bridge 12

Villa Carmen 14

Villa Társila 16

The Harbour 18

Licence 20

Authors

C1 ESL students at EOI Luarca: Juanjo Alonso, Carla

Díaz, Vicky García, Ana González, María Pérez, Miguel A.

Méndez, Orlando Pérez, Ignacio Rodríguez, José Suárez,

María Tomás.

Teacher: Mª Jesús García San Martín


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LAS ARREAS

THE ETERNAL

MUSIC OF THE SEA.

In this place you will find a very high vertical wild cliff, an irregular bottom of rocks and strong sea winds blowing over the sea and forcing its water to spread its foamy drops. The rocks of the cliff have curved shapes covered with greenish and yellow moss. In spring the slope is full of white flowers that sway gently in the breeze. Could you imagine the most fantastic green-blue coloured seabed with plenty of holes and ignored jewel cases buried by pirates centuries ago...? Everything stands below your eyes. At night, when the stars reflect their light on the drops you will notice the breath of the spirits living under the sea. In summer, the sun sets in red on these rocks and the last light beam shows the way of the mermaids' secrets. Take this light in your hand ...smell it...the sky reflects all its shades. Look at the horizon from here. You'll see dozens of waves breaking at the same time along the coastline. Listen to the gulls that fly over your head. They are the absolute owners of the land and the sea. The sight of gulls nesting on the walls is unique. Dozens of birds will surprise you with harsh discordant cries. Do not be afraid of them, just let your mind as free as they are ... be like them in their freedom and enjoy the scenery.

MARÍA TOMÁS


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THE MOUTH OF

THE BLACK RIVER

There is in Luarca a

suspension bridge under

which the narrow and

crystalline river delivers

the water from the mountains. When the tide is low the river

goes merrily jumping on a background of green stones

forming small silvery ripples until it reaches the beach. But

when the tide rises, sea waves are formed, on full moon

nights, or when there is a storm; they move up the river until

they reach the center of town. Then, the geese and ducks that

live on the boulders of the last meander swim on the brackish

water if the weather is calm. You can hear the gurgle of the

water entering the interstices of the rocky channel bed, see

how freshly stripped seaweeds are mixed in swirls and

deposited in the river banks when the tide begins to fall. This

is the story of millions of years that surprises locals and

visitors every day. And, from this point, you can follow the

river upstream and then you will find the alders’ shapes

reflected on it. You can see how the river narrows through

meadows and villages. If you want to walk beside it, you will

enjoy such a beautiful walk that you will never be able forget

the spot.

Try it!

MARÍA TOMÁS


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LuARca 2013

THE LIGHTHOUSE

The lighthouse in Luarca is one of the nicest views in town. It

is 150 years old and is placed on a hill over Punta Focicón, at

the east side of the harbour. It is built over a square base

covered by a slate roof. It also hosts a house by the tower. In

its surroundings you can find a cemetery, a small church and

the remainders of a wall. Its body is 5 meters high and its

whole height is 9 meters and 54 over the sea level.

The place where the lighthouse is located, called La Atalaya,

was where the first fishermen

settled down by the tenth

century and in order to help

themselves, they started to light a

fire. Later a little church was built

there and in its bell tower they

continued to light fires by the

fourteenth century. A fortress was put up during the

sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to protect the town from

the English and the French who were very interested in this

place.

The lighthouse is still working while the house at its side is

empty. There is a project to refurbish it and turn this house

into a restaurant with unbelievable views overlooking the

sea. Its beam can be seen fourteen miles away.

IGNACIO RODRÍGUEZ


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MESA DE MAREANTES

This touristy landmark is a great point to understand the

local history. It was originally built as a meeting place, only

with a stone table, and it’s called in Spanish La mesa de

mareantes, which means The fishermen’s table in English. The

primitive sailors had their meetings here to decide if they

could go fishing or not

because of the bad

weather.

Next to this place, you

can find some ruins of

an ancient fortress

with ceramic panels

narrating historical

and local events.

Nowadays, here,

people from this

seaside

neighbourhood called El Cambaral, celebrate a party on

September 8 where they share typical sailors’ food called

marmitaco.

After taking photos, you can admire the beauty of the town

from this magic place: Luarca is a place carved by the sea, and

it was built as an amphitheater with houses hanging. In the


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background, the river called Negro with its seven bridges. Not

only does the river divide the town, but it also gives it a

romantic new name: the Asturian Venice.

Now you can try and make sure you eat some fish or seafood

at a typical restaurant, but without forgetting the desserts.

VICKY GARCÍA


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LUARCA´S CEMETERY: ‘the cemetery overlooking the sea’

The best way to view

Luarca is from the hills above the town, or even, believe it or

not, from the cemetery pictures on the slopes above, from

which you can also look out onto the open sea. The cemetery

is reputed to be one of the most beautiful ones in Spain (if you

like that kind of thing) and the views looking down to the

town are very good.

Many important people’s ashes are here, for example Severo

Ochoa’s, but in my humble opinion, a lot of average people

such as the sailors, relax there with the best views into the

sea.

Not only are the spectacular views and the bay the principal

characteristics from Luarca’s cemetery, but the tourist can

also see the beautiful and impressive statues together with

the modern mausoleum in this especial cemetery dedicated

to the sea.

And if you’re very quiet maybe you can listen to the murmur

of the sailors’ ghosts into the waves:


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(…)With a red-gold wedding ring, mined from the caves of

sunset,

Fast shall I bind thy faith to my faith evermore,

And the stars will wait on our pleasure, the great north

wind will trumpet

A thunderous marriage march for the nuptials of sea and

shore.

Poem by Lucy Maud Montgomery. (USA)

MIGUEL A. MÉNDEZ PÉREZ


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PORTIZUELO BEACH

If you visit Villar, the upper quarter in

Luarca, you can easily go to this

beautiful place. It is a stony beach, so

don't be surprised if you don’t find any

sand at all. It is nailed in a landscape of great beauty formed

by big rocks and cliffs. The beach is 220 meters long and 22

wide. Normally it is not that

crowded...

This beach used to be Nobel

awarded Ochoa’s favourite place

to walk. The house where he

was born is just placed in Villar

so you can perfectly figure out

what things were like at that

time.

Some scenes of the film Severo Ochoa: La conquista de un

nobel were shot here. Imanol Arias plays the role of Severo

Ochoa and Ana Duato plays his wife.

In the past, it was also the meeting place of women from the

village, who used to swim dressed.

The big stone close to the beach is called Piedra del óleo

because many artists and painters have found their way of

inspiration there.

JOSE M. SUÁREZ


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THE KISS BRIDGE

Divided into two halves by the river Negro, the town of Luarca

is held together thanks to her 7 bridges. Each of them

outstands on their own, due to their architectural

characteristics but, undoubtedly, the most preferred and

visited one by the tourist is the Kiss Bridge , the one which

was named after a famous legend dating back to the seventh

century.

At that time, it was frequent to see North African pirates

sailing the Cantabric Sea on their skull-and-bones flagged

vessels attacking the small and peaceful villages that rested

along the coast. Amongst those buccaneers, the most fearful

and dreaded one was called Cambaral. After Cambaral’s

crew’s violent raids, devastation and desolation would dwell

at these places for long. Tired of bearing such cruel assaults,


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the Lord of Luarca came up with a plan to get rid of the

corsair. So, he and his knights -disguised as plain fishermen-

set sail in search of the bloodiest pirate ever, and eventually

captured him. Severely injured in the fight, Cambaral was

taken to the Lord’s castle so as to get his wounds healed

before his trial. The Lord’s only daughter, a lovely young lady,

would play as his nurse. Every night, she would go upstairs to

the room where Cambaral was locked in, to clean and feed

him. It is said that it was love at first sight .

Months later and once the pirate was recovered from his

injuries, the young girl eavesdropped a conversation between

her father and his knights: they were setting the date for the

pirate’s trial, after which he would be hanged. That night

Cambaral and his beloved snuck out of the castle and headed

down to the village. Their aim was to reach the beach where

Cambaral’s comrades were supposed to be waiting on their

ships and, thus, help him to escape. But the Lord was an

intelligent and honourable man and loyal to his beliefs,

chased the couple to stop their getaway. And eventually he

succeeded, though the story would have a tragic end. Once

the nobleman got close to the couple, he unsheathed his

sword and, with a quick movement, he cut their heads off

while the pirate and his lady were melted in a passionate

kiss. And that’s why this bridge is known as the Kiss Bridge.

No tourist dares to leave the town without having previously

snapped one photo standing on this landmark and... Why not?

Kissing their better half.

ANA GONZÁLEZ AND MARÍA PÉREZ


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VILLA CARMEN

Severo Ochoa was a very famous Spanish scientist who won

the Nobel Prize for Medicine. He was born in Luarca where he

lived during his early childhood. When he was 7, his father

died and the family moved to Málaga. Later, he studied

Medicine in Madrid and because of the Civil War he ran away

with his wife from Spain in September 1936. Then, they went

to Germany. Afterwards, they travelled to the United

Kingdom and then, they settled down in the USA. There he

worked since 1941. His work in protein synthesis and

replication of RNA viruses was awarded with the Nobel Prize

in Medicine in 1959.

This house, Villa Carmen, was his childhood one, where he

lived for his first years. It was built by the architect Juan

Miguel de la Guardia in the XIX century by order of a previous

man, a rich seaman. The glass gallery is marvellous and the

wooden details are great as well. In the nineties it was sold to

a private person. Today there is a shellfish farm in one of the

buildings of Villa Carmen.


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In the centre of the village you can find the house where he

was born, before moving to Villa Carmen. And then you can

visit the cemetery, one of the most marvellous ones in the

coast –with a great view of the sea and the entrance to the

harbour- where his tomb is placed. His wife –the woman he

loved so much- is buried beside him.

JUANJO ALONSO


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VILLA TÁRSILA (CASA GUATEMALA)

VILLATÁRSILA IS ALSO KNOWN IN LUARCA AS CASA GUATEMALA

(GUATEMALA HOUSE)

It was designed by architect Juan Miguel de la Guardia

(Ontaneda, Cantabria, 1852) and built between 1893 and

1895.

It is a neo-renaissance style house which was commissioned

by D. Ramón Rodríguez, an immigrant who was born near the

village of Barcia and made his fortune in Guatemala.

His double name is in honour of his wife and as a proof of

affection for the country where his fortune was made.

It was built as a summer residence and is located in Luarca, in

the middle of a plot parallel to the river, occupying an area of

about 300 m2 and surrounded by a botanic garden with some


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very interesting trees. It also has some auxiliary buildings as

the landlords’ house, stables and garages.

The main building consists of a basement (where the kitchens

and service rooms are), two main floors and an attic, which

hosts the children's rooms and a small chapel.

The ceilings are decorated with paintings of the famous

Asturian painter Tomás García Sampedro (Pravia, 1860).

Villa Társila was renovated to become the headquarters of

the General Treasury of the Social Security Administration.

ORLANDO PÉREZ


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THE HARBOUR

The port of Luarca is the heart of this seaside town. Like

almost all ports, it offers a nice view of the houses built

around it and which shape the typical seaside neighbourhood

with narrow streets.

In the tenth century the main activity of the boats in the

harbour was originally whaling and they were provided with

the right to import and distribute salt. But fishing is currently

very important in Luarca, whose fleet is one of the most

significant ones in Asturias.

The town of Luarca is divided into three areas that we need to

consider:

One is the Sailors’ area, the oldest part of the village where

we can find three neighbourhoods called Cambaral, La Carril

and La Pescadería, which make an amphitheatre around the

port. This is one of the most charming views of Luarca, as well

as its most characteristic image.

Another one is the Bourgeois area, which is in the middle of

the town and it is recognizable because of the Council, the

Casino (both buildings were built by Manuel del Busto) and

the park. Here, we can also find Monolito del Fuero, a stone

and granite monolith that was awarded by Alfonso X the

Wise, so fishermen did not have to pay taxes for fishing. The

other is the Royal Coat of Arms, which has been in the front of

the Royal Town Halls of Luarca since 1777.


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The Indianos’ area is the third place, called Villar, at the top of

Luarca, with all the mansions built in the late nineteenth

century, by the migrants who came back from South America.

CARLA DÍAZ


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The illustrations in this magazine come from:

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Flickr.

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Wikimedia Commons.

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