Living Asturias

Asturias’ biggest trump might well be its spectacular nature. The natural parks Picos de Europa, Somiedo and Ubiñas-La Mesa are wonderful locations to go out for a (multiple days) hike. Thanks to the abundant precipitation, the green vegetation still manages to grow alongside the steep, rocky hillsides. The trees offer an excellent shelter for the many wild animals that reside high up the mountains.

But water plays another important role in Asturias. The salty water of the Atlantic ocean beats against the land with an incredible force and thereby carves out the rugged coastline with its high, sharp cliffs. In some parts, spectacular shapes arose. One of the most distinct spots on the Asturian coast is Bufones de Pría, a formation of limestone in Llames the Pría. The swelling of the waves has eroded deep caves out of the cliffs, which are more than 10 meters high, and make the serrated coastline look like a volcanic landscape. But the walls aren’t just impressive because of their height, they have a special feature too.

When the water is wild, the waves find their way through tunnels inside the cliffs. This horizontal movement stops abruptly when the waves crash on the end of the tunnel. This force is so immense that the water is launched upwards through holes in the rocks. A geyser-like phenomenon takes place and a flow of water is blown through the Bufones. When this happens it sounds like the world just exploded. The height of the water varies. When there’s a storm, it really looks like the earth is spitting big clouds of water to scare off visitors. When the conditions are calm, no water reaches the surface area. But the incredible sound remains, the earth rumbles like there’s an animal breathing heavily somewhere deep inside the rocks.

Practical

It’s unfortunately almost impossible to reach Bufones de Pría with public transport, you need at least two or three buses when you come from Oviedo, Gijón or Avilés.

Wear decent shoes, as the rocks are very sharp and difficult to walk in between.

Watch out for the holes. Some of them are so deep that you can’t even see where they end.

On a few hundred meters there’s also a very small but beautiful beach. The playa Guadamía.