Green Coast

(Local Name: Costa Verde) The stretch of coast between Ribadeo in the west and San Vicente de la Barquera in the east, known as the Costa Verde, offers some of the finest coastal scenery in northern Spain. Here a strip of land only a few kilometers wide extends between the sea on the one hand and the green slopes of the high Cantabrian Mountains (Cordillera Cantábrica) on the other. The inhabitants of the coastal strip live by fishing, stock-farming and the growing of cereals. For tourists the Costa Verde is one of the most varied regions in Spain: the picturesque little coves and sandy beaches which occur at intervals along the generally rocky coast offer attractive bathing, while there is endless scope for walkers in the hills, with the chance of encountering some of the shy mountain fauna.