Las Villas de Cue

CUE

by AsturArcadia

Cué is the first village out of Llanes on the lane which follows the coast to Andrín and san Roque de Acebal. Morphologically it is a little unusual in being linear in form, spread out over just three parallel streets. In spite of the urban sprawl of Llanes, now extending up the main road towards the junction with the N-634 at La Arquera, it is still a physically separate community, though one wonders how long the remaining half kilometre stretch of meadows will survive!

We start our short exploration beyond the village, at the viewpoint overlooking the Playa la Ballota, then have a look at the settlement itself, where a surprising number of the old houses are now being restored and renovated.

CUE (TWO)

by AsturArcadia

We now move on the the part of the village to the south of the 'main' road, in mid-winter somewhat overshadowed by the high ridge which runs from La Arquera to the viewpoint above Andrín.

Two decades ago, in the late 1980s, there were still many villages in Asturias and Cantabria whose back streets were not asphalted or concreted - And the mixture of large stones and oozing mud was churned up several times a day by the passage of cattle. One really did need to wear 'madreñes' (clogs) to get around!

Restoration work carried out to a very high standard . . .

A word here about the colours of the walls of the houses. The glorious technicolor is a modern phenomenon. Until the 1990s the standard colour was white, perhaps with a grey strip at the base, up to a metre or so in height. Some buildings were a faded blue. Anything is possible now, thanks to the huge range of emulsions, and emulsion-colouring pigments, available on the market. Purists are not keen on multi-hued Asturian villages. Personally, I rather like the effect, although dark blues, greens and violets can look too sombre. The craze has been carried into the interiors, which is a pity. There is nothing more attractive than an old room with heavy oak beams and fresh whitewashed walls. In our house in Borines half the kitchen was an icy blue (including the ceiling), half was yellow (with orange wallpaper halfway up the walls). The lounge walls were a strange fleshy colour. The 'corredor' was brown. One bedroom was a chilly blue. The spare bedroom, green. The upstairs room that is now (but not in winter) the study was deep VIOLET!!!

Guess what? They are now all white.

Only the hallway, landing, upper 'corredor' and bathroom are various shades of pale yellow.

In the throes of redevelopment. When a house is badly decayed, sometimes there is no option but to start again from scratch - and many village houses have stood empty and decaying for years on end.

Ginger was a little wary, but allowed himself to be photographed at a safe distance.

CUE (ONE)

by AsturArcadia

Cué is sheltered from the sea by a low limestone ridge, crowned by the church.

At the western end of the village there is a house with three panels of ceramic tiles (eighteen pictures in all) adjacent to the front door. They have been there for well over 20 years. What is rather odd is that they depict Dutch pastoral scenes, with windmills, canals and geese very much in evidence!

The variety of architectural styles is quite bewildering, with renovations dating from various periods. This is the street that runs parallel to the very narrow 'main' road.

And here is one of those fascinating alleyways that coinnect one part of the village with another, running betwen high stone walls bordering the fincas.

Looking the opposite way up the street featured a couple of photos back.

Such village streets were not designed for the four-wheeled infernal combustion engine!