Anglers without a Pier

It remains in the memory of all of us who were lucky enough to see it. It is safely locked in the trunk of childhood. It used to be beautiful and one of the longest on the Atlantic coast until it started to become deteriorated and a couple of strong winds from the southeast finally broke it down and made it a dangerous place to visit.

Memorable fishing took place in this structure, as so many meters of concrete getting deep into the sea made it easier to cast the line or lower the lift net and catch real trophies.

Then it started to fall and it was impossible to raise it again. The wise sea eroded it and left what we can see today: old gray solitary stilts separated by the meters planned by man during its construction.

Nowadays, its skeleton may still be seen from many kilometers away and every morning, dozens of anglers (who once made up a fishing cooperative in the former facilities of the pier) go back into the sea in the same way the first anglers of this seaside resort used to.

In the past, watercrafts were dragged into the sea and then "pulled out" with the aid of horses and carts. Photographs give proof of this in the oldest restaurants of this town that has grown so much.

Horses have been replaced by tractors but the image continues to be the same. The "surprise" of seeing whether there was good fishing or not, if some extraordinary specimen was caught or if there will be no fish today continues to be the attraction for hundreds of tourists who gather every summer day at noon or in the afternoon, before the sun sets, to wait for the fishing boats to come back.

Traditional fishing has recovered the prestige it has always had. After all, it inspired stories such as those written by Hemingway about huge fish and even larger anecdotes that come out of the water every day to spread around the streets of Monte Hermoso.

The pier is no longer there, but its fishermen are. A usual postcard in a seaside village.