Issue date: 16 Jul, 2004
At the end of the Salinas beach in Castrillón (Asturias), on the La Peñona peninsula, is the Anchor Museum. This is a unique open-air museum, the only one of its kind, dedicated to the sea, the people of the sea and the culture they represent. It was founded on the initiative of the Buena Mesa del Mar Brotherhood in celebration of the beauty of the anchor, a basic sailing tool that has changed little over the course of its history and without which sailors would never be able to stop at sea.
The museum carries the name Philippe Cousteau, in memory of the great oceanographer who dedicated his entire life to the study and investigation of the deep. Opened by King Juan Carlos I in 1993, it is owned by the local municipality and managed by a Board of Trustees that includes Castrillón Town Council, the Principality of Asturias, the University of Oviedo, the General Department of Coasts, the founding Brotherhood and several individuals. The Anchor Museum was conceived as a historical monument by the sea, and it begins with a great ceramic mural that blends perfectly with the surrounding landscape. A short walk takes the visitor past all the anchors donated by various institutions, both from Spain and abroad, including the most highly-prized exhibit: the anchor from the galleon Nuestra Señora de Atocha, which sank off the coast of Florida in the 17th century while returning to Spain loaded with treasure from the New World. Worthy of particular mention is the bronze bust of Philippe Cousteau, created by the Asturian sculpturer Vicente Santarúa and mounted on a huge sea-battered rock known as "La Peña Lisa". The visitor continues across a great 90 metre-long platform from which six steel sails rise, chains running down from them to the anchors below. The "Temple of the Oceans" houses the "Rose of the Winds", which contains the recipient or shell into which water from the different oceans is poured. Finally, a suspension bridge leads to a viewpoint that looks over an enchanting panorama, inviting the visitor to dream of distant horizons. This stamp shows a Danforth anchor, a very light and tenacious type that is particularly useful for anchoring in sand, sludge or mud. The crosspiece ensures that the anchor is properly located on the seabed.
Rate A - €0.75. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, up to 20 g.
Rate A2 - €0.85. For a “standard” letter or postcard within Spain, between 20 g and 50 g.
Rate B - €1.65. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to Europe (including Greenland), up to 20 g.
Rate C - €1.75. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the rest of the world (except USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand), up to 20 g.
Rate D - €2.10. For a “standard” Ordinary International letter or postcard addressed to the USA, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, up to 20 g.