lending credence to the fact that the spaniards will eat anything remotely 'fishy', these goose barnacles (percebes) are some of the most sought after & expensive 'seafood'' you can find in spain.
the reason they're so expensive is because the gatherers can literally die harvesting them from the wave-battered rocks of the 'death coast' of n.w. spain. they jump from rock to rock, sometimes up to their necks in water, delving into crevices, nooks & crannies to hack 'em off the rocks. their mates watch from a distance & shout the dreaded 7th wave warning, which is when they run like f**** to get out of harm's way. they're rather fiddly to eat, the only edible part is a pink salty membrane found under the 'toe nail' part. hardly worth the hassle, but they're a real obsession over here...
Finn.
