Liérganes
A tale documented by Benito Feijoo recounts the legend of a young man who, in the mid-seventeenth century, went to swim in a river with some friends, and when he had not appeared after several hours had passed, they concluded that he had drowned. Several years later, some fishermen caught in the sea a strange being with the appearance of a young man of fair complexion and reddish hair, but who had a band of scales running from his throat down to his stomach and another covering the entire length of his spine. His nails were also worn down by the saltpetre. This fish-man was taken to a convent. When he managed to communicate, he said “Liérganes,” and he was transferred there to be recognised by his mother. It is said that he lived for some years in his parents’ house, but he finally disappeared, most likely to return to the sea that had become his natural habitat.