Marina del Sur-La Galletas

We had a good night’s sleep and woke to another clear warm day with some wind. It was David’s and Ben’s last day. After breakfast we wandered into town to explore La Galletas.

Apart from the odd tourist boat and jet skis hire places in the marina you would think there were no tourists in town. Las Galletas was a typical Spanish town with a number of restaurants on the front and two stony black beaches used by the locals. There were some small supermarkets and a number of small bars/café’s which always seem to be frequented by men chatting and smoking with no women – who may be at home or working. That seems to be a common way of like in Spain and Portugal. We found a fishing shop and bought some gear to replace that which we had lost.

Ben suggested a beach some 5 miles up the coast and rather than go by road we decided to take Stormbird and to return in the evening for dinner. We reserved a table at a restaurant aptly named the Marina Restaurant which seemed to serve fresh fish. It was a family run restaurant and we had a beer there the evening before.

We set off late morning for the beach and once out of the marina we headed into about 20 kts of wind which we could not sail into very easily. There was also quite a swell as this was an area where the depth changed from 1500 m to 200 in a very short period. We were therefore bashing into the sea and wind. However, it was only about 5.5 nm away so we hoped this bit of discomfort would be worth it. The beach was called Playa de Las Tejitas and was just west of a large red rock (which resembled a Gibraltar shape) called Punta Montana Roja.

Some way from the beach there were some yellow buoys where tankers which refuel the airport could moor.  The airport was on our left and we could see various planes landing and taking off and this is where Mark and Ben will depart from tomorrow.

En route I asked Ben whether by chance this was also another nudist beach and he confirmed that it was. We anchored not too far from the beach in about 6 m of water. A quick look with the binoculars confirmed that there were lots of naked people on the beach swimming sunbathing and walking around no doubt showing their wares! The Punta Roja was a fantastic red rock with a colour very different from the brown volcanic cones and other scenery on the Island. Could it have been signifying the red-light district of the nudist beach?

Ben cooked a delicious tortilla (Spanish Omelette) and we enjoyed a good lunch in the cockpit. Ben then took the paddle board ashore naked and Mark and I went snorkelling toward the base of the Punta Roja. The experience was fantastic and the best we have experienced to date. The water was crystal clear and under the boat there was just sand with a pattern of small ridges caused by the waves. The anchor was in a sort of round deeper trench and there were a number of small silver fish around. We swam toward the rocks and you could see various fish burying into the sand or out of it. As we approached the rocks fish life considerably increased and there were lots of shoals of different fish. Parrot fish mostly grey and purple but some were red and yellow. There were lots of different type of fish of all different sizes and it was like we were in a well -stocked aquarium but it was so good that this was in the wild. It was one of the best snorkels I have ever had. Mark saw a baby ray on the way back. I saw a large pipe fish with a black and white tail which stuck out and I wondered whether that could sting its victims. We encouraged David to have a snorkel and he did and enjoyed it to.

Ben was chatting away on the beach and returned after an hour and a half or so and he had enjoyed it. We all thought it was a great place and beautiful for different reasons and a good last day for Ben and David. 

We returned to the marina, showered and went for supper. We chose a big red snapper for the 4 of us and it was delicious and so fresh. The fish practically melted in your mouth. We chatted away and this was the same crew which crossed the Atlantic together in 2019 and we went to Scotland together in 2021. We remarked how we all get on and we each bring a different dynamic which just fits and it works so well. We agreed how lucky we were and that we must continue to do more trips together in future. It was just a fun harmonic evening with lots of laughs and chats.

It had been another great day in our own world – almost oblivious to what is happening in the outside world.

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions – do email me on hine.nick9@gmail.com