We had seen on a map that there was a natural reserve for Las Dunas de Maspalomas (The Maspalomas Sand Dunes). When we were looking at excursions with the tour company initially, I had asked the rep if the dunes were naturally occurring, and she said that they were, that the sand actually blows over from the Sahara Desert! I was really surprised as I didn't realise sand could travel that way. She said that on the island, there is a phenomenon that they call la calima (the haze), and it means that there will be limited visibility due to sand storms coming from the east. I verified this information online; apparently last year, there was one so bad that flights were grounded and boats and other vehicles couldn't go anywhere due to a lack visibility. We could actually see the dunes on the horizon from our hotel, so we decided to head over there to see them.
When we arrived, I realised why there are excursions offering camel tours of the dunes. It really is a desert area with scrubby vegetation wherever it can grow, and just dune after dune of sand. We imagined it would be easier to explore them on camels than by foot, but we hadn't booked these (advanced-bookings only) because we assumed it was some sort of tourist gimmick. We may have been wrong! I had dressed for the desert--long pants and shirtsleeves, hiking boots and socks, all to protect myself from getting blasted by sand as it was a bit windy that day. (I have been blasted by sand on a windy day at a beach in Fort Lauderdale, so I didn't want to experience that again.) I looked out of place as most people were in beach attire, if they were dressed at all. But my hiking boots proved to be inadequate. I didn't get sand inside my shoe, but there is a mesh outer layer and a waterproof liner, so while my boots are great for hiking in wet conditions, the sand would get between the mesh and the liner and pile up like little beanbags. It took me a good 10 minutes to shake my shoes and try to beat the sand out of them. I got most of it, but that was a lesson in what footwear to use next time, should I find myself taking a trip to a desert again. Or maybe I'll just rent a camel.
Something I noticed on the walk was a station with several radar or satellite dishes that I had seen the night before when we were driving back from Mogán. I was able to get some photos of it so that we could learn more about what it was because it didn't look like a cable or regular telecommunications station. My husband figured that the direction of the dishes suggested space activity, and he was right! The place is called Maspalomas Station, and was originally built for NASA during the 60s, with the US and Spanish governments creating an agreement for this activity. It's on the same latitude as Cape Canaveral. Nowadays, the US no longer uses it, and it is used solely by the European Space Agency.
In terms of the appearance of the dunes, the pictures are probably the best storytellers. I've included a couple of videos under the video page of the sand blowing in the wind as well. But the one thing we were not prepared for was the type of beach at the edge of the dunes. We knew that there was a beach there, about maybe 1km or 2km from the entrance we came through, and there was a sign at the entrance talking about the rules of the beach that included one against going nude. According to the sign, there are other nude beaches and so they asked that people not go nude here. But it seems that no one sees or cares about this rule. I mentioned earlier about people not being dressed. As we neared the beach, we started noticing several men completely naked walking around--and not that they brought any clothes to remove at the beach. They had a towel and maybe a hat and sunglasses, but not much else. When we got to the beach, we saw dozens and dozens of naked men and almost no women, and we figured out that this was a gay beach--even if not advertised as such, but it had certainly become a de facto one. There are hotels nearby, and as we started returning through the dunes from the beach, we noticed gay couples in the nude walking here and there, looking for dunes to hide behind or taking alternative paths to get to wherever they were going. Many weren't wearing shoes, either. You have to walk those 1km-2km to get between the hotel and beaches through the dunes. I've been to beaches in Spain before where people go nude, but usually you are dressed to get there and go back. I've never seen people wandering the desert this way before. I mean, are they just walking around their hotels naked as well? I've never heard of this before. Moreover, I had lots of sand in my hair and stuck to the sweat on my face, so I can't imagine it's very comfortable getting sand all up in your bits, but I guess it can't be that bad, or they wouldn't walk around this way.
We think Gran Canaria is a pretty neat place with a variety of activities: the beach, the mountains, the desert, and the city, which will be the subject of my last post. There are also fishing expeditions and whale/dolphin watching, as well as many water sports you can do, so there is really something for everyone--including amusement parks for kids if you want those. It's well worth a trip there if you ever get the chance to go.
Comments