Barada - Arguineguin to..... Punta de la Aldea, west coast of Gran Canaria 28 00.29N 15 49.13W

Arguineguin to..... Punta de la Aldea, west coast of Gran Canaria 28 00.29N 15 49.13W

Barada

Paul Downie

Tue 16 Oct 2007 19:42

Paul hauled up the anchor at 1015 this morning and we motored out of the Bay with v.little wind, just 4.7 knots NE - the sea was calm, like a mill-pond, as we motored along the south coast past Puerta Rico and Puerto Mogan which we visited a few days ago..... Mogan being the most attractive Marina in a traditional fishing harbour with delightful Spanish colonial-style terraced houses with colourful roof-gardens and courtyards set in narrow streets, quite a unique place. As we passed Mogan and on around to the west coast the cliff-face became more dramatic with steep sided mountains - there are few roads leading to the west coast and barrancos (valleys) lead down to remote beaches only accessible by boat.
The wind picked up as we rounded Cape Descojonado and soon there were 19+knots of wind and the Genoa joined the Main in taking the strain - this wind acceleration zone is said to be the worst in the Canaries, but it was very kind to us today. We had to tack for a couple of hours to reach Aldea because of the headwind and the tide. On arrival at 1515 we surveyed the anchorage and dropped anchor at 1535 in 5m water off the beach and nearto the end of the short breakwater. It is a small village set amongst high cliffs and mountains though quite remote. A snorkel and swim to cool down on arrival revealed a very rocky bottom, crystal clear water and quite a number of very colourful fish - 2 cheeky yellow fishes swam under Rosies tummy for quite some time, turning frequently to look at her and chat to each other...... there are also many large Parrot Fish. We came here because Aldea is mentioned in the Canary Diving book as a shore dive with Morays and Stingrays, Damselfish and Bream amongst others.