Peace and quiet filters through every day in Salinetas. Here, watches and clocks are discarded into the bottom of the ocean as soon as people arrive, and it is the tides and waves that mark the hours, minutes and seconds. The local urban sprawl hugs the beach all around, making putting your bare feet into the warm sand a simple matter of inertia. From this moment on, you just let yourself go and let the breeze and water currents wash away any signs of anxiety and routine you might still be harbouring.

Salinetas beach is in the shape of a smile that looks out to the north on a slightly cliffed location which is an heir to its volcanic past, a platform on which Moroccan crabs go about their daily lives, with their reddy shells shining brightly under the sun, like the embers of long-gone drops of lava. To the southern end, the low tide reveals a natural water pool which emerges like a magical mirror, reflecting the deep blue sky and throngs of people bustling, swimming and crawling all around it.

Between the two stony landmarks and inter-tidal biodiversity extends a sandy plain for walking on, rolling out your towel and remembering it is important to take precious moments to forget everything for a while. The beach also has a memory. To the west the Finca de Las Salinetas unfolds, an estate boasting famous crops of oranges, the first to have their own blue tint seal. Indeed, and before the construction of the church of Las Clavellinas, both seamen and holiday makers would come along to Sunday Mass at the oratorium of the hermitage that once stood on the site of this agricultural estate, as Telde’s official chronicler, Antonio María González Padrón, recalls.

The history of Salinetas continues to be written, today with the footprints on the sand left by the users of the beach, and by marine hedgehogs in an underwater stretch, along with local fish including red bream, salemas, sargos, pejeperros, pejesapos and pejepeine, displaying the abundance and the wide range of living beings that are hidden away under the water’s surface, some of which sometimes skip anb jump out into the air, proving that nothing is impossible. All this at least for just a few seconds, above all if you are at Salinetas.

Salinetas is a pleasant beach, in the shelter of the predominating winds, and boasts officially certified clean waters. It also features a first aid station with qualified staff, and simple, safe access to all facilities, including a signposted disabled bathing access. The area also benefits from an environmental awareness and management plan. Just letting yourself run aground here for while is always a great option if you are looking to collect some unforgettable moments.