'Green beach': Torremolinos gets 'Eco-Playa' award, perfection on a flagpole
Sunday, April 25, 2021 @ 9:37 PM
YOU would expect a beach to be pale gold, or white, with blue or turquoise waters – or perhaps black with navy-blue waters if it's a volcanic zone like some of the Canary Islands' shores – but a 'green' one? Not unless it's covered in seaweed, anyway. Still, a stretch of the Costa del Sol can officially call itself a 'green beach' now: It's just netted the rarely-granted, but much-coveted, 'Eco-Playa' flag.
Torremolinos' Los Álamos beach: Beauty is in the eye of the flagholder, and all its visitors, too (photo: Guía Repsol)
Tourists and local sunseekers in the 21st century care about other things besides having a good bar within reach, clean sands, minimal currents so they can safely take a dip (unless they're kite-surfers, of course). All these are still hugely important, along with handy facilities such as enough regularly-cleaned, close-by toilets, wooden walkways and foot-showers so you can put your flip-flops back on as you leave without sandpapering your feet, and lifeguards in case they get into trouble; and all these are standard on Spain's shores, given that it has been the country with the most Blue Flag beaches in the world for 34 years, uninterrupted. If you find a beach lacking in any of these elements, it's because it's a rugged, unspoilt, virgin piece of coastline where, if you're visiting, you'll probably have gone looking for raw nature and beautiful scenery rather than to top up your tan.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com