- prozor
- The cove is angled so that it warms up early and the sun gets into the water soon, which makes the morning its moment. Summer and early autumn are when it is at its best; in winter the poniente shuts it for weeks at a time. Night is banned across Spain: you go in with light and come out with light.
- plima
- The tide is not big here either, around a metre and a half on springs because the Strait holds it back, but it changes the size of the cove. At low water the sand widens and the stone ribs at the edges come out, slippery with weed. You can get in at any state of tide, just watch your footing.
- zaklon
- Cala Arena sits tucked behind the shoulder of Cabo de Gracia, and that ridge is what saves it: with an easterly levante the air passes overhead and inside the cove the water stays like a mirror. A poniente from W-SW, on the other hand, wraps in through the mouth and then the shoreline becomes a washing machine.
- uvjeti
- The cove floor is sand with rock ribs along the sides, so clarity goes quickly as soon as anything breaks on the shore. In exchange, on levante days this is usually the cleanest water on this stretch, because the ridge cuts the chop off it. Work the stone ribs and leave the sand in the middle alone.
- opasnost
- This is an isolated cove: no lifeguard, nobody nearby and patchy phone coverage, so never come alone. The access track can be closed depending on the season. You are inside the Parque Natural del Estrecho, so check the zoning, and remember that night is banned everywhere in Spain.
- pristup
- You get there on the track off the road between Bolonia and Atlanterra: leave the car up top and walk down the path through the scrub, a few minutes on foot. You get in straight off the cove sand, no jumps and no scrambling. The exit is that same sand; with a running swell do not try the stone sides.
Rocky cove toward Zahara; mixed bottom, semi-sheltered from the easterly (E).
Google Maps