Saturday 22 August, the San Ginés swim: racing inside Arrecife harbour

On 22 August Arrecife goes in the water. The Travesía a nado San Ginés returns for its thirty-first edition, starting and finishing on the stretch between La Rocar and the Real Club Náutico de Arrecife.

It's the second leg of the Copa de Aguas Abiertas de Lanzarote, the island's open-water swimming circuit run by the Cabildo. The first was swum on 1 August at El Poril, in Puerto del Carmen; the third goes to Playa Honda on the 29th.

That it sits inside the San Ginés festivities isn't incidental: Arrecife celebrates its patron saint on the water, and this crossing is the moment the city looks at its harbour as something to use rather than merely walk around. The Charco and the marina stay the centre of city life all month.

The course runs in the sheltered lagoon, which is why the race holds up even when the open sea is rough. For spectators, the quays around the nautical club are the best spot.