Punta Mujeres (Haría): how to get there and today's wind
No sand: natural pools carved in the lava, filled by the ocean and then still. The best swim in the north.
People do not come to Punta Mujeres, a village of white houses in the municipality of Haría, for the sand — there is none. They come for the natural pools: basins in the volcanic rock along the whole village front, where the ocean flows in with the tide and then sits still, clear and sheltered.
It is a different kind of swim from the southern beaches: you climb down ladders, the bottom is bare rock and the water is cooler. In exchange you swim in glass-clear water with the village behind you and the open sea a metre away.
Getting there
On the north coast road between Arrieta and Órzola; about forty minutes from Arrecife. Park in the village streets, which are narrow — better to leave the car at the entrance and walk.
Good to know
⚠️ The pools are beautiful in calm seas and dangerous in swell: when waves break over the rim, do not go in — you can see it at a glance. Reef shoes are advisable, the rock is sharp. There is no sand to lie on: it is concrete and stone.