A walk along the beach to Torino’s Beach Bar El Cotillo

Thanks for reminding us of what El Cotillo was like.
What on earth are the planners doing to the area!? They argue is supporting ecology but ……..?

We’ve visited and stayed in El Cotillo for decades (now in our 70s) and have loved our twice yearly trips. But fear for the area.
This isn’t just about the proposed insane development to fill the ‘gap’ between El Cotillo and El Roque and the steady building programme – yes by all means develop – but with cafes and shops regularly closing, having few customers and changing hands (we assume/observe due to lack of custom) we have to ask ‘why’?

We have seen the impact during our recent trip (we came back just on Saturday June 2022). Stone circles destroyed leaving stones scattered all over the beaches and visitors (who unlike us don’t go prepared for THE WIND!) arriving and leaving soon after because despite the hot sunshine they can’t sunbathe – or swim – we have never previously seen so much seaweed piled high – even present in the main lagoon. There is no place they can go to for snacks, ice cream for the children and just a pleasant sit down with a drink – thanks to the ‘dispute’ over the Torrino bar closing it down.

We have seen how the wind effects are handled on some Jandia beaches when we have revisited the region – long lines of regimented sunbeds sheltered by plastic shields. What a tragedy if that is what is to happen in El Cotillo.

And where have all the wading birds gone? We saw none during our recent visit and had become used to feeding them by hand. We also used to feed the lizards who used the stone circles as habitats – they too seem to have reduced significantly in numbers!

So much for ecological concerns or encouraging visitors to return to the area.