PASITO BLANCO MASPALOMAS

This attractive complex of houses, yacht club and marina lies in a sheltered bay just west of Maspalomas. Though it is private, the public may walk down from the 812 highway into the resort to swim off the small beach to the right of the jetty, or dive off the rocks into Pasito Blanco's famously clear waters. Fifteen minutes' walk along the track to the west brings you to Playa de las Mujeres, where nude bathing is common and people occasionally camp out (illegally) at night. From here, another 30-minute walk brings you to the Playa de la Arena, but there are no shops or beach bars on the way A track in the opposite direction from Pasito Blanco, towards Maspalomas, brings you first to a fine sandy beach, Playa del Hornillo, and then to Las Meloneras, a wide, curved beach with a growing tourist development. The luxury Riu Palace Meloneras Hotel has already opened its doors and the building of a new marina, golf course, conference centre and Canarian village is underway. The shining globe in the arid hills above Pasito Blanco, visible from the road, is the NASA space tracking station, the Estacion de Seguimiento Espacial de Maspalomas