Puerto de Mogan Gran Canaria

Until the 1980s this was simply a fishing village at the mouth of the Barranco de Mogan, providing shelter for a community of hippies and bohemians as well as for local residents. The hippies moved out most unwillingly as the first concrete mixers arrived to create a new tourist urbanization. Mutterings of rebellion against the continuing massification of the coast were silenced here, however, as apartments with prettily painted door and window surrounds, pedestrianised streets, canals and bridges and, above all, hibiscus hedges and roof gardens tumbling with bougainvillea, began to appear in the new Puerto de Mogan. Now, the resort is seen as an example of a tourist building style which does not violate the natural landscape, although more building inland is underway.

Puerto de Mogan has a curved, grey, sandy beach protected by a breakwater, with sun beds and a beach restaurant, Tu Casa The main focus here, however, is the busy marina. Throughout the day, passenger boats come and go between Mogan and other southern resorts. There are offers of fishing trips, sailing instruction and submarine jaunts. Chic shops and restaurants always seem full.

Come evening, the day trippers have gone and the town assumes a quiet reflective air. Then, if a breeze stirs, you can hear the rigging rattling in the boats as you look up to the grandeur of the mountains behind.