An uneasy calmness has descended on the sea at Los Cristianos, the 2 sides in the great boat tug of war are considering their next move in this long drawn out drama. The scene is the old beach, just beyond the swimming zone, for years there has been a flotilla of small boats moored up, some seemingly abandoned. The port authority declared war on these 80 or so boats about a year ago and issued eviction notices, where they could find owners.

As from the start of October, the port has taken action, forcibly moving some of, what they consider to be, the more neglected boats, only 5 so far. In the meantime, the Associacion Barqueros y Playeros de Los Cristianos (the boat owners association) has hit back saying that it is a working port and the boats bobbing up and down are part of the natural scenery and atmosphere. They have also raised a petition of 3,355 names, against the enforced removals, and have sent copies to the port authority head office in Santa Cruz, Arona council, and the governments of the Canary Islands and Spain. We await the next move.

With moorings on my mind, I thought it was a good time to pay an overdue visit to Las Galletas. It’s interesing to note that their Marina del Sur, see post about its March birth, is now filling its pontoons quickly as well as the hard standing area. Charges for these are probably pretty excessive, so I wonder what their attitude is to the 20 or so loose moored boats that have been out in the bay for many years. I swim there fairly often and recognise the same battered old boats, especially those with a cover on, that have been continually decorated by the friendly seagulls. The locals (business units) on the marina are still empty, including the Policia Local office and the new posh fish gutting station, slowly slowly as ever.