Los Genoveses in contention for Spain’s best beach

AN online poll voted Los Genoveses beach in San Jose (Nijar), the best in Andalucia. Los Genoveses strolled home with 46,764 votes in the Antena 3 competition, leaving Andalucia’s next most popular beach – Matalascañas in Huelva – trailing with 25,128 votes.

Now that the 11 finalist beaches have been chosen the public has until the end of the month to decide which is Spain’s best.

Will it be in San Sebastian, Asturias, Pontevedra or Cantabria?  On the Mediterranean, like Granadella (Alicante), Calblanque (Murcia) or Tossa del Mar (Gerona)?  Or it could be much further afield, like Maspalomas in the Canary Islands or the Desnariguda beach in Ceuta Spain’s enclave in North Africa.

The Antena 3 poll showed that Andalucia’s beaches received many more votes than those in other regions. In Galicia, for example, the Islas Cies beach in Pontevedra was selected as the region’s best with 8,500 votes. The almost cosy Granadella beach in Alicante province emerged as the Valencia region’s favourite beach with only 5,100 votes.

There is nothing remotely cosy about Los Genoveses. It is breathtaking and immense and described on the Antena 3 website as “probably the most beautiful bay in the Cabo de Gata national park and one of the most special places on the Mediterranean.” 

The one-kilometre beach is surrounded by sand dunes and slopes gently to the sea.  All that are missing are beach bars, roads, crowds and the outward signs of the 21st century.

Voting continues until August 31 on www.antena3.com