Pozo Izquierdo: Gran Canaria's Wind & Waves Capital

Pozo Izquierdo is Gran Canaria's windsurfing capital Pozo Izquierdo is Gran Canaria's windsurfing capital

Home to the annual Wind & Waves festival and a stage of the World Windsurfing Tour, Pozo Izquierdo (known as Pozo) is Gran Canaria's windiest town and the centre of its world-class windsurfing and kitesurfing scene.

As you may have gathered, the wind is very much the star of the show at Pozo.

Pozo Izquierdo town guide

pozo 2The town itself, surrounded by gleaming white windmills and tomato farms, is small and unassuming; nothing more than a few strips of colourful houses facing the sea. 

Pozo has a long pebble beach, a small, sheltered black sand beach (called El Ribanzo), a few cafes serving up big portions, and lots of windsurfing schools and centres.

There is a little more to Pozo Izquierdo that boardsports; just south of town you'll find the Salinas de Tenefé which are Gran Canaria's largest and most attractive saltpans. Access is via a track and the pale pink flor de sal (fine, mineral-rich salt scoped off the surface of the pans) is well worth picking up. 

Windsurfing at Pozo Izquierdo

Pozo Izquierdo windsurfingThe action at Pozo happens just offshore thanks to its consistent onshore wind from the northeast and long right-breaking waves.

The pros head to Pozo during the summer when the wind roars thanks to Gran Canaria's east coast wind acceleration zone, but conditions are ideal all year round for beginners.

When the PWA World Tour arrives in town, Pozo throws a party; the Wind and Waves Festival. Sailing action, live music and, of course, plenty of beer make the town the coolest spot in Gran Canaria.

Windsurfing schools at Pozo Izquierdo

If you want to learn to windsurf in Gran Canaria, then head to a windsurfing school in Pozo. The island's experts all live in town and the conditions here are the most consistent anywhere on the island.

Even in summer when the pros are bashing the big waves there are sheltered spots close by that are perfect for beginners.

The town has a whole ecosystem dedicated to windsurfing and kitesurfing with windsurfing schools, windsurfing shops and excellent windsurfing rentals if you haven't brought your own board to Gran Canaria.  

  

Additional Info

  • Lat/Long: 27.827621, -15.424081

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The Pozo Izquierdo Wind & Waves Festival happens every summer Gran Canaria
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Tip of the day

  • The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!
    The Parafarmacia In Gran Canaria Is Not A Chemist!

    If there is one thing we hate it is visitors being tricked in Gran Canaria. In the past we've warned about overcharging at Gran Canaria chemists, and rip off electronics shops in resorts. 

    In this Tip Of The Day we return to the island's chemists or rather, to the island's fake chemists.

    A chemist in Gran Canaria is called a Farmacia and always has a green cross sign. Farmacias are the only place tobuy medicine in Spain, even basics like paracetamol.

    However, there is another kind of shop in Gran Canaria that looks and sounds like a chemist but doesn't sell medicine. This is the Parafarmacia and it also uses a green cross sign.

    A parafarmacia is a herbal medicine shop that is not allowed to sell any normal medicine such as paracetamol, ibuprofen or antibiotics. 

    Instead, parafarmacias sell herbal alternatives to medicine but don't have to prove that they work and they can charge whatever they want.

    We recently heard from a visitor to Gran Canaria who went into a parafarmacia and was charged 40 euros for a herbal alternative to Ibuprofen. It was only when they read the label that they realised what had happened. 

    To locate a genuine farmacia, see this website and search within your municipio (Puerto Rico is in Mogán, Playa del Inglés is in San Bartolomé de Tirajana). At weekends and on fiesta days many farmacias close but there is always one open, known as the farmacia de guardia, in each municipio.

    Search for the nearest one to you with this tool

    Lex Says: To keep costs down, see this article for the way to ask for generic medicine rather than expensive branded alternatives. 

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