So many people complain about the beach. They love to go, but they hate all the sand that gets into everything. Well, the City of Fuengirola seems to have solved the problem.
I awoke early on a foggy Monday morning last week to the usual sounds of the street cleaners. People with brooms. People with [leaf] blowers. Trucks with rotating brushes that clean and vacuum the streets. Other small trucks on the beach emptying trash cans.
But there was a sound that I couldn't quite place. I looked out my bedroom window and saw a uniformed man on the beach making a neat, consistent pattern in the sand with what looked like a lawn mower. It was a beach vacuum cleaner!
My camera battery ran out while I shot these images, so most were taken with my phone.
Still, click any image to make them even foggier.
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| THE USUAL: BLOWING... |
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| ... STREET CLEANING... |
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| ... HAULING. |
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| NO WAY TO VACCUM FOG? |
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I CALL IT 'THE SANDSUCKER.'
BUT THERE'S ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT... IT LEAVES LOTS OF SAND BEHIND. |
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| MAKING SURE TO VACUUM THE "PILE" IN THE SAME DIRECTION (JUST LIKE A CARPET). |
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| NO ONE ELSE SEEMED TO THINK VACUUMING THE BEACH WAS AT ALL ODD. |
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ANOTHER NEW MACHINE (SPOTTED THE OTHER DAY).
I'VE ONLY SEEN IT LEAVING THE BEACH, SO I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT DOES. |
What will I do without sand in my shoes?
We live 'with sand' almost on a daily bases here too. One could get a little obsessive about it I guess, but we realized that it is only sand after all and have learned to take it in stride, so to speak.
ReplyDeleteBut I do know and appreciate how much debris can accumulate in sand in a very short time.....cigarette butts for one.....the resorts are really kept busy to keep it presentable.
I am wondering what that new machine is used for......Mitchell, please find out for us!!
Jim:
DeleteSaw that new machine again this morning but, again, it was just sitting there. And the next time I looked it was gone. Is a puzzlement!
Aaarrrggggg, not the sand sucker! Made me laugh out loud. I bet that fog cleared off in no time when that hot Spanish sun peaked above the clouds. Dreamy.
ReplyDeleteDi
xoxo
Di:
DeleteI have a friend who moved from Sweden to study in the USA a long time ago. She was fluent in English but was missing some words here and there. She asked her roommate if she had a dust-sucker, which is the literal translation of the Swedish term for vacuum cleaner. I loved it.
So... is the guy walking backwards and pulling the machine over his footprints, or does he just leave a trail of indentations as he walks? :)
ReplyDeleteMitchell, do you have to pay a fee to use the lounge chairs there at Playa la Sirena?
Judy:
DeleteWell, if I were the one behind the controls, I would definitely be walking backwards. I can't remember now which direction he went, but I can't see any footprints in the foggy photos. Yes, you do pay a fee for the chairs and parasol. Just about all the 'clubs' charge 4.50 per chair for the entire day. That includes the parasol. Since I tend to go for just a couple of hours (and regularly), the guys across the street (two brothers) are very kind and charge me 2 or 3 euros and sometimes (often) nothing at all. Some of the clubs have bar/restaurant service. The last time I was there a guy was walking around with a tray of mixes and bottles of booze from the restaurant connected to Playa la Sirena. He made up mojitos and sangria right at your chair!
I haven't seen them up close and operating, but truck like machines clean the sand on our beaches. The marks aren't very interesting though. Smoking has been banned on our beaches.
ReplyDeleteAndrew:
DeleteWhat a joy to have no smoking on the beaches! Many of the beach clubs rake the sand every morning with wide flat rakes that smooth it all out. It looks pretty ridiculous and, of course, only lasts until the first person walks on the sand.
I actually quite like having sand in my shoes, I'm a big fan of the beach so for me it is a little reminder of one of my wonderful trips down there! I love the song too :)
ReplyDeleteHayley:
DeleteI'm not a fan of sand in the house. But, like you, I'm such a big fan of the beach that I won't complain about it.
Vacuuming the beach, huh? What's next, dusting the shoreline?
ReplyDeleteRobyn:
DeleteYes! But I can't wait for "pie in the sky."
So it is well -organised in your town. Clean beach is very important for tourists and locals, too.
ReplyDeleteGosia:
DeleteThey clearly appreciate where the income is generated. I've been amazed at how much attention they pay to the details.
The sandsucker sounds rather like a monster from Stephen King.......... at least it isn't a sand pounder?
ReplyDeleteJacqueline:
DeleteThere are the sandsuckers, sandsmoothers, sandmovers... There's got to be a sand pounder.
Sand, no shoes.
ReplyDeleteFrank:
DeleteExactly!
They certainly take good care of that beach. Are you able to use those lounge chairs and umbrellas on the beach for free or are they rentals?
ReplyDeleteStephen:
DeleteThe chairs cost 4.50 euros to rent for the entire day. The umbrella is included. They also provide little side tables. Playa La Sirena is connected by a summer walkway to one of the local Chiringuitos (restaurants right on the beach). So, you can get whatever you want there. Also, they send a guy around with a drink-filled tray (mojitos, Margaritas...) He just adds the booze to your taste! They brothers who run Playa La Sirena know me now and I never stay all day, so they quite often give me a discount and sometimes don't charge me at all. Very nice!
Clean sand, now ain't that novel and on the beach to boot!
ReplyDeleteOur sand disappeared with Hurricane Arthur's fury but is slowly returning....no need of vacuuming here....Mother Nature sucks it all up and spews it on the beach again. Hey maybe that's the problem with all of this ~ you need to inform all those in charge that Mother Nature will do it for free.!