Piscina Natural Alcalá
Also known as the Charco de La Jaquita, the natural pools of Alcalá are a cluster of volcanic rock basins on the south western coast of Guía de Isora. The sea has carved several bowls of clear water out of the black lava, now fitted with steps, showers and terraces to rest on. You reach them along the seafront walkway from Playa de Alcalá. At high tide with a strong swell, extra care is needed.
Alcalá still feels like a fishing village, and its shoreline is black lava with sharp edges. Right there, where the basalt drops into the Atlantic, the swell has hollowed out a series of pools that fill and refresh with every tide. The water is clear and the floor is dark, so the contrast is obvious from the walkway above. This is pool bathing rather than beach bathing, with no sand involved, and with the south western coast of Tenerife opening towards the channel that separates the island from La Gomera.
Access is comfortable. A pedestrian seafront path starts at the village square and Playa de Alcalá and leads straight to the pools, and anyone who wants to shorten the walk can drive to the far end of the village beside the Gran Meliá Palacio de Isora hotel, since the basins sit immediately behind it. Steps lead into the water, and there are showers and terraces to rest on, which makes the place workable for almost everyone. Even so, check the tide: at high water with a ground swell the sea washes over the rock and the rim turns slippery.
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