Caló des Grells

Description

Caló des Grells: Caló dels Grells is situated at three kilometres from Palma, between Punta dels Grells and sa Cova des Coloms, and next to Portopí, Castell de Sant Carles (fortress of the 17th century reconverted into militar museum), Far de Portopí, Base Naval, detachment of the Guardia Real and Dic de l`Oest (in the south there are some shipwrecks, some of them are very big, at a depth of 30 metres). This quiet beach, nearby the centre, is a rocky area, but there is also some coarse-grained sand, a steep slope and the transparency of the water depends on the sea currents. The u-shaped sea inlet of the past Portopí, now transformed into a naval station, must have been the most important port of Palma at the time of the Romans. At both sides of the entrance there are medieval towers Portopí and Peraires. Torre de Portopí is the oldest lighthouse in Spain which has not been modified. There is one of the most important collections of lighthouse lenses in the world. It exists since the 14th century. During the following century it was used as sign tower and in 1600 it became a lighthouse. It can`t be visited now, since it is in the interior of the naval base. Torre de Peraires keeps at the bottom some roman rests, so that the medieval structure must have been built on another one which already existed. From this tower an enormous chain joined the other one to close the access to the facilities. Because of this beach?s situation and exposure to winds, you must pay attention to weather conditions that make swimming and mooring boats unadvisable. For health and safety reasons, the municipal ordinances ban pets on beaches. Type of beach pebbles. Length 50m and width 20m.