Stand still. A ring that comes off in the sand does not travel. It is within a step or two of where you are, usually under your feet.
The sand from Playa del Inglés round to the lighthouse runs for about six kilometres and looks the same the whole way, and the wind never stops moving the top of it. So two things decide this beach: a landmark, and how soon.
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There is almost nothing on this beach to measure from. No buildings on the sand, no rocks, and a hundred identical sunbeds. What there is, is the row of numbered beach kiosks, and everybody who knows the beach finds their way by them.
Take a photo of the sign rather than trusting memory. Even people who come every winter disagree about which number stands where, and signs have changed over the years. “Between the kiosk in this photo and the water, about thirty steps towards the lighthouse” is a search area. “Near kiosk 7, I think” is a kilometre of sand.
The trade wind blows from the north-east most of the year and carries sand across Playa del Inglés into the dunes. That is how the dunes are fed, and it means the dry, soft upper beach is never quite the same shape two days running. A ring that fell there is still there, but the little hollow where your towel lay is gone by the next morning, and with it the easy way back to the spot.
Nearer the water the sand is firmer and the ring stays near the surface, but the waterline moves several metres with the tide. Write down the time. It is the first thing a searcher will ask.
The dunes are a Special Nature Reserve, and its management plan is plain about where they start: the restricted zone is the dune system itself, bordered on the south and east by the beaches of Maspalomas and Playa del Inglés. Inside it you may walk on the signed paths and nowhere else, the lagoon at the lighthouse end is closed altogether, and a sector in the north of the dunes is classed as archaeological ground.
So if it came off while you were walking in the dunes, a detector is not the answer, and nobody on Retrievly should offer to bring one. Walk back along the path you took and look, and ask the Policía Local whether it was handed in.
The wet, lower beach is outside the reserve. The dry upper beach is less simple. The same plan puts the reserve's seaward edge roughly 75 metres in from the low-water line, and that line moves with the sand, so the kiosks, the sunbeds and the sand at the foot of the dunes can be inside it. Whoever searches up there finds out where the line runs before they switch on.
Outside the reserve it is the coast. Spain's coastal law does not ban detectors, and the Canary heritage law regulates archaeology. Looking for your own ring on a tourist beach is not archaeology, although, to be honest, no Canary law says that in so many words. It is how the rest of Spain treats it.
San Bartolomé de Tirajana, the town the whole beach belongs to, can add its own beach rules, and we could not read its bylaw. Whoever comes to search checks that before they go. That is their job, not yours. More on the islands: Is metal detecting legal in Spain?
The wide stretch below the Paseo Costa Canaria and the Anexo II, where most of the sunbeds are and most rings are lost: dry sand between the towel and the path, or the first swim of the day. Say whether you came down from the Anexo II or further along, and which side of the kiosk you were on.
The south-facing end, from the lighthouse along the front of the dunes. People walk it end to end, so a ring lost here is often lost on the move. If you were walking, say which way and how far you got, and whether you went barefoot through the wet sand or along the top.
East of Playa del Inglés, smaller beaches with a promenade behind them and far fewer people. For a searcher that is good news: less ground, less rubbish in the sand, and landmarks close by. Say which beach and which end of it.
West of the lighthouse, under the promenade. Part of the beach is stones as much as sand, which makes looking by hand hopeless and makes no difference at all to a detector. If it went between the stones, do not start turning them over.
Under Spanish law whoever finds a ring has to give it back or hand it in to the town (Article 615 of the Civil Code). Here that means the Policía Local of San Bartolomé de Tirajana, on Avenida Touroperador Mundicolor opposite the courts, in Campo Internacional; telephone 928 723 429. Ask your hotel reception too, and ask again a week later.
Most people notice at the airport or while unpacking. You do not need to be on the island. The beach, the kiosk photo and the day are enough to start with.
Retrievly does not search. It connects the person who lost something with people nearby who own a detector and will go and look.
We are new on Gran Canaria, and there may be nobody signed up near your beach yet. If there is not, we go and look for someone and send them your request.
Only a rough circle is shown in public. The exact spot goes to the one person you choose.
Posting is free and no money goes through Retrievly. A thank-you, if you want to give one, is between you and whoever goes out.
Post the same day and draw the circle tight: those two decide it more than anything else. Retrievly vets nobody, so meet in daylight, somewhere public.
Post a requestBrowsing needs no account. You only sign in to post.
Kenny built Retrievly. He has snorkelled the Danube for years and keeps bringing up things that belong to other people: wallets with the ID still in them, phones, keys. That is where Retrievly came from.
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