Playa de Las Teresitas at San Andrés, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

© Cornelia Doerr/age fotostock

Playa de Las Teresitas at San Andrés, Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain

When officials wanted to draw more tourists to Tenerife, the largest of Spain’s Canary Islands, they decided to improve the beach known as Playa de Las Teresitas, near the village of San Andrés. The rocky coast, with but a small stretch of black, volcanic sand, was covered with 270,000 tons of sand imported from the Sahara Desert. With the addition of a breakwater to make the waters more inviting, this beach became a hotspot for visitors.