--- title: "Keys Lost in the Sand After the Desembarco" description: "At dawn on 28 July the beach fills for the Desembarco, and some keys stay in the sand. Where to look, what to report, and how to get back in through your own door." url: "https://locksmithvillajoyosa.es/blog/keys-lost-in-the-sand-after-the-desembarco/" business: "Locksmith Villajoyosa" --- # Keys lost in the sand after the Desembarco The Desembarco fills the beach in the dark and ends at sunrise. Some keys stay behind in the sand. Where to look, who to ask, and how to get back through your own door. 5 October 2026 · 4 minutes to read The Moros y Cristianos of La Vila Joiosa, held in honour of Santa Marta from 24 to 31 July, are of International Tourist Interest since 2003, and the reason is the Desembarco. In the early hours of 28 July the Moorish army sets out from the port, more than thirty boats wait offshore among fireworks and mock bombardments, and at sunrise the landing and the battle are fought on the beach. Crowds watch it standing, sitting and lying on the sand, in the dark. Some of them go home without their keys. ## Search before you give up Sand swallows keys quickly, but not deeply. Before ringing anyone: - **Go back to where you sat, in daylight if you can.** At night, a phone torch held low across the sand shows a key’s outline better than one pointed straight down. - **Check the obvious twice:** every pocket, the bag lining, the towel or blanket you sat on, shaken out over clear ground. - **Ask the people you were with** to check their bags. Keys handed to a friend “just for a minute” are a classic. - **Ask whether anything has been handed in.** The Policía Local and the bars along the seafront are where a found set of keys is most likely to be handed in. Sifting sand with your hands for an hour rarely works. Walking slowly along the line where you sat, looking, often does. ## If the keys are gone There are two separate questions: how to get in tonight, and whether the lost keys are a risk. **Getting in.** A locksmith opens the door through the latch or the cylinder whenever possible, so nothing is broken. You will be asked for proof that you live there, so if your documents are inside, say so: they are checked as soon as the door is open. If you live in the old town, just behind the beach, the locksmith walks in from outside the restricted streets: [locked out inside the old town’s camera zone](https://locksmithvillajoyosa.es/blog/locked-out-inside-the-camera-zone/) explains why and what to say. **The risk.** Keys on their own, dropped in a crowd, rarely lead anyone to a door. Keys on a ring with an address tag, a building fob or a holiday-flat label do. If yours had anything like that, change the cylinder now rather than after the festival. The new one comes with its own keys and the old set stops working. ## For next year - Carry one house key, not the whole bunch, on a lanyard or a zipped pocket. - Leave a spare set with someone in town, not in the car. - If you are staying in a holiday flat, ask the host before the night how a lockout is handled. And if the night ends somewhere other than home, for example at the hospital, there is a guide for [getting home from hospital without your keys](https://locksmithvillajoyosa.es/blog/home-from-hospital-without-your-keys/). When you are ready to get in, here is [how a door is opened without damage](https://locksmithvillajoyosa.es/door-opening-villajoyosa/). **Home, but no way in?** Most front doors are opened through the latch or the cylinder, and the door locks again afterwards. The drill is the last resort. [Door opening in Villajoyosa, with the door left fit to lock](https://locksmithvillajoyosa.es/door-opening-villajoyosa/) Two more guides from La Vila - [Home from Hospital Marina Baixa without your keys](https://locksmithvillajoyosa.es/blog/home-from-hospital-without-your-keys/) · 4 min read - [Locked out inside the old town’s camera zone](https://locksmithvillajoyosa.es/blog/locked-out-inside-the-camera-zone/) · 4 min read - [Every guide on this site](https://locksmithvillajoyosa.es/blog/) ## Easier to explain on the phone? Ring, or send a photo of the lock and your location pin on WhatsApp. Open 24 hours · 7 days [+34 678 583 290](tel:+34678583290) [WhatsApp](https://wa.me/34678583290?text=Hi%2C%20I%20need%20a%20locksmith%20in%20Villajoyosa.%20Where%20I%20am%20(street%20or%20urbanisation%2C%20and%20the%20nearest%20landmark)%20and%20what%20has%20happened%3A)