The Sunny Island Paradise – Fuerteventura

This was supposed to be a post of our vacation on the island of Fuerteventura where we would be talking about our first time sea kayaking and hiking in the sun.  That was the plan!  But, our plans were changed by old Mother Nature this past week.

As you can see we had rain!  Out of our seven day vacation we had six days of on again, off again, rain with high winds.  On our last day we had wind force six although we did have plenty of sun.

We rented a wonderful apartment (Cala) located in the very small quiet town of Giniginamar. The south facing balcony was the saving grace for the week.  We could sit in the mostly protected area and catch the sun rays while they played hide and seek with us between the clouds and rain.  Not enough to get a tan, but enough to recharge the winter batteries that have been depleted with the cold gloomy Dutch winter weather.

The island has plenty to do even with the rain.  We did a hike on day two and tried our best to reach the tallest mountain Pico de la Zara, 807 meters.  We started in with the knowledge that we may not make the entire six hour round trip hike due to the weather and wind.  At the two and half kilometer mark we were pelted by hail and a downpour of rain.  We turned back towards the trail head never to see the peak.  We did get some wonderful pictures along the way.

Most hiking trails are well marked along the trail but the signs leading from the main roads to those trails are small and not very clear.  We looked up most of the information on Google maps prior to leaving the apartment and still had trouble even finding the trailheads.

For another hike into the Monumente Natural Montana Cardon off the FV-618 we circled the entire area by road returning to where we thought the trailhead was only never to find it.  That day we returned to the safety of the apartment balcony to drink a bottle of wine.

The day we were supposed to be heading out in a rented sea kayak (was cancelled due to sea conditions) on the north part of the island, we instead took a drive through the center of the island.

I would recommend this route for anyone visiting the island.  Although you do have to be careful if you are in a rental car because you are sharing the narrow mountain roads with large tour buses.  The hike at the caves was wonderful even with the spray of the ocean and the rain. The drive up into the mountains to the town of Betancuria will give you a cozy safe feel hidden in the interior of this island. Both places were important to not only to island trade but a strategic defensive locations from invasions from the Normans.

Did I mention rain?

 

In Betancuria we ate at a wonderful restaurant that had been owned by the same family for over 400 years.  Bodegon Don Carmelo is located along the Calle Alcalde Carmeo Silvera and we had a wonderful plate of tapas.  The homemade apple pie also caught my eye as I walked in the door and it was exceptional! The pie was layered with thin cut apple slices and then just the right combination of sweet and cinnamon.  This was a wonderful stop and one of those “lets just try it” moments that made our vacation very special.

The road out of Betancuria lead up to the peak overlooking the volcanic valley and the Mirador de Guise y Ayose statues that represent the Norman invasion of the island.

More to follow …