Hey All
just back from a week in Fuerteventura.Bloody cool island. Weather was in the high twenties and cloud was few and far between. We were staying in Corralejo in the top north east of the island. A really nice chilled surfer-kiter vibe to it all.
Overall its a pretty small island. You could drive the length of it in 2.5 hours on a good day and at its thinnest further south its only 5 miles wide. I would go back there for a hell of a lot longer in a heart beat. I thought it would be built up like Tenerife or Lanzorote but was nicely surprised to the contrary. The landscape is sparse and arid. It looks like a mix between the Sahara desert and Mars. Volcanoes dot the landscape (inactive) and rocks of varying sizes are everywhere from previous explosions. In between section of this are huge expanses of sane and sand dunes, blown over from the Sahara desert and making for some absolutely gorgeous and pristine white sand beaches along the coast.
Our main spot for out stay was Flag Beach. Just a 5 min drive outside the small town of Corralejo. This really is a beautiful spot and had some pretty consistent and non gusty winds coming cross shore from the left while I was there. The slightly chilled wind made for a nice break from the high 20 degree celsius sun. Flag beach is a short walk across the sands from the road. It has its own kite, surf and windsurf centre right off the beach with some lovely equipment to learn on or rent depending on what you want. Be warned to bring what you need to this beach ie. water, food, sunblock etc. as there is nothing else here, not even a toilet (well not an official one anyway ie. bushes etc) and if you come without them the nearest shop is back in town.
It is a beautiful spot with with mountains and sand behind you, blue clear seas and islands infront. Well worth the very short hot trek.
We arrived on the island on the sunday, the winds stayed kinda slack til the thursday but was well worth the wait. I hired out a 14m North Evo and took to the seas. They were beautiful, refreshingly chilled and really clear flatish water. I expected it to be busier but was delighted that even at the best part of the day I only shared the spot with 17 other kiters and maybe 10 windsurfers. Plenty of room for all.
The island was well cheap. You could do it on a pretty small budget if you took it a bit handy on spending. We hired a car for the week for €120 and had to only refill once for €18, well worth it.
We also drove to El Cotillo on a no wind day. Its on the other side of the island on the north west coast, sounds like miles away but only took around 15-20 mins to get there. Really nice spot too. Supposed to be good in north to south westerlies. There were some huge sets rolling in there and there seemed to be a lot of surfers hanging around.
Another day we took a trip down south, way way down south to Sotavento near Costa Calma. This place was huge. A massive seemingly never ending hard sand beach with a massive tidal lagoon section that unfortunately wasn't filled while we were there but have seen pics and it looks great. Here again is a kite and windsurf school and rental centre. This beach is huge with the largest expanse of flat sand I have ever seen. Apparently its a bit more gusty at this spot then further north.
Overall Fuerteventura was absolutely brilliant, A very worth while trip and I would advise anyone to go.
Big thumbs up!!
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