I’ve surfed every day while I was on Fuerteventura. 17 days altogether. And I have one surfing photo from the trip. And it’s from far away and on a phone camera. So I’m not gonna post it :). What I do have is loads of amazing photos from aftersurf trips around Fuerteventura. Hence the title of the post. So if you want to find out what to see in Fuerte, read on.
Los Molinos
Looking at the map of Fuerteventura, Los Molinos looks like a regional center town on the west coast. It’s written in bold letters looking all important and stuff. So when you drive down to the Los Molinos bay and see maybe 7 houses altogether you are like… is this it?!? The main attraction for tourists here is how remote it is and that 3 out of 7 houses are restaurants. Sometimes the place even gets good waves but wait for low tide because on high tide waves bounce of the cliffs and ruin the incoming waves. There is a nice view of the bay if you follow the path on the left of the bay, but if you follow the one on the right and climb a few rocks it gets even more interesting. You have high cliffs, waves crashing into rocks and protected natural pools for you to swim in at low tide. And no one comes here, you can get away from the crazy hustle and bustle at Los Molinos that consist of about 5 cars and maybe 9 elderly tourists.
Morro Jable and Costa Calma
Nothing to see here, just hotels, shops and restaurants. Lots of concrete, move along.
Playa Lagoon / Sotovento
But you do need to stop at the beach in between these two towns, Morro Jable and Costa Calma. And you need to be here at low and at high tide to see the difference. There is a sandbank in front of the beach and at high tide the sand between the beach and the sandbank is overrun with seawater and a beautiful lagoon appears out of nowhere.
Punta Salinas and Punta Jandia
Salinas is a surf spot that is offshore when the north winds are blowing which is like always. Unfortunately it needs quite a big swell to work (it’s facing south). And it’s not suitable for beginners. Actually there are quite a few spots on this stretch of coast if you don’t feel sorry for your rental car.
Punta Jandia is the southernmost tip of Fuerteventura. Go there for the scenery, the lighthouse and the hippy town welded together from old cars and caravans.
Cofete and Casa Winter
Cofete is a long sandy beach facing north/northwest on the opposite side of the island to Punta Salinas, Morro Jable etc… A dirt road takes you over the mountains of Parque Natural Jandia and the mountain pass is actually the highlight of the trip as the view of the sea and the coast is amazing. The beach itself is boring. Lots of sand and tourist walking around wondering what to do here. You need a car that you don’t feel too sorry for to get here.
Above the beach stands a big lonely house called Casa Winter (Villa Winter). Apart from a few small piles of stone this is the only house for miles. Remote, lonely, at the end of the dusty dirt road, at the end of the world. It’s just a big house, nothing special. More special is a story (read conspiracy theory) behind it. The house was built right after the WWII (1946) and it is said that there was a plastic surgery practice in the basement where they changed the faces of defeated Nazis before they fled to South America using an underwater tunnel and a submarine.
Caves of Ajuy
These are sooo sick. Ajuy lies NW from Pajara, the sign on the road says something like Caves de Ajuy and we were like ok, let’s check them out. Ajuy is one of the go to places to eat seafood so the tiny center of the village is filled with restaurants. But for the caves you need to follow the path on the right side of the black sand beach. It take maybe 5 minutes to get to the caves and the whole thing is really worth visiting. There is even a natural window overlooking the sea at the end of the right cave. Go!
Betancuria
This is the old capital of Fuerteventura. It’s a small mostly abandoned village in the mountains. The best thing about it is the winding mountain road that crosses the mountains of Parque Rural de Betancuria and passes Betancuria. Drive, stop, drive, stop… and enjoy the views.
Sand Canyon
This is as sick as the this are sooo sick caves of Ajuy. Or even more. And not a lot of people know about it. It lies somewhere in the middle of nowhere between Lajares and Esquinzo. It’s a tiny scale mix of Grand Canyon meets Antelope slot canyon. There is no road to the canyon, at least not for the regular car, so you need to walk around 30 minutes to reach it. And then you need another hour and a half to explore it, squeeze through narrow passages, take photos, and laugh at the stone dildos.
Other things to do in Fuerte include skating the banks at La Oliva, visiting Chinese shops like Fuerchina at Corralejo and laugh at all the stupid things they sell, get some coffee at El Goloso in Lajares (it’s better than the one in Cotillo), visit the hidden bay at Lobos island off the coast of Corralejo… But DONT under no circumstance go driving the ATVs through the north shore. It’s just fucking ridiculous.
Oh, and if you have any questions, ask.
Fuerteventura: Lobos, Punta Gorda, Cotillo, German Right, Calleta, 10.3.-28.3.2016
Photos: me, and Split Dome.
“between Lajares and Esquinzo” … hmm.. Lajares is in the north of the island and Esquinzo in the south. can you please give a better hint ho to find Sand Canyon. GPS coordinates ? thank you!
Esquinzo is not in the south unless there is two of them:) Try somewhere here: https://goo.gl/maps/Kpa2J1H1zhJ2