Category Archives: Fuerteventura

Some curiosities of the island of Fuerteventura and the Canary Islands in general (part I)

If you have visited the island of Fuerteventura, if you are going to visit it soon, or if you are one of its residents, but do not know the history of this Atlantic island thoroughly, here we leave some curiosities that you”ll surely like to know about both Fuerteventura and the Canary Islands as a whole.


THE CANARY ISLANDS ARE PART OF LA MACARONESIA AND MYTHOLOGICAL ATLANTIS
La Macaronesia is the set of five of the North Atlantic archipelagos: Azores, Canary Islands, Cape Verde, Madeira and the Savage Islands. It comes from the Greek word makárôn nêsoi, which means “happy or fortunate islands”, where it was assumed that deceased heroes of mythology would abide.
Macaronesian islands were never connected to the continent, as they are volcanic islands that emerged from marine eruptions, and according to mythology, it was thought that these islands were the summits of Atlantis (submerged continent), emerging to the surface. Atlantis, according to mythology, was the continent that Zeus sank in punishment for its inhabitants” bad behaviour.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Curiosidades sobre Fuerteventura
www.docfiles.cl

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WPRD “CANARIAS”
These islands received its name because after the first expedition sent by the king of Mauritania to meet the ends of the ocean, beyond the Pillars of Hercules (Gibraltar), what they found when they reached these islands was a fierce breed of dogs (the Latin: can, canis), so the name the islands received was “Insula Canaria” (Isle of Dogs).


“EL GOFIO”
Energy food derived from some roasted and ground cereals such as wheat, rye, corn, barley … Its highly nutritious properties turned it into the staple food of this people for many years. This powder is often added to milk at breakfast, also to “el potaje canario”or kneaded , resulting into “la pellla de gofio”.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Curiosidades sobre Fuerteventura
©commons.wikimedia.org

“MAJORERO” CHEESE DESIGNATION OF ORIGIN
“Majorero” goat cheese enjoys appellation of origin from the February 16th , 1996, and it can be made only with goat milk from the island or a mixture of up to 15% of Canarian sheep milk, before letting it age.
In the case of mature cheese it features the palm leaf on its bark, which is used in “empleitas” to make the mould that shapes it. The most famous ones are cured with gofio, paprika or oil, although other varieties are found.


THE SALT
In the early twentieth century, salt was one of the resources that allowed the islands to generate more revenue. The climate of the Canary Islands is ideal for the production of sea salt, which was exported all over the world, and which also was of great importance to preserve fish, when the phenomenon of freezing had not yet been discovered.


COCHINILLAWAS ALSO TRADED
The cochineal is a parasite insect of the cactus, from which a very bright red dye is obtained out of its blood , used in ancient times to dye fabrics. Until the mid-nineteenth century it was a precious commodity, as the high society’s garments were dyed with it. Eventually, much cheaper but less safe synthetic dyes were discovered.
This dye is used today as a food colouring (E-120) and in the pharmaceutical industry, and small productions are preserved on the island of Lanzarote and La Palma.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Curiosidades sobre Fuerteventura
© www.faunaexotica.net

CANARIAN WRESTLING
This sport has a long history among the Canarian population, as it has been practised in the island since these were inhabited by “los Guanches” (ancient inhabitants).
It consists of unbalancing the opponent and making them touch the ground with any part of his body other than their sole.
It is played on sand enclosures called “Terreros”.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Curiosidades sobre Fuerteventura
© www.hablocanario.es


EL TIMPLE
Plucked string instrument, typical of the Canary Islands, of small dimensions (38-40cms) and due to its curved back, hump-like, it’s recognized as the ” resounding little Camel”.

 

FuerteCharter Team

A four-day tour around Fuerteventura

Day 4: last day

At this point in your trip to Fuerteventura sure that you’re completely in love with the island. For the fourth and final day of tour, we suggest a trip to “La península de Jandia”, south of Fuerteventura.

And as yesterday you already visited the central part of the island, we suggest taking the FV- 1 road, so you can discover all the charms of the east coast, with nice sea views.
Leaving Corralejo you cross the Natural Park of the Dunes, which you already visited on the first day. The golden shades of sand dunes, on your right, and turquoise and crystal clear waters, to the left, will mark an exceptional landscape in these first kilometres of the journey.

In this direction you will cross Puerto del Rosario, the capital of the island since 1860, and if you keep heading south along the FV-2, you will get to Gran Tarajal and then to Costa Calma, where you can enjoy the beautiful beaches of Sotavento which host one of the World events of Windsurfing and Kitesurfing in the months of July-August on the amazing beach of La Barca, characterized by a barrier of sand that forms a big lagoon ideal for practising water and wind sports.

©www.parapsihopatologija.com
©www.parapsihopatologija.com

Costa Calma is a village in the Isthmus of La Pared (narrowest part of the island, about 5km from the east to the west coast). In this area “La pared de Jandía” is located, a pre-Hispanic construction of dry stone (0.8m high and 0.5m thick) of which only some parts are preserved. Different hypotheses tell about the functionality of this wall, one of which states that, in ancient times, it separated the two kingdoms of the island: Maxorata (north, under the mandate of Guise) and Jandia (south, under the mandate of Ayose), although there are other theories that weaken this hypothesis, by placing the separation between the two kingdoms further to the north.

Continuing along the FV-2 we’ll get to the town of Morro Jable and at this point the road ends and, for the most daring, a dirt road (in good condition) starts, which leads us to the Puerto de la Cruz (end of the island of Fuerteventura), with its characteristic settlement of caravans and beautiful lighthouse which brings together the waves of East and West, breaking at this end in the shape of Y.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Tour por Fuerteventura en 4 días
©victorestebanblancodiez.blogspot.com

The whole area around the dirt road (Natural Protected Reserve), is full of beaches, calm water (on the east coast), where the famous Playa de Juan Gómez stands out for its heavenly beauty, or the beaches we find after the lighthouse, such as the beach of Los Ojos, whose picture you see on the cover of this post.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Tour por Fuerteventura en 4 días
©visitfuerteventura.es

Just on the opposite coast, in the west, we find the long and wild sandy beach of Cofete, a real shock for the senses. The dirt road goes along a steep winding path which reaching the top reveals a breathtaking landscape: the long beach of Cofete from the top of the cliff; so long a beach that the sight cannot reach its end.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Tour por Fuerteventura en 4 días
©playascalas.com

On the hillside leading down to the beach, as a witness of the passing of time, the enigmatic and seductive Villa Winter rises, a house in shape of turreted castle belonging to the German engineer Gustav Winter, built in the Jandia Peninsula back in the 30s, and there are different legends surrounding it, some of which relate it to the Hitler regime, but there are records that ensure that Gustav Winter didn’t do his military service in Germany nor is there the slightest suspicion of collaboration with the Nazis.

Fuerteventura | La Casa Winter

In the village of Cofete there is a small museum that documents photographically part of the history of this mysterious Villa, and the most daring can try knocking the gates of the house and maybe they can come to discover the rooms of such unknown castle.

And after such a long journey and so many stories, it is time to resume the return to the north. There are still many treasures to be discovered, like climbing “El pico de la zarza”, that you find in Cofete beach from a height of 800m, cross Pecenescal ravine, where through a huge sandbar you reach some white cliffs ending in the sea, discover “La Playa de la Pared”, Garcey Beach where the great cruise ship American Star was stranded… and thousands of secret corners that you find out in the island after visiting it again and again.

Hopefully this four-day tour has helped to awaken the love for this desert landscape so you return to visit us and know Fuerteventura like the back of your hand.
FuerteCharter Team.

A four-day tour on Fuerteventura

DAY 3

Today, on this third day of tour around Fuerteventura, we suggest putting aside sport activities, as we have already had enough of them for the last two days (here we leave you the links for days 1 and 2 of this tour, in case you haven’t read them yet).

As Fuerteventura is not only the north, which is what we have been visiting so far, on this third day we suggest a trip to the centre of the island so you meet the inland villages, which keep a great deal of the history of this island.

We’ll set off from Corralejo taking the FV-101 towards the centre of the island. The first thing we’ll find on our way will be the small village of Villaverde, on the mountain side of Escanfraga, the highest volcanic cone on the island.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Tour por Fuerteventura: día 3
©centolo_negro

In Villaverde you’ll find the Museo de la Cueva del Llano, an underground lava tube which visitors can go through, provided with helmet and frontal lantern, while guides tell about the volcanic origin  of Fuerteventura and the curiosities of this land thousands of years ago. We must highlight that Fuerteventura is the oldest of the Canary Islands and that the last volcano that erupted did it 10.000 million years ago (Monaña de la Arena).

FuerteCharter Excursiones | History Fuerteventura

From Villaverde we’ll go on inland,  passing through the village of La Oliva, which is the head of a municipality in the notth of Fuerteventura, where you can visit “La Casa de los Coroneles”, an ancient fortress from the second half of the XVII century, which today is used as an exhibition hall, showing the life on the island at a time of all-powerful landowners.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Tour por Fuerteventura: día 3
©lacasadeloscoroneles.org

We keep going southbound, through the village of Tindaya and its holy mountain, which has given rise to many discrepancies at present due to the controversial work which is to be carried out inside it; and from there we go on to Tefia, taking the FV-207 after Tindaya.

Once we go past Tefia we’ll take the FV-30 to Betancuria, a quite winding and narrow mountain road, so we recommend extreme caution when driving.

The lookout point Morro Velosa (669m), designed by the versatile man César Manrique, will welcome us to let us see one of the most breathtaking views on the island. Beside it, we’ll find the statues of Guise and Avose, two ancient warriors who ruled in aboriginal Fuerteventura, when this was divided into two big groups.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Tour por Fuerteventura: día 3
©www.fotocommunity.de

In the valley, Betancuria looks quaint, like a haven of peace and white houses among a green and lush vegetation, very different from the rest of landscapes in Fuerteventura. This greenery and fertility were the reasons why conquerors settled in this land the first capital of the islands, back in the XV century. We must highlight the visit to Santa Maria Chuch-Cathedral, one of the most impressive historic buildings on the island.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Tour por Fuerteventura: día 3

We keep heading south, discovering treasures of Fuerteventura. The next urban core we go through is Pájara, where visitors going on tour from north to south are very common. The shrine of Nuestra señora de Regla, in Pájara, has a precious main altarpiece, restored a couple of years ago by master craftsmen from our island.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Tour por Fuerteventura: día 3
©commons.wikimedia.org

And from Pájara we’ll head to the Western coast, taking the FV-621, until getting to the little village of Ajuy, a haven for fishermen with a gorgeous black sand beach and stunning caves which tourists can visit following a signposted route along the coastline.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Tour por Fuerteventura: día 3
©www.visitafuerteventura.com

Ajuy is a place where throngs of tourists flock to the few restaurants you find in the village to enjoy fresh fish, but if you don’t like crowds we recommend having some home-made rations in Pájara, before getting to Ajuy.

And to help digestion, nothing better than going for a walk in El barranco de Las Peñitas , which you can access form the village of Buen Paso (between Ajuy and Pájara). There you find a cliff made of granite blocks, which offers a landscape very different from the rest of the island. Big blocks of granite rise up on the edges of what, no doubt, once must have been a little river,  when there was water. Nowadays there is nothing but pools of stagnant water which flow on the rainy days of winter. This area of the island is a treasure for mountain climbers, as this is one of the few areas in Fuerteventura where you can climb.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Tour por Fuerteventura: día 3
©www.visitafuerteventura.com

El barranco de Las Peñitas is named after La ermita de la Virgen de la Peña (shrine), placed within it, another story that makes up the past of these lands; and at the highest part of the cliff we find the well known “Presa de las Peñitas”, with no apparent function at present.

And after this evening walk it’s time to head back north. This time we suggest taking the FV-30, after Pájara, towards Tuineje and Antigua, to avoid the winding road in Betancuria.

If you have skipped some steps of the way and you have still some time to spare, in Antigua you can visit the “Museo del Queso Majorero”, where you’ll get first hand information about the secrets in the production of such a goat milk delicacy.

Have a nice journey back and rest tonight, so as to get ready for the fourth and last day of this tour, when we’ll take you to find out the south of Fuerteventura and its never ending beaches, typical of a paradise whose beauty is beyond our wildest dreams.

Fuertecharter team.

A 4-day tour on Fuerteventura

Day 2
After the first day in Fuerteventura your energy is renewed; the sun shines for another day in paradise and there are many things left to be discovered.

Yesterday you realised the great potential of this island for water sports and we hope the first surf lessons were not too hard and you don’t have an aching body today.
 (If you haven’t read the plans for  the 1st day yet, here’s the link, so you don’t miss a thing on your holidays on the island).

Once you’ve already met  Corralejo and its surroundings, the plans suggested for the second day of this tour will have as protagonist the neighboring island of Lobos.

Fuertecharter | Trekking Lobos Islet

To know it, of course we recommend one of our excursions by catamaran. FuerteCharter tours are very special, as we don’t only take visitors to the nearby island, but we prepare everything very carefully so as to turn this into “your holiday experience”.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Vacaciones en Fuerteventura

For fishing lovers, we offer the option of  trolling throughout our journey. Let’s see if we are lucky and our wonderful customers get us fresh fish for lunch!

Once we reach the berth of Lobos, we display all our equipment:
•    Snorkeling: mask, snorkel and fins to explore the hidden     treasures in these warm waters. We also carry bread to attract the fish and take good photos with them.
•    Kayak: for those with adventure spirit who want to row and get away and discover the surroundings.
•    SUP: we also have Stand Up Paddle boards and paddles, to teach the rudiments of the sport that is becoming so fashionable. We encourage everyone to try it and have a laugh discovering the limits of their body balance.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Vacaciones en Fuerteventura

And filled with physical activity and laughter, we get to the island of Lobos on our semirigid boat.

Fuertecharter-web

The Little harbour of  Lobos, where we set ashore, is a place of outstanding beauty. Turquoise waters  whimsically painting  the volcanic rock and white sand coast.

Isla de Lobos Fuerteventura

If booked in advance, guests can enjoy a delicious paella or  fresh fish in the emblematic restaurant of the island.

The return to Corralejo usually starts by approaching the wave of Lobos by boat, one of the best known waves in Europe. And after watching the surfers make a show of their tricks and most refined techniques, we undertake the return to Corralejo Harbour, where we get just in time for lunch.

http://www.fuertecharter.com/
©redsharkfuerteventura

The afternoon  plan is dedicated to the town of El Cotillo, so we suggest  driving your car in the morning so now you can go to El Cotillo and have lunch in one of the restaurants of this picturesque fishing village where freshly caught fish it is one of the main tourist attractions.

After the delicious meal, we recommend visiting the beaches of Los Lagos, north of El Cotillo, where calm waters lap the golden sand and invite you to a relaxing nap by the sea.

©visitfuerteventura.es
©visitfuerteventura.es

When the sun begins to go down, we propose to change beach and watch the sunset at  “Piedra Playa”, a beach where the swell is much heavier than in “Los Lagos”, so it is commonly used daily by surf schools and those who practise kite, in windy days. This long beach keeps a secret in itssouthernmost part, its cliff is made of clay, you can take into your own hands, mix it with water and enjoy a mud bath,  natural spa style. The results on the skin are amazing!

Fuertecharter | tour por fuerteventura, isla de Lobos

And as you are already in love with Fuerteventura and its beaches, and it’s already getting dark and tomorrow we must continue discovering secrets, it’s time for a quick dinner and sleep to restore energy.

Tomorrow promises to be interesting, a trip to the center of the island to discover the inland villages, including Betancuaria, where the conquerors decided to settle the first capital of Fuerteventura.

We’ll keep telling you about the remaining two days in future articles on our blog.

Fuertecharter Team

Canary Island Legends: San Borondón

All peoples have their legends, stories surrounded by mystery and magic; the archipelago of the Canary Islands, so special, has its own legends,  including that of the “island that appears and disappears,” the legend of St. Borondón, “the other Island “. It would be located west of El Hierro; that’s why we, in our trips to  Lobos Island from Corralejo, have never seen it; yet, we’ll tell you the legend. Difficult to build accurately due to the number of stories that have survived to date, we’ll approach the most common version of the mysterious island.

FuerteCharter Excursiones Fuerteventura | Fuerteventura: leyendas
Fuente: abc. La silueta de la isla de San Borondón, en el horizonte, fotografiada en 1958 por M. Rodríguez Quintero

If you have spent some time in the Canary Islands you’ll have  heard of the “eighth island” on some occasion, the island that appears and disappears in a sea of ​​clouds and even, in the past, its coordinates were given, at the western end of the Canary Islands near El Hierro, and it could be observed from the highest spot inTenerife, El Teide. It was drawn on several maps of the time that give us its location, in fact there are several versions but all of them place it near El Hierro. Even in official investigations in the eighteenth century by the authorities of the island of Hierro, dozens of witnesses claimed to have seen the phantom island from the summits of El Hierro. As a result an expedition departed from Santa Cruz de Tenerife in search of this island. So yes,  they were many the Canary Islands’, Portuguese and Spanish sailors who ventured to the search of this phantom island,  the covert, lost or not found island.

FuerteCharter Excursiones Fuerteventura | Fuerteventura: leyendas
www.maestroviejodespierta.com

The origin of St. Borondón’s legend

The island was named after the Irish monk St. Brendan of Clonfert, who in 516 starts a sea voyage with the aim of ​​bringing its faith to all corners of the world. So, together with other monks, he embarked on a small ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean in search of  The Earthly Paradise. Several legends say that he and his crew faced incredible dangers, storms, sea monsters never seen. Amid this complicated voyage, across an unknown ocean considered as dark, they spotted an island where they decided to search for food and step ashore to rest.
According to those stories it seems that while celebrating mass they began to notice that the ground was shaking. Gripped by fear, they ran back to the boat and sailed away from that misterious island they considered as a huge whale or a great sea monster that started moving and disappeared. No one else has ever stepped back on that island although there are many who claimed to have seen it in the distance.

 

FuerteCharter Excursiones Fuerteventura | Fuerteventura: leyendas
www.dixkover.com1580 × 770

From the XVI C. this phantom island has been the protagonist of romances, stories, poetry and songs that have fed the legend and made it reach our days well alive. Even the historian Abreu Galindo ventured to give its coordinates: northwest of the island of El Hierro (10º 10 “length and 29º and 30′ latitude).

The mysterious island of San Borondon’s is one of the most living and rooted legends in the Canary Islands, especially on El Hierro due to the proximity of its possible existence.
We, who every day sail the waters of Fuerteventura in our trips from Corralejo to Lobos Island, still haven’t seen it, possibly because we are on the other side of that island and it’s many the kilometers that keep us apart. Still, as intrepid sailors, we never forget that the “other island” may come and go at any time, a day like today.

 

FuerteCharter Team

A four-day tour around Fuerteventura


DAY 1

You wake up early in the morning, at around 8am, startled because the alarm clock hasn’t gone off,  and suddenly you realise you don’t have to go to work. “Uff,” a sigh of  relax. You are in Fuerteventura!

Your holidays have started, the sun smiles at you  when opening the curtains, the sea calls you from the promenade of Corralejo, you have a thousand things you want to do in four days, because you come  stressed from the city and are eager to discover this paradise.

You get hold of plans, flyers, magazines that suggest different activities and places to visit in Fuerteventura, and everything seems wonderful: the day is missing hours to have enough time to see everything.

So here we organize a four-day tour, so you don’t miss the exceptional corners of Fuerteventura.

To start with, a good breakfast,  that you’ll need if you want to gather the necessary strength to withstand so many emotions.

One of the main attractions in this island are the water sports you can practice in it, so what better than surfing lessons to  become familiar with this wonderful ocean and look after yourself by doing some sport? Surf schools on the island will take you to the spots matching your level of requirements, and in all of them you’ll fully enjoy the benefits of this healthy sport: especially in beginners, it encourages laughter and good relations.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Vacaciones en Fuerteventura
©www.protestsurfcenter.com

After your morning sport session, and after a copious lunch, we suggest, if you are an active person, to visit one of the volcanoes in the north of Fuerteventura. For us, the most spectacular one is the Calderon Hondo Volcano, in the village of Lajares, with its perfect round cone and views of the north of the island; but if you don’t want to leave Corralejo, another good option is  Morro Francisco, from which you can observe Corralejo, Lobos Island and Lanzarote.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Vacaciones en Fuerteventura
© Carlos Antolin Carruesco
Excursiones Fuertecharter | Vacaciones en Fuerteventura
© www.fuerteventura-infos.de

If  on the contrary you are one of those who enjoy relaxing in the sun, you can let your friends go and see the volcanoes and you take the opportunity to swim and lie in the sun on Grandes Playas, Corralejo, one of the most spectacular beaches on the island, where turquoise and crystalline waters bathe the golden sand at the pace of rest you need.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Vacaciones en Fuerteventura
© www.queweb.info

To end the day, when your friends come back from the volcano, you can go and watch the sunset on the impressive dunes of Corralejo, right opposite Grandes Playas. The landscape of this Natural Park, with the evening light, is something highly recommended, it seems as if you were in the desert, at that time when the sun no longer glares, and the shadows of the small clouds and bushes draw whimsical silhouettes on the sand.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Vacaciones en Fuerteventura
© www.playas-fuerteventura.com

And to celebrate your first day off, go and savour a delicious dinner in some of the hundreds of restaurants in Corralejo, where you’ll find offers for all tastes and budgets; and after dinner, at most one drink and go to bed because the following day is again another adventure of emotions in paradise and you must be prepared.
As a preview of your second day of holiday we can advise a trip to the island of Lobos, with our FuerteCharter tours, but  we won’t anticipate anything else; we’ll tell you about the second day in our next post.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | Vacaciones en Fuerteventura

FuerteCharter Team.

Fuerteventura: “La Casa Winter”

It’s several the spectacular landscapes in Fuerteventura; one of them is Cofete, an amazing beach in the southwest of the island, away from everything, still unspoilt despite the tourist development and where we only find cement in a village, an old abandoned cemetery on the beach and  Winter’s House. It is this palace which amazes visitors when they get to this spot and realise, at a glance, the majesty of this house, located  in such a special place.

To reach Cofete you must invest at least 30-minute drive along a track going from Morro Jable to Punta de Jandia, and halfway you will find a detour to the right that is the only path. In this place, away from everything,  this mansion was built between 1940 and 1950 at the foot of the Pico de la Zarza, which, because of the spot where it is located and also because of its weird construction, it is today one of the most famous mysteries in Fuerteventura.


Gustav Winter
The protagonist of these stories is a German engineer, Gustav Winter, who arrived in Spain in 1915. Coinciding with the outbreak of World War I Gustav returned from South America, but he was captured by a British ship and imprisoned for a year for being a potential German spy . He manages to get away and get on board of a ship that will allow him to disembark in Spain. In our country he works as an engineer building thermoelectric plants in various cities until in 1925 he moved to the Canary Islands, first to Gran Canaria, where he got involved in initiating La CICER. In his spare time he enjoyed his sailboat sailing around the Canary Islands and that’s how he got to Fuerteventura.

Gustav “the German” leaves Gran Canaria and moves to Fuerteventura, where he acquires the Jandía peninsula, in the south of Fuerteventura, the largest rural property in the Canary Islands, with 180 km2 in an almost desert place.

During World War II he was recruited as an engineer for the German Navy in Bordeaux and when the Germans withdrew from France, he had to take refuge in Spain for the second time.

In 1947 he returns to Fuerteventura with enough money to complete his work and he devotes to exploiting the land by growing tomatoes, alfalfa and raising cattle to market cheese and wool.
Years later, already nationalized as Spanish and after the improvements that had been introduced in the area, Gustav tries to develop tourism, attracting German entrepreneurs to the coast of his island. In 1966 he built the first hotel in the south in the middle of a desert and, little by little for nearly 40 years, speculation and support by the government have turned what was once a desert paradise into a hotel area, favorite destination of Germans; but thanks to the Law of Natural Spaces of the Canary Islands, in 1987, places like Cofete remain intact, sidelining the destructive hand of cement.
As a curiosity we must point out that Winter’s name appeared in an English list of  resident German spies  in Spain under Franco’s regime, where he is described as a “German agent in the Canary Islands, in charge of observation posts, equipped with wireless telephony, and also in charge of  the supply of German submarines.”

“
The legend!

The famous Winter’s villa has been depicted in several novels because of the mysteries surrounding it. It is said that it was built to provide shelter and to supply the Nazi submarine fleet during World War II, which would access the palace through tunnels that have never been found.
It is also said that this house was a refuge for Nazi officers during the war to celebrate ostentatious parties; and it was even said that it could have been a shelter and residence of some German high officer, hidden by the Spanish soldiers, who supported the totalitarian regimes of the time.
All these mysteries grow when visiting the house: the floors seem hollow and there are walled-in doors;  there is also a turret looking like a lighthouse.
It must be said that the Winter family never inhabited this house, as their usual residence was ” El Caserio del alemán”, a estate in the upper area of ​​ Morro Jable.
The descendants of Gustav Winter deny all these rumors, especially because the house was not built until 1947, but the historical memory of the area recalls that in 1940 its construction had already begun.

Winter’s  villa, located on such a virgin and desert area of Fuerteventura, still brings more magic and mystery to this spectacular place: the beach of Cofete, we insist, worth to admire and enjoy, like so many other wonderful places on this island.

FuerteCharter Team

3 products gourmet Fuerteventura

Goat cheese, Foam salt and goat ham

Foto: ©mamacontracorriente.com

Little by little the jewels of Fuerteventura’s gastronomy are being discovered and more and more people praise the quality of its raw material.

Fuerteventura’s landscape has the usual presence of its famous goat and its shores are lapped by clear waters of great purity. Goats and saltwater are its most representative elements and, as it couldn’t be otherwise, those which make Fuerteventura excel in the gourmet world.

“Majorero”Goat Cheese

Excursiones Fuertecharter | 3 productos gourmet de Fuerteventura
©rtvc.es

The dense, fat and aromatic milk got from the healthy and happy “majorera” goats is the basis for the tasty and varied “Majorero” goat cheese, a fatty cheese which has an intense aroma, with different tastes for the palate depending on ripening and on what ingredients it has been cured in (oil, gofio, paprika …).
One of the secrets of the quality of this product is its naturalness, since most of the goats bred on the island are free of impurities, drugs and other harmful substances.
The “Majorero” Goat Cheese has had denomination of origin since February 16th , 1996, and it has won countless awards since; the last ones, three gold medals, in mid-April 2015, in “El Salón del Gourmet” in Madrid, which has chosen three “majorero” cheeses among the best in Spain: The brand Tofio (semi-cured with paprika) Selectum ( mixed cow-goat milk) and Maxorata (cured with paprika).

We recommend visiting the “majorero” Museum of Cheese, in the Visitor Center in “El Molino de Antigua”, which you can visit Tuesday to Saturday, 10am to 18pm. Information: Tel. 928 878 041.

Foam salt

Excursiones FuerteCharter | Sal de espuma de Fuerteventura
© pellagofio.es

As we have already told in a previous article of this blog, the “majorera” Foam Salt has also been recognized as a “majorero” gourmet product that, for some years, has been internationally well known because of its properties.
What is special about this foam salt is its fine grain and smooth taste on the palate, and its crystallization in the form of flakes.
“Majorera” Foam Salt is obtained from the surface of the sea, not from water brought from the seabed through pipelines, but the sea foam that breaks on salteries and goes directly into the cookers (where the water evaporates), hence its highest quality.
If you have not yet visited the Interpretation Center in Las Salinas del Carmen, we recommend you to get the opportunity to witness, first-hand, the artisan craft of obtaining foam salt, Tuesday to Saturday, 10 to 18h. Information: Tel. 928 174 926.

“Majorero” goat ham

Excursiones Fuertecharter | 3 productos gourmet de Fuerteventura
© Consejo regulador de denominación de origen queso majorero

To savor this majorero gourmet product we must go to Casa Marcos restaurant in Villaverde, where Marcos Gutierrez, well-known majorero chef, has been experimenting on “majorera” goat legs for over 10 years.
Marcos calls it “cecineta” (dried beef-bacon) and he has managed to work this product thanks to popular lore handed down from generation to generation, since in ancient times goat meat was cured with salt to preserve it.
The freedom of “Majorera” goats and their feeding on dry grass makes its taste softer than that of goats elsewhere, so the taste of “majorera” goat ham is a delicacy for the palate.
At the moment, Marcos isn’t considering export, but who knows in the future. Many say it would be a great product in the Muslim world, where they can’t eat pork.

Excursiones Fuertecharter | 3 productos gourmet de Fuerteventura
©laprovincia.es

Fuertecharter Team

Five landscape jewels you must visit in Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura is a paradise that has endless attractions for tourists and residents. When one arrives in the island thinks of sun and beach tourism, but these Islands really have nature spots that are really worth visiting. We propose five natural jewels in Fuerteventura that you really can’t miss.

Natural park of dunes in Corralejo

As the name implies, it starts 8 kms from Corralejo, and finishes just at the village entrance. They who stay in Corralejo are lucky to find out these dunes, of impressive natural wealth, in their way from the airport to this village. One is amazed at the beauty of these dunes, the yellowish colour of their fine sand, the views to the islands of Lobos and Lanzarote. They aso stand out because of their scenic value, as they are a shelter for birds and endemic vegetable species in the Canary Islands, reason why they have been declared, together with the islet of Lobos, Special area for bird protection. Visiting these dunes is a true experience for the senses, not just because of their fine yellowish sand but also because of the water at their borders, the beaches of the eastern coast, with crystal clear blue water, so attractive that you’ll feel in paradise.

FuerteCharter excursiones | 5 joyas paisajísticas Fuerteventura

Lobos Island

It’s many the articles we have about this little paradise in The Canary Islands, a natural wild island capriciously shaped by the waters of the Atlantic, about 3,5 kms from Corralejo. It’s, no doubt, a must visit spot. It has a little port and fishing village, a volcano and a lighthouse. We recommend to devote at least one morning or afternoon to it, and the best way to enjoy its crystal clear waters is on our boat trips from Corralejo, where apart from enjoying the sea you’ll be able to go down to the island bay on a semi-rigid boat, stroll around this little islet and bathe in the cleanest and most placid waters in The Canary Islands. You can’t leave Fuerteventura without enjoying this island.

FuerteCharter excursiones | 5 joyas paisajísticas Fuerteventura

“Cofete” Beach

At the other side of the Island, in the western coast and in the south of Fuerteventura, you’ll find the longest beach in Europe and, probably, the least visited, which makes it even more natural and attractive. This beach takes up part of the Jandia peninsula, it’s about 12kms long and 50ms wide. It’s worthwhile to devote one day of your holiday to visit the most virgin of the beaches in The Canary Islands, an impressive place not just because of its dimensions but because of its wild appearance. Careful with the sea at that beach, there are usually strong currents. Apart from enjoying this magnificent beach you’ll be able to visit the Winter house and the little village of Cofete, whiich overlooks El Pico de la Zarza, the highest in Fuerteventura. If you are staying in the north of the island, investing a whole day on this spot is most recommendable.

FuerteCharter excursiones | 5 joyas paisajísticas Fuerteventura

“Las Peñitas” Ravine

This is the natural monument least well known by tourists, and for many it is one of the most interesting natural areas in Fuerteventura. This is a spectacular ravine, made up by huge granite blocks, holding one of the few dams in the island. It’s also the most important place to climb in Fuerteventura. If you like hiking we recommend to go to this ravine along a track connecting Vega del Rio Palmas with the town of Ajuy. In this ravine, apart from its great landscape value you’ll find a little hermitage, La Virgen de la Peña, where every year the most important pilgrimage in Fuerteventura is held. If you drive there you’ll have to go from Pájara to Ajuy and then you’ll find a diversion leading to the ravine, one of the most popular settings in the film Exodus.

FuerteCharter excursiones | 5 joyas paisajísticas Fuerteventura

Ajuy

In the western coast of Fuerteventura, in the rural park of Betancuria, we find the village of Ajuy, a little fishing village where you’ll find good restaurants with fresh fish. Its black sand beach reminds us of the volcanic past of this island. But the most popular spot in Ajuy are, no doubt, its caves, to which you can access through a path which starts at the very beach, easy to walk and wonderful because of the beautiful views of the western coast. Besides, this area is made up by the oldest stones in the whole Canary Islands. Another interesting fact t is that in these caves pirates and corsairs used to trade with all kinds of goods.

FuerteCharter excursiones | 5 joyas paisajísticas Fuerteventura
© visitfuerteventura.es

It’s many the natural monuments in Fuerteventura which turn it into a true paradise for visitors, but today we wanted to highlight these five ones. We’ll keep working to bring out the wonders of this little corner of La Macaronesia, which offers so many attractions.

FuerteCharter Team

Beaches sheltered from the wind at Fuerteventura

Fuerteventura, the quiet and apparently unchangeable island, has the characteristic stillness of the dry lands. A space of silent where time seems to stop to capture a landscape which is like a picture that one would like to scan.

Its heavenly beaches invite to relax and observe, to long days of sand and sun bathed in turquoise waters.

Fuertecharter | The wind in Fuerteventura
Los Canarios Beach, Fuerteventura. ©pepecar.com

But so that our sunbathing days are completely satisfactory we have to know and have one of the elements that best define the island on our side: the wind.

Few are the travellers who have visited Fuerteventura without knowing it, who haven’t had their cap blown away on the beach, that haven’t been beaten by the sand on their calves or haven’t looked for shelter from the wind in the “corralitos” of majorera beaches.

Many of their visitors come just looking for those air blasts so as to practise their favourite sports, like windsurf or kitesurf, or just to fly their kites and dye the sky with colours (in ancient times the wind provided a way of earning a living for many families, as it activated the windmills that ground grain); However, for those looking for peace and quiet we’ll suggest some beaches and advice so that their experience in Fuerteventura be unforgettable, even with wind.

Fuertecharter Fuerteventura | Wind and beaches in Fuerteventura
©blog.canariasviaja.com

The first thing to bear in mind is the wind direction. When the wind comes from the East it is more advisable to visit beaches on the West, and the other way around.

Wind barriers are also important, that is, looking for beaches which are sheltered from the wind direction by some barriers, either natural or built. So, for example in the Western coast we find impressive beaches at the mouths of ravines, which are usually beaches sheltered by high cliffs which stop the winds when they aren’t west winds.

Fuertecharter Fuerteventura | Wind and beaches in Fuerteventura
Squinzo’s Beach ©visitfuerteventura.es

They are usually beaches which are difficult to access, which require a bit of skill to reach them (we recommend lots of caution when going down), but once you get there they promise heavenly beach days. You can find this kind of beaches in the North (near El Cotillo) as well as in the South, like “Playa de los Ojos” in Jandia.

Fuertecharter Fuerteventura | Wind and beaches in Fuerteventura
Los Ojos beach: ©visitfuerteventura.es

In the Western coastline, for example Corralejo area, the beaches are protected from West winds thanks to the barrier that the town itself provides. The same happens in the South with the beaches at “avenida marítima” in Morro Jable.

A very recommended area in the island is the one oriented towards the south, in Península de Jandia, where we find quiet water coves sheltered from North winds going in a Westerly or Easterly direction, and also sheltered from heavy swells. Among these coves we find Playa Juan Gómez, known by most of its visitors as one of the best beaches in Spain.

Fuertecharter Fuerteventura | Wind and beaches in Fuerteventura

And in the rest of the beaches in our wonderful coastline, although without barriers that protect them from the winds, we always find these “corralitos”, so characteristic of Fuerteventura’s landscape. They are circular stone constructions, approximately one metre high, which can have different sizes: for a single person, couples or even for whole families. If you get to a beach beaten by the wind and you find one of these constructions don’t hesitate to settle in it. You’ll be able to watch this paradise from the peace and quiet, no matter how strongly the wind outside the walls in your shelter may blow.

Fuertecharter Fuerteventura | Wind and beaches in Fuerteventura
©ifuerteventura facebook

Fuertecharter Team