We are in the twenty-seventh annual International Kite Festival Fuerteventura, held, one more year, in the Natural Park of the Dunes of Corralejo and the Playa de La Concha in El Cotillo.
Coloured fabrics were launched into the sky at the beginning of November, on the beach of La Concha, to stay in the wind until Sunday November 9th , painting the immense blue sky and the incomparable majorero landscape with hundreds of different shades.
What initially began as a gathering of flying kite amateurs, 27 years ago, has become quite an event of national and international importance, attracting “kiters” from all around the globe.
Its organizers, Jacinto Rodriguez and Claudio Azzali, are supported by the Department of Tourism of the City of La Oliva, in the arrangement of this event.
The kites that could be seen those days in the two beaches of Fuerteventura stood out because of their colours, some for their large dimensions, many for the originality of their creators. Crabs walking across the ground, ladybirds which suddenly jump and move several meters away, the legendary witches, large circles of colours, horses, hippos, cows, clowns and thousands of ingenious ideas like a diver being chased by a small fish – whose movement was very well attained really seeming to be immersed in water – were some examples of kites that you could find flying over the majorero sky.
The holding of this festival is an important promotion for the beaches of Fuerteventura, since it is an event followed by the media, broadcast at national and international level.
The first day of the event, static and acrobatic kite flying exhibitions took place on the beach of La Concha, El Cotillo, but the real inauguration took place on the following day, on the beach of El Burro, within the Natural Park Dunas de Corralejo.
So you know, if you want to enjoy a weekend in the wind, with stunning scenery, we recommend attending this event, which also, on the other hand, you can witness from our boat, if you decide to join us on one of our tours around the coast of Corralejo.
From October 28th and until November 29th the Art Centre Juan Ismael, in Puerto del Rosario, will host an exhibition where some of the archaeological Roman remains found during the excavations in Lobos islet will be shown.
Two campaigns have already been carried out in these excavations in Lobos site 1, since 2012, where, as we said in one previous article in this blog, some archaeological remains of what would have been a Roman factory for the obtaining of purple dye (Stramonita haemastoma), dating back between the I Century B.C and the I Century A.D, have been found out. Hence the name of the exhibition: “Lobos 1, a Roman purple workshop”.
This site, located in La Calera or La Concha beach, to the South West of Lobos islet, will have a new campaign of diggings, result of an agreement between Fuerteventura Council, The Autonomous Organism of Museums, Some centres in Tenerife council and some scientists in the research project “Poblamiento y Colonización de las Islas en el Atlántico (PYCIA), from La Laguna University and the OAMC and there are big expectations that more remains that could be find tell us more about the history of the Canary Islands and the population of the Atlantic islands, through the Roman settlements dated to the Early Empire that, besides, also show that the boundaries and the influence of the Roman Empire spread far beyond it had been recorded up to now. For this reason many researches and approaches will have to be carried out again and the relationship between the Canary Islands and other Roman settlements of the time will be established.
The exhibition shows a selection of manufactured Roman goods, from ceramic amphoras, used to transport and store metal iron and bronze items (needles to sew nets, hooks, punches…) to stone items related to the processing of purple dye, like crusher pebbles, anvils and mortars.
The exhibition also shows shelly deposits specialised in Stramonita haemastoma, where we can see some fracture patterns of these molluscs and the way the glans used to get the purple dye were extracted.
Kitchen items can also be found, witnesses of a food and domestic activity, such as pans, different food containers, flatware, jars, platters…
The exhibition can be visited in the Art Centre Juan Ismael, C/ Almirante Lallermand, Nº 30, in Puerto del Rosario, opening times from 10 to 13 and from 17 to 21h, every day except Sundays and Mondays, when the centre is closed.
Our dear neighbour, Lobos islet, main spot in our daily boat trips towards its coast, is taking part in a remodelling project which aims to meet the needs of tens of visitors who get to its quay every day.
Last summer they launched some restoration works in Lobos islet, in the area of the old restaurant. This area has become a resting area with W.C, benches and shadow to provide service to the masses of visitors who go to the islet every day.
The old restaurant in Lobos islet, dating back to the 60’s, was an abandoned project in the 80’s, with a quite peculiar architecture, irregular plant combining cubic and curvy spaces, very different from the local architecture and that has now become, thanks to a project by the Technical office of Fuerteventura Council, a resting area —160m2— for visitors, whose finish is perfectly integrated in this natural site where pine wood has been used, following the environmental friendly line which is promoted, especially in such an important an area of environmental awareness as Lobos islet.
The works in these facilities were finished one month ago, but the outside surrounding area remains to be laid out, so as to make it available to the visitors. There is no concrete date to inaugurate them, although it can’t take a long time.
And together with this refurbishing process, The environmental department has also approved the project “Acondicionamiento y mejora del muelle de Lobos”, which is being dealt with by the Port authority in Las Palmas, in order to improve the conditions of Lobos quay, due to the fact that companies devoted to the transport of passengers to Lobos islet had been complaining for a long time about the poor state of such quay and about the difficulty to access it in days of rough sea.
So, this project aims to improve the state of the quay and extend it, to make it safer when facing adverse weather conditions, and to ensure safe berthing regardless of the tide.
The works they are trying to carry out imply:
The building of stone filling banks (stones thrown to the bottom so they can be used as foundations for the quay), that will take up around 25m long at the sea bottom.
The building of a 1,6m wide berm on each side of the quay.
The building of a 14,58m long and 8,1m wide quay.
The restoration of the side slots.
The building of an access stairway.
We’ll keep you informed about the development of this refurbishment project, which is being studied in detail to minimise the environmental impact and provide a better service to the visitors without damaging the natural site which this islet, Biosphere Reserve, represents.
A blue whale, the biggest animal in the world, can be spotted very near the area where we make our boat trips from Corralejo.
Some time ago, the Strait of “La Bocaina” which separates Fuerteventura and Lanzarote a blue whale was seen, by a group of investigators. This sighting took place during the campaign for the project development “Canarias con la Mar”, funded by “Fundación Biodiversidad”, the ministry of Environment (MAGRAMA), the Canary Island Government and Fuerteventura Council.
This cetacean (in latin, Balaenopteridaees) is one of the biggest animals in the world (the biggest dinosaur ever known was smaller that this whale). They can be up to 31m long and weigh a bit over 150 tons. The specimens in the southern hemisphere are usually bigger that those in the northern one. Female specimens (so as to give birth to their huge calves)are usually bigger than male ones too (maximum 24m long and 80 tons). They can reach a depth of 500m. Their usual speed is 22km/h, although they can even reach the 50km/h if they feel threatened, and they can also lower their speed up to 6.5 km/h when they forage for food.
With a long body and a wide head, this impressive whale has no teeth, but beard (around 300-400 formations on each side of their jaws, looking like toothbrushes, ideal to catch little preys (up to 1m long).
They can be submerged for 10-20 minutes, needing to go to the surface and breath after this time, bursting the typical jet of water of this species, which can reach the 6-12 ms high, imagine how big they are!
Surprisingly, these huge animals feed on small crustaceans; krills are they favourite food. Every specimen can eat up to 40 million of these crustaceans during their feeding stage, and they need up to 1.5 million calories a day to keep active.
The northern Pacific and Atlantic Oceans hold the biggest populations of these cetaceans. They are a really damaged species due to the whales hunting, and in many areas they have not recovered yet. Just one out of the four different species of blue whales in the world inhabits the northern Atlantic, which is why the fact of having caught sight of one of them in our waters is a true privilege. We are looking forward to finding this blue whale in our boat trips from Corralejo.
As far as their behaviour is concerned, blue whales have been seen alone, in couple or in small groups, no bigger than 7 specimens. When the food is abundant and on very few occasions, 60 of these animals have been seen together. They usually forage 100ms deep during the day, and they only go up to the surface at night. They feed through a filtering system: they open their mouth swallowing a large amount of water and krill. Then they close their jaws and push the water back outside through their beards, their preys being trapped there; with this system they also consume little fish, crustaceans and the squids which swim among the krill.
As for their breeding, their gestation period lasts around one year, and they reach their sexual maturity at the age of 10. They give birth to a single whale calf every 3 years. Whale calves are born in winter, in warm waters, and they are able to migrate thousands of kilometres until they reach polar waters to forage the next summer. Whale calves are usually 7mts long and weigh up to 3 tons; for 8 months they are breastfed, almost 400 litres of milk a day, and they grow up to 90kg a day, so when they get to their weaning process the calves have probably doubled their size already.
They have a long life expectancy, 90 years on average, although they can live up to 110 years.
These huge mammals make a deep vibrating sound that can be heard hundreds of kilometres away under the water. Little is known about the reason why they make this kind of sound, but these blue whales can make calls lasting between 10 and 30 seconds.
The blue whale is an endangered species for several reasons: many specimens die because they are hurt by big ships or because they are trapped in fishing nets. Of course, the global heating also affects the species they feed on. Nowadays whale hunting is punished in every continent, although illegal hunting still exists. It’s important to protect the areas of concentration of this species and their migratory corridors. Their presence in Fuerteventura and Lanzarote reminds us how important this area is.
We are looking forward to watching this blue whale, who has been named Esperanza, more closely in our boat trips from Corralejo. We’ll keep you informed.
FuerteCharter’s team.
Características de la ballena azul
Este cetáceo de la familia de los Rorcuales azules (en latín: Balaenopteridaees) es uno de los animales más grandes de la tierra (el dinosaurio más grande conocido es más pequeño que estas ballenas). Llegan a medir 31m de longitud y pesan poco más de 150 toneladas. Los ejemplares que habitan el hemisferio sur son generalmente de mayor tamaño que las del hemisferio norte; suelen ser más grandes las hembras (para poder parir sus enormes crías) que los machos (un máximo de 24m y 80 toneladas). Pueden llegar a profundidades de 500 metros. Normalmente se desplazan a 22 km/h, aunque si perciben alguna amenaza pueden alcanzar hasta 50 km/h, llegando a bajar esa velocidad hasta los 6.5 km/h cuando se alimentan.
De cuerpo alargado y cabeza ancha, este impresionante rorcual no tiene dientes, sino barbas, unos 300-400 formaciones en cada lado de su mandíbula, parecidas a las cerdas de un cepillo, ideales para capturar presas pequeñas y que pueden medir hasta 1 metro.
Puede permanecer bajo el agua por periodos de 10 a 20 minutos, saliendo a respirar después de este tiempo a la superficie, lanzando el chorro característico de esta especie, que puede llegar a alturas de 6 a 12 metros, ¡imagínense las dimensiones!
Alimentación de la ballena azul
Sorprendentemente la alimentación de estos impresionantes animales se basa en crustáceos muy pequeños; el krill es su sustento favorito. Cada individuo puede comer hasta 40 millones de estos crustáceos diarios en su época de alimentación, y necesitan alrededor de 1.5 millones de calorías al día para mantenerse activos.
Los océanos Pacífico Norte y Antártico Norte, albergan las poblaciones más grandes de estos cetáceos. Se trata de una especie muy dañada por la caza de ballenas y en muchas zonas aún no se ha recuperado. De las 4 subespecies de estos rorcuales azules que hay en el mundo, solo una habita en el Atlántico Norte, y se estima que no hay más de 400 individuos en nuestra zona del Atlántico, con lo que haber avistado una en nuestras aguas es todo un privilegio. Estamos deseando encontrarnos con esta ballena azul en nuestras excursiones en barco desde Corralejo.
Comportamiento de la ballena azul
En cuanto a su comportamiento se han avistado ballenas azules en solitario, en pareja o en grupos pequeños de no más de 7 individuos. Cuando hay gran cantidad de alimento, y en situaciones contadas, se han llegado a ver hasta 60 de estos animales juntos. Generalmente se alimentan a más de 100 m de profundidad durante el día y solo en la noche en la superficie. Su alimentación es por un sistema de filtrado: abre su boca introduciendo gran cantidad de agua y de krill, entonces cierra sus mandíbulas y empuja el agua de vuelta hacia fuera a través de sus barbas, quedando sus presas atrapadas; con este sistema accidentalmente consume también pequeños peces, crustáceos y calamares que nadan entre el krill.
Reproducción y crías de la ballena azul
En cuanto a su reproducción, su periodo de gestación dura alrededor de un año, y su madurez sexual llega aproximadamente a sus 10 años. Dan a luz una sola cría cada 3 años. Los ballenatos nacen en invierno en aguas cálidas con la capacidad de realizar una migración de miles de kilómetros hasta aguas polares donde alimentarse el siguiente verano. Las crías, al nacer, miden unos 7 metros de longitud y pesan hasta tres toneladas; durante 8 meses se alimentan de leche materna, casi 400 litros al día, creciendo diariamente hasta 90 kg más, con lo que cuando les llega el destete probablemente la cría ya ha doblado su tamaño.
Tienen una larga esperanza de vida, una media de 90 años, aunque pueden vivir incluso hasta los 110 años.
El Canto de la balleza azul
Estos grandes animales emiten un sonido profundo y resonante que se puede captar a cientos de kilómetros bajo las aguas. No se sabe mucho sobre los motivos que les llevan a producir estos cantos, pero todos los grupos de rorcuales azules emiten llamadas de al menos entre 10 y 30 segundos de duración.
La ballena azul es una especie en peligro de extinción por varios motivos, muchos ejemplares mueren por heridas realizadas por grandes buques o por quedar atrapados en redes de pesca. Por supuesto, el calentamiento global afecta a las especies de las que se alimenta. Actualmente la caza de ballenas está penada en cualquier continente, aunque sigue habiendo caza ilegal. Es importante proteger las zonas de concentración de la especie y sus corredores migratorios. Su presencia en la zona de Fuerteventura y Lanzarote nos vuelve a recordar la importancia de esta zona.
Deseando estamos ver más de cerca a esta ballena azul, a la que se ha llamado Esperanza, en nuestras excursiones desde Corralejo. Les mantendremos informados.
As every year, the 13th October the municiaplity of Tuineje, South of Fuerteventura, celebrates with a performance that is becoming more and more popular, to commemorate the victory of the “majorera” population over the Corsairs’ attacks in 1740.
This staged battle is about the battles of “El Cuchillete” and that of “Tamasite”, and it takes place within the frame of the festivities in honour of San Miguel Arcángel, patron saint of this locality, whom the neighbours promised to never forget this date if he helped them achieve the victory.
This dates back to the middle of the XVIII C, hard times for Fuerteventura due to the huge droughts that destroyed the harvests turning Fuerteventura, which was considered “the barn of the Canary Island”, into a dry land with no water where the plants could hardly bear fruits. At those times the “majorera” population was decimated due to emigration to other islands in search of sustenance.
It turns out that in 1739 Great Britain, helped by Portugal, declares war to Spain in its Caribbean colonies, with the intention of controlling the whole market in America, which is known as The War of Jenkins’ Ear, as the trigger was that a Spanish representative cut the British Jenkins’ Ear, carrying in his ship loads of smuggled goods, so as to warn the British crown. This deed was considered as an offence by the British, who decided to start the war.
The attacks extended to the colonies in the Atlantic, The Canary Islands being target of looting by Corsairs, who were trying to get ships and loots to exchange them later on in Madeira.
At those times, the crown of Spain was not protecting The Islands with their troops regularly, so, taking advantage of the lack of population and arms in Fuerteventura, and also of how easy it was to access its coast, having so many kilometres of sandy beaches, a British corsair disembarked at Gran Tarajal beach, on October 13th 1740, and its crew managed to get to Tuineje area and plunder it.
However, the “majorero” people didn’t let the fear overcome them at that moment and, organised in militias, managed by the lieutenant colonel Sánchez Umpiérrez, and armed wit sticks and stones, decided to face the attackers in the well-known “El cuchillete” battle, which ended up with the victory of Fuerteventura’s people, who killed 33 out of the 53 attackers, and imprisoned the remaining ones.
The corsairs, very surprised not to have their troops back, attacked Fuerteventura again one month later, November 24th 1740, and this time the corsairs faced, in the well-known “Tamasite” battle, on Gran Tarajal beach, a more trained population, as their self-confidence had grown and now they also had firearms they had seized in the previous battle. By then, “los majoreros” had also developed their military strategies and they used camels, which were very abundant by then, as shields, thus stopping to a great extent the corsairs’ attacks. And once again they emerged victorious, without the help of the Spanish troops, who didn’t establish a steady military base in the islands until the XIX century, a bit too late for corsairs’ attacks.
A fragment of this island’s history was performed last October 13th, thus reviving this battle that makes the “majorero” people feel so proud of.
Our favourite site for our boat trips from Corralejo on the 19th of October will be the exceptional setting for the XVI swimming crossing Isla de Lobos-Corralejo.
The narrow channel separating these two points of the already traditional swimming crossing is known as “El Río”, a 3.400m-long channel of shallow waters (no deeper than 10m); the enrolment to this crossing opened last August 4th at ten in the morning and closed on October 1st. The participation is limited to 220 swimmers. The usual average time for this crossing is 65 minutes.
The starting point in the Isla de Lobos is in “Punta del Marrajo” at 12 p.m, and it will finish in “Playa del Muelle Chico”, Corralejo.
This event has been organized year after year by the “Club Deportivo Herbania”, and this year they are organizing the XVI event and it will be one of high difficulty as it will take place in an area with strong sea currents, so the swimmers taking part in it must be really experienced.
This year the crossing presents a great innovation, extra difficulty that will make the event even more exciting. The thirty quickest swimmers will have the chance to perform a sweep-round, 7000m
long.
This event gathers amateurs and great swimmers that every year join it with the firm determination to reach the shore after overcoming the 3400m separating the two islands.
Enrolments usually take place in the web C.D.Hebania or straight in the club’s office. Fuertecharter’s team is the exceptional spectator of this crossing as we cooperate with safety in this event supporting the swimmers with one of our boats; it’s a strong current area and we must take the necessary safety measures to make the event succeed. This event has lots of followers and the sweep-round novelty will make it even more exciting. We’ll be meeting in the water, good luck for all the participants, we’ll be supporting you.
3400m long CROSSING:
• Starting time: 12:00 h
• Distance: 3400m
• Starting point: Punta Marrajo (Isla de Lobos)
• Finishing line: Muelle Chico de Corralejo (La Oliva)
• Route of the journey: Southwest- Northwest
• Difficulty: high
• Tides: 1st high tide at 11:40 h / 2nd low tide at17:53 h
• Participants: 220 swimmers
• Average duration: 65 minutes 7000m CROSSING:
• Starting point: 12:00 h
• Distance: 7000m
• Participants: The thirty quickest swimmers Fuertecharter’s team
In our articles we almost always talk about our neighbour Lobos islet, as a main destination of our boat trips from “Corralejo”. However today will tell you a little bit about the heavenly “Papagayo” beaches, in the island of “Lanzarote”, a destination we often visit too in our private trip CP8.
Papagayo beaches consist of five small bays, which spread along 2 kms, located in Lanzarote and belonging to the village of “Playa Blanca”, in the municipality of “Yaiza”.
These small bays are the most precious diamond of our neighbour island, because of their spectacular golden sand and their quiet turquoise waters which turn this nook into one of the most seductive heavens in the Canary Islands, where having a bath is almost a must.
The five coves are located in what is called the natural monument of “Los Ajaches” —officially declared as such in June 1987, and it was also declared as an area of protection for birds (ZEPA) in 1979, and area of high ecological sensitivity in 1990— a volcano massif of a great beauty, landscape and ecological relevance where paleontological remains with fossils from the Lower Pliocene have been found.
Each of them has a different name, and all of them are very recommendable to visit: Playa Mujeres, Playa del Pozo, Playa de Papagayo, Caleta de Congrio and Puerto Velas, Playa de Papagayo being the one where we usually drop anchor in our boat trips from Fuerteventura.
In each of these five small bays there are low-lying boulders that in turn form other smaller sheltered bays which offer more cosiness and privacy to their visitors.
Its proximity to the tourist town of Playa Blanca, just five minutes away by car, turn these beaches into ideal places to relax while not being too far away from the tourist hot spots, but far enough to get away from the hustle and bustle, mainly in winter time, season in which it’s sometimes difficult to come across any more visitors in these beaches, thought of as heavens of unpaired beauty for almost exclusive enjoyment.
In summer they are more frequented, but their breadth makes it possible not to see them as crowded as the beaches in other tourist destinations.
In these beaches you find top quality conditions. As they are sheltered from the wind due to their orientation these beaches enjoy nice temperature, they have crystal-clear waters and almost no waves, typical from a Caribbean landscape. The views of the islet of Lobos and our dear Fuerteventura island make it possible to be lying in the sun while enjoying a work of art worthy of any of the best museums in the world.
These good conditions turn these beaches into an ideal place for children to run about safely without danger, to practise sports like beach tennis or fishing, to read, thanks to its peaceful silence, and go for long walks on the golden sand.
We highly recommend you to visit this piece of paradise if you haven’t done it yet.
The seabream is the most common fish in the world belonging to the Sparidae family, and one of the most common species in the island of Fuerteventura. It’s an exceptional inhabitant in our neighbour islet of Lobos, and we can watch it everyday in our snorkelling sessions.
Its Greek name is “Diplodus”, steming from “diplos” and “odus” (double tooth), and it makes reference to the fact that it has two different kinds of teeth: incisors, flat and sharp at the front part of the jaws, to cut and bite off (some species even present sharp canines); and molars, at the back, to crush the food.
The seabreams’ habits change with age, so when they are young they are omnivorous and as they grow up they become carnivorous, feeding on molluscs, some of them with shell, and on invertebrates they dig up. Within the different species, some of them are gregarious and you can find them in schools, looking for protection from potential predators or just around a food source, as for examples mussels. Other species, like the sharpsnout seabream or the zebra seabream, go alone and you can hardly see them in groups of more than 3 adult specimens.
Another characteristic of this family is that they are hermaphroditic, and the first stage of their lives they are male, and they become female later on, which is why the size of the female specimens is considerably bigger than that of male ones.
It’s a combative species, and during the mating season they can be quite aggressive, even endangering the life of their own breeds. Their breeding season is Summer.
Here, in The Canary Islands, and specially in Fuerteventura, we have the five species that make up this family: white seabream, (Diplodus sargus), annular seabream (Diplodus Annularis), common two-banded seabream (Diplodus Vulgaris), sharpsnout seabream (Diplodus Puntazzo) and zebra seabream (Diplodus Cervinus).
All seabream species have reached the 50% of their maximum size at the age of 4.
The white seabream (Diplodus sargus) This is the one we find more easily in Fuerteventura Coast, on rocky seabed as well as between seaweed and sandy seabed, in shallow areas, between 0 and 50 mts deep.
It’s grey, light or dark depending on the camouflage it needs, and it has flashing silver sides. Young specimens feature dark vertical and longitudinal stripes at its sides, and in some sub-species, like the Diplodus sargus sargus or the white seabream, they disappear completely when they become adults, except the one they have at their tail. In other sub-species, like the Diplodus sargus cadenati, or black seabream, the stripes are lengthwise, and they never disappear. In the case of the Diplodus sargus lineatus the vertical stripes don’t disappear either.
They have 12 bones in the dorsal fin, and 3 in the anal one, and a black border in the tail fin.
They can be, maximum, 45cm long, weigh a maximum of 2kg, and live around 10 years.
Annular seabream (Diplodus Annularis) Silver uniform body with five vertical dark lines which disappear in the adult years. The pelvic fin and the beginning of the anal fin are yellowish. It’s very common in meadows of marine phanerogams, among 0 and 15m deep. The biggest specimen that has been found is 22cm long, and it lives around 7 years.
Common two-banded seabream (Diplodus vulgaris) This species doesn’t have any vertical stripes in its body, just one behind its head and one near the tail, and what characterises it are the thin longitudinal yellow stripes, a slightly blue colour in its head and a reddish stain on its eyes.
It’s often found in rocky areas, no deeper than 50m. The biggest specimen was 36,5m long, with a weight of 1,3kg, and they usually live around 9 years.
Sharpsnout seabream (Diplodus puntazzo) It also has vertical stripes that disappear when it becomes adult. It’s called this way after its snout looking like a beak, with tilted incisor teeth.
It inhabits deep areas, between 10 and 150m deep. It’s usually a bigger specimen, around 60m long, weighing up to 1680kg. It usually lives around 9 years.
Zebra seabream (Diplodus cervinus) Also known as real seabream because of its big size. Its body is slightly convex and it features vertical dark brown and silvery lines, which do not disappear with age. Old specimens have quite thick lips. It inhabits very deep areas, between 30 and 300m deep.
The biggest specimen is 55cm long and it weighs 2,74kg, although in spear fishing they have found 5kg specimens. It is the most long-lived of all the seabreams, being able to live up to 17 years.
The seabream is a very coveted fish in sport fishing, as it’s very easy to catch, mainly the zebra seabream. In Spain, the smallest size allowed to be caught is 22cm.
It’s a very popular fish in the gastronomy of Fuerteventura, due to its versatility (it can be grilled, steamed, baked or fried) and also because it has a soft flavour and meat, rich in vitamins and minerals.
From the 80’s in the XIX Century the pilgrimage to La Peña has been celebrated every third weekend in September. This is one of the most popular ceremonies for “majorero” people, framed within the festivities of “Virgen de la Peña”, affectionately known as “La Peñita”, patron saint of Fuerteventura since the XVII century.
The image of this Virgin is one of the Virgin Mary, Gothic French style and carved in alabaster by an unknown sculptor. It was brought to the island in the XV century by the Norman Conquerors, when they founded Betancuria.
It’s the oldest image of the Virgin in the Canary Islands after the image of “La Virgen de la Candelaria”, patron saint of The Canary Islands in Tenerife, disappeared in a heavy storm. It was dated from the XIV century.
“La Peñita” gets this name after having been found by San Diego de Alcalá and Fray Juan de San Torcaz, Franciscan monks who inhabited the convent of Betancuria in the XVII century, in a cave that was hidden at the foot of a rock, in the ravine of “Malpaso”. According to the legend, the image may have been hidden there so it wasn’t stolen or destroyed by the “bereber” pirate Xabán, who devastated and destroyed the village of Betancuria in 1593.
The miracle of finding this image made it possible to build a little chapel in the very ravine where the carving of the Virgin was found, and the faithful went on pilgrimage to “El Barranco de Malpaso” for a long time, to present their prayers and offers to their dear Virgin. Until one day they were aware of how difficult it was to access there and also realised that the image of the Virgin was deteriorating in that chapel because of the humidity and they decided to build a new chapel in the neighbour village of La Vega de Río Palmas, which is the chapel of “Nuestra señora de la Virgen de la Peña”, inaugurated in August 1716, a place easy to access where all the devotees have the chance to visit “La Peñita”.
This chapel, with a classicist stone façade, houses the main altar that keeps the Virgin in a niche framed by a silvery sun, with a crescent at her feet. The image is white, maybe due to the bleaching of its pigments over the years, and it presents the Virgin and child on her knees.
The festivities of “La Peña” Virgin started to be celebrated on the 19th December, since 1599. By then, believers coming from all over the island came to the chapel in “El Barranco de Malpaso” but, due to the rainy season at those times often the attendance wasn’t very massive, as people took advantage of it to sow, and also because the water running down the ravine made it difficult to access the chapel. So, it was suggested changing the celebration to the 5th August, and later on it was fixed on the third week in September.
Nowadays these festivities are still celebrated on December 18th, and on August 5th “La Peña chica”, although at a local level, the festivity of the island being celebrated in September.
The Friday preceding the third Saturday in September (this year it was Friday 19th) thousands of “majoreros” from different points in the island set off on pilgrimage to the chapel, where they celebrate the different masses on Saturday and the Virgin is taken in a parade around the streets of the village. Some come on foot, some others ridding a donkey or camel to queue if front of the chapel of their dear Virgin, whom they lavish with flowers, prayers and offerings.
The festive atmosphere is provided from the very beginning by local musical groups, pilgrims, folksong associations and bands of musicians that provide their music and lyrics, some of them related to the celebration, as worship of the Virgin, some of them just emotional, like “isas” and “folias”, and even some playful songs such as “polcas”.
In the village they even adapt some spaces as roadhouses where you can taste delicious goat meat, “papas arrugadas”, nougat candy, caramel-coated almonds, pineapples of almonds or peanuts. Here you have the program of activities and a map of the area together with the bus schedule for those special days.
Corralejo es el principal centro turístico del Norte de Fuerteventura, localidad desde cuyo muelle parten nuestras excursiones al islote de Lobos, y el lugar ideal para disfrutar de unas vacaciones, no solo de sol y playa; así que aquí te proponemos una serie de actividades de ocio que puedes realizar, para sacarle el mayor partido a tus días de descanso; planes ideales para realizar en tu semana de vacaciones que hagan de ellas una experiencia inolvidable.
Corralejo Grandes Playas y Parque Natural de las Dunas de Corralejo Si has elegido Corralejo como destino para tus vacaciones probablemente lo has hecho por la calidad de sus paradisiacas playas, de fina arena y aguas turquesas, cuyo máximo exponente lo verás a escasos metros de la localidad, en el famoso Parque Natural de las Dunas de Corralejo. Se trata de las dunas más grandes del archipiélago canario, espacio protegido desde el año 94, y formadas por una finísima arena blanca que con la luz del sol te despertará infinidad de sensaciones; son además hábitat de una gran variedad de aves y de especies endémicas. Un lugar de gran belleza, del que podrás disfrutar con niños, de muy fácil acceso e ideal para fotografiar. Desde estas dunas, que comprenden 9km de costa, podrás descubrir las grandes playas de Corralejo que, como una extensión de las dunas —ocupando 3,5 km de longitud, pero al otro lado de la carretera— son, para muchos, las mejores playas del norte de Fuerteventura. Comienzan en el Hotel Riu y son espectaculares playas de aguas turquesas con vistas a Isla de Lobos y la vecina Isla de Lanzatote, la costa este de Fuerteventura, a tan solo 5 km de Corralejo. Muchas de estas playas cuentan con servicios de vigilancia, chiringuito y parada de guaguas. Son muy tranquilas, con una baja ocupación, ya que son muy extensas; de fina arena dorada y con aguas normalmente tranquilas. Visita obligada, algo que no puedes perderte en Corralejo.
Excursión a Isla de Lobos
A poco más de 3 km de Corralejo, con salida desde el mismo muelle, contratas la excursión a este pequeño islote, también protegido por la variedad de especies de aves y por la calidad de sus aguas; un lugar donde el tiempo se detiene, en el que zambullirte en cristalinas aguas turquesas en cualquiera de sus dos playas, ya sea saltando desde su muellito o en la bonita playa de la Concha, donde serás espectador de lujo de las Dunas de Corralejo que te quedan en frente, disfrutando también de las vistas del volcán de morro Francisco. Las aguas que separan esta isla de Corralejo son de una riqueza excepcional, por eso es recomendable que contrates una excursión en catamaran con nosotros, ya que nuestros expertos marineros te contarán todos los secretos de este río de mar, te mostrarán las fomosas pardelas, habitantes aves excepcionales del islote, y los más afortunados podrán disfrutar de las tortugas boba, que reposan sobre el mar tomando el sol e incluso de delfines juguetones que te acompañarán unos minutos de trayecto. Y por supuesto, contamos con una zodiac para acercarte el puertito de Lobos, para muchos el paraíso, de origen totalmente volcánico. Esta isla es visita obligada, así que no seguimos explicando, tienes que descubrirlo por ti mismo.
La localidad de Corralejo y su gastronomía
Te proponemos conocer la parte vieja de Corralejo, pasear por su Paseo marítimo con las vistas ya mencionadas a la Isla de Lanzarote y al islote de Lobos, lleno de bonitas terrazas para tu disfrute. Aún quedan vestigios de la época en que este pueblito vivía de la pesca, lo descubrirás al llegar al muelle chico y ver sus pequeños barquitos de pescadores. En la calle de la Iglesia, peatonal, cuya vida se activa a partir de las 6 de la tarde, cuando ya te has cansado de la playa, podrás tomar desde una rica cerveza hasta cualquier elaborado cóctel, escuchar música en vivo en la misma calle, disfrutar de un rico aperitivo o de una exquisita cena ya sea a base de pescado local, queso majorero, tomates de la tierra… Son muchos los extranjeros que asentados en esta isla ofrecen lo mejor de su gastronomía con lo mejor de la gastronomía de Fuertventura, por lo que la oferta culinaria es amplia, rica y económica. También podrás disfrutar comprando tus regalos en el casco viejo, en pequeñas tiendas artesanales, o acudir a la concurrida calle principal, centro neurálgico de la localidad y por la que pasarás infinidad de veces, llena de locales, tiendas, supermercados…
Practicar Surf o Kitesurf en las playas de Flag beach, el Moro o El Burro
Fuerteventura es un paraíso para la práctica de estos deportes. Para el surf, por ofrecer playas con fondos de arena sin riesgo para iniciarte y por la variedad de sus olas, muchos días con el tamaño ideal para que sea una iniciación segura y divertida. Para el kite, porque muchos días contamos con el viento ideal para disfrutar de este deporte. Estos deportes se pueden practicar en familia y a pocos kilómetros de Corralejo, en las playas que limitan las dunas. Te recomendamos contratarlo con alguna escuela para que te inicie, explicándote los secretos del deporte, dotándote del material necesario y con experimentados instructores. Además que estas tres playas son como las antes mencionadas, de una arena fina que brilla con la luz del sol y una belleza espectacular…
El volcán de Morro Francisco
Y para disfrutar de la visión de Corralejo, en conjunto con la Isla de Lobos y Lanzarote, te proponemos una pequeña excursión de senderismo que te llevará a lo más alto de la localidad y que te hará sentir el origen volcánico de estas islas; se trata de lo que un día fue un gran volcán responsable de la formación de este zona de la isla de Fuertreventura. Una excursión de dificultad baja que no te llevará más de 1,5 horas y que te ofrece también una visión del resto de la isla a tus espaldas.
Y son muchas más las posibilidades de disfrute de Fuerteventura que dejaremos para otro artículo, hasta aquí esperamos haberte ofrecido planes que, sin salir de los alrededores de Corralejo, hagan de tus vacaciones una experiencia inolvidable. Te esperamos en el muelle de Corralejo para llevarte a esa excursión a Isla de Lobos que te hemos recomendado, porque esa sí que no te la puedes perder.
