El sol y el mar de la Isla Canarias

Flying back to Europe, I took a bit of a detour to Spain, where once again I was happy to tag along on one of Gary's sales meetings. His company had a big meeting on the island of Fuerteventura (which means "strong winds" in Spanish). It is the closest of the Canary Islands to Africa, only 84km (about 50 miles) off the coast. The island is very dry and is mostly volcanic rock, desert & sandy beaches, surrounded by clear, turquoise waters. The island is dotted with windmills and lots & lots of goats. The big draws to the island are the beaches, fishing, diving, windsurfing & kite surfing.

I was still in Florida when the meeting started, but I met up with Gary just in time for the big beach party night to wrap up their week. After a "team-building" event of kite-flying we had an amazing dinner of local cuisine & mojito-style drinks. We sat on colorful pillows surrounding low tables in the sand. There was a Cuban band and we danced on the beach until late in the night! It was a great start to my stay in Spain.

The hotel itself was amazing. It had a beautiful pool and the spa was the best I have ever seen, with several "massaging" waterfalls, steam baths & even a Swedish "ice bath" (yes, I went in, after much coaxing from my loving husband). The hotel reminded me of the Marriot in Aruba where we had a "girls week" a few years ago. The surrounding area also reminded me of Aruba because the only palm trees on the island were planted by the big hotels and the shore was continuously swept with some pretty strong winds. The only bad thing about the hotel was that the nearby beach was mostly volcanic rock and not good for lounging.

Gary went diving a couple days before I got there, which he said was extremely choppy & cold, but I still wanted to go. Unfortunately, I forgot my dive card and they were very strict about having it, so there was no diving for me. I was also interested in learning to windsurf or kite surf, but the instructor said it was actually TOO windy to learn, and there was a danger of me being swept up onto the rocks if I tried kite surfing. So, I stuck to the pool.

The town of Corralejo was within walking distance from the hotel. It had some great local restaurants and a nice shopping area. The local food was wonderful. We found a place in town where the paella and sangria were so good, that we actually went back a few nights later and ordered the same dish again! We soon found out that it is local custom to serve a shot of liqueur after diner, and this is how we discovered their local specialty, "ron miel", or honey rum. It was so good we bought two bottles and hauled it back home with us!

We liked our little village, but we wanted to see more of the island (and find the beaches that everyone was raving about), so we rented a car and we were off! Once out of our local "town", we were met with seemingly endless desert roads, and not a whole lot else. There were a few small villages here and there, a couple farms, a few lighthouses, and some great beaches! Here we found white sand as far as the eye can see and the most amazing crystal clear waters.

All in all it was a wonderful, relaxing visit. I could really get used to the 5 star hotel lifestyle, but all too soon it was time to head back to Geneva. Gary took a direct flight (business trip return). But since it was going to be ridiculously expensive for me to fly direct, and I had a couple days to spare, I flew to Madrid, took a train to Barcelona and flew home from there (for about 1/2 the price). So, my Spanish adventure continued...



Our hotel, "The Kempinski Hotel Atlantis Bahia Real" ~ What a name!


The big "beach party" night, dancing the night away.


The walk on the beach "into town" from our hotel.


Isla de Lobos (Island of the wolf) as seen from our hotel.


This is what 90% of the island looks like.


We found this oasis in the desert and stopped for lunch.


The end of the island... Way out in the distance is the southernmost lighthouse, which would have taken us an hour to get to without a 4x4, so we headed to the beach instead!


We found a beautiful sandy beach and decided to get a tan (yes, that's Gary!)


Is he going to spit on me?


This fine statue was in the middle of a traffic circle that we had to drive around a couple of times to figure out what it was all about. Turns out, most of the island's economy (next to tourism & fishing) is based on the production of "Majorero" cheese that's made from goat's milk.


Me & a couple of the local, hard working goats!