Fuerteventura, 2022

Our trip to Tenerife in October was so good that Mabel insisted we book another trip to the Canaries as soon as we were back. The Melia on Fuerteventura was recommended by her sister, and the price was right… so mid-February, when the UK was in the middle of a series of the worst storms they’d seen in 30 years, we were soaking up the sun.

It was about 20 C all week, with just one day coolish and overcast. Perfect for us. The beaches in the Costa Calma region have a steady north to south wind over wide, white-sand and shallow waters that stretches for miles. This makes it an ideal spot for windsurfing / kitesurfing, which these old bones weren’t about to try.

There’s also an unusual large lagoon between the hotel and the beach that fills up somewhat at high tide. I thought this would make for an interesting sunrise shot, so I got up at 6.30am a few mornings to catch some of the shots below.

I did walk the length of the 5-mile sand spit one day to get exercise and managed to end up swimming when trying to cross a bit that was deeper than it looked. Me and my phone…!!! Thankfully, I discovered my Huawei P30 Pro is waterproof. Only my headphone adapter got fried.

We took a day trip to the Oasis Wildlife park, with expectations set pretty low. Wow. Couldn’t have been more pleasantly surprised at a top-notch zoo. Clean, with natural paths and beautiful habitats, regular free shows, and a fun local market next to the main restaurant. Video of the whole visit below.

We’d seen a good amount of catering to German visitors on Tenerife, but were surprised to see the level of that in Fuerteventura: most signs are in German and Spanish, and nearly every accent we heard was German. It was fun to brush up on my Deutsch so I could at least respond with a word or two in an elevator.

We also wanted to repeat the boat trip from Tenerife, so booked onto a huge catamaran. Probably 30 people on the boat, but it didn’t feel crowded. Half the entertainment, aside from the abundant dolphins, was a 40-something Spanish influencer that made an exhibition of herself pouting and preening all over the boat with her selfie stick and photographer.

We made sure to spend a scorching day by the beach and the pool for the last day….

The only downers for the week: Mabel has a reaction to mosquito bites and we just weren’t expecting she’d get bitten on our 8th floor balcony. The hotel is very remote, with no options for other restaurants in walking distance. The in-hotel buffet is just mediocre, and $18/person + drinks. Meh. We opted to take a taxi into the local town a few times for dinner instead, and it was worth it for a few quality meals.

Overall, we had a relaxing week and are so thankful we could get away to sun and warmth. However, I don’t think we’ll be back to Fuerteventura. Just not enough green and not enough stuff to entertain me (all Mabel needs is sun and a pool). We’ll likely try Lanzarote or Gran Canaria before deciding which island will be a regular destination for us. But before that… so much of Europe to get to! We met many Germans and Poles that gave us recommendations for our wish list.

Parting shot… a sunset taken from a taxi window at 50 mph.