On the way to another visit to Israel, here’s a summary of our last week in Fuerteventura, one of the least touristic and more deserted Islands in the Canaries. From there a 12-hour sail and we are in a completely different world - the island of Gran Canaria. The last point in Fuerteventura was at the southernmost end, the town of Morro Jable. In this area, the mountains are reddish and come down to the water, and the sands are white. Apart from the small town, the area around is completely deserted. Reminds us of certain places in Sinai, before the white sand was dotted with bungalows. For one night we managed to stay, as we love, outside the marina, in front of the (relatively) lovely town. It has an ugly part with hotels, but the second part is nicely situated on a small hill, and the streets are pleasant. It also has a small local market. In short, cute, small, not great, but the landscape around is magnificent.
Towards the evening, a new French surprise appeared: A type of raft with sails, no engine, no protected cabin, very quaint. On it a bunch of youngsters. Later, it turned out that the aforementioned creation was made by a French guy, a little odd, interesting and very bold. He sailed it from the French Atlantic coast, crossing the bay of terror, Biscay, and on to the Canaries. What's for sure, he is not spoiled...
The next day we met Naima, a pleasant Swiss girl that sailed on the raft for the last two days along the coast of Fuerteventura.
In the evening the wind picked up, while the swell arrived from a different direction, which is a recipe for a swinging boat ... After repeated attempts to anchor at different points in the bay, we reached the conclusion that if we want to sleep, we’d better go into the marina. It's hard to call the little port a Marina. It was clear that there was an attempt to build one, and later we realised why the idea was abandoned, after quite an investment. What did we find? Wave breakers, two piers, no water, no electricity, 7 sail boats docked, most manned, some not. We also found the French raft tied to the dock.
The next morning we met the neighbors. Naima from the raft came for coffee. On one side, a Spanish / Italian family, Father, Mother, a 9-year-old boy and a year-and-a-half old toddler. All in all they’ve been living on the boat for three months. I wonder if they’ll survive. The father, Christian is very cute, an experienced sailor, born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. A seaman who fulfills his happy dream on the boat. His main occupation here in the Marina is to steal water in Jerry cans from the fishermen, and to fill the boat tanks, so that his wife can clean, wash clothes, shower her kids and shower herself. In short, the woman is a little hysterical, obsessed with cleaning, first time experiencing life on a boat. Not sure she'll survive. I must admit though that experiencing all this for the first time with such little children is not easy. The children look quite happy.
On the other side of the same pier, a French family. Father (Gal) Mother (Cecil) and a child nine years old (Jan). They also dreamed a dream, and began on the maritime journey about a year ago, with very little experience, a lot of learning, and a great personal charm. Both are artists/ photographers who work together. It seems they are very successful, having behind them years of common creation, exhibitions, selling their works and teaching. In short, they succeeded in what they're doing (certainly in the terms of artists) and now can work remotely while wandering. We saw some of their works and we were very impressed, by the works and no less by the charming people. So starts a new relationship, and of course there are common friends that met both them and us along the way. Here are some of their works that select common objects and use them in unexpected ways. If you’re interested in seeing more, here’s a link to their website.
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| Can you guess what are these? Looks like bugs on exhibition-but it is something completely different Can’t guess? You can find the answer at their site 
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In the evening, we were invited to their little boat together with the Spanish family to a kind of ceremony of eating a Christmas Cake according to the custom of Spain. It turns out that there is another holiday in the New Year’s holiday chain. Not sure how to call it, but it has to do with Santa Claus. The following is the custom: a particularly creamy cake, with two layers, a yellowish cream between the layers, is decorated with crystalline sugar, and sugar coated fruits. In short, a glucose bomb. Between the layers, in the cream, are hidden two objects. One is a small doll of a Spanish Santa, the second a bean. And there is also a royal crown in the game. Each one in his turn cuts a triangular piece of the cake, and checks what’s in it: If you have Santa, you are the king, if you have the bean, you pay for the cake ... The cake was less terrible than we expected, and the children were happy. In our cake round, there was a double win! The Spanish boy found in his piece of cake both the king and the bean! For a moment he was happy, and then very frustrated.
In the evening, as the forecast predicted, strong winds began to blow, even more powerful than predicted. In the marina wind was measured at over 40 knots (that's a lot!). The wind whistling outside was crazy, though there were no waves! The dock is definitely protected from waves, but not at all protected from winds. Moreover, they must have managed to place the pier in some funnel which creates a particularly intense wind, and apparently this is why they did not continue to construct it. So, there's no electricity, no water, you do not pay for docking, but you pay with the wind ...
A little after it started, I thought of Naima, the Swiss girl, tucked in a sleeping bag on the open raft, and I thought to invite her to sleep on Ester. I did not finish to share with Udi the idea, and the girl appears at our door and asks for asylum. From then on, we found ourselves adopting a 28-year-old girl with big dreams, which came for one night and stayed five ... In total it was nice. The next day the wind continued to blow and we managed to be very busy on the boat. Another day passed, the sky was blue, the wind went down, and we went on a hike, crossing the mountain ridge in front of us, to the beach on the west side of the island, which is very difficult to reach. The south western coast is not inhabited and completely wild. Naima joined us for this long trip, at the end of which a bus (which is actually a kind of truck) returned us home, tired and satisfied.
The forecast for the next few days, however, said that a convenient wind will blow on Sunday, that could take us to the next island. The wind will decrease after Sunday and this could mean 12 hours cruise with the engine. So – we got ready to leave on Sunday. That left enough time for another evening of Humous (which I prepared for the first time with Tomer's support) and great pita bread the Udi had prepared on a pan. We were joined by the French family with dinner that they made, and the crazy Frenchman from the raft with his contribution: while Naima was staying with us, he went searching, after a rumour about a sports catamaran that was abandoned on some beach to the north, which he thought he might be able to use. On the way, at night, he sneaked into a posh hotel, with coconut trees loaded with unclaimed nuts. With no hesitation, he climbed 16 meters, threw down a few large nuts, and now shared one with us. Crazy and daring I already said ...
On Sunday we sorrowfully said goodbye to Fuerte Ventura, which we learned to love as we became more familiar with it,. We sailed, with Naima, under excellent conditions for sails, at a good speed of 6-7 knots, as we love, straight to the capital of the Canaries, Las Palmas. On the way we even managed to catch fish for dinner!
It should not be confused with the island of La Palma which is the island that made headlines recently, when its volcano burst on the day we arrived in the Canaries. To Gran Canaria we arrived reluctantly. First, it was hard to leave Fuerteventura and I wanted some more ... Beyond that, the impression we got from other sailors was that there was nothing to look for, a big city, etc. From the point of view of the cruisers, Las Palmas the large city has two important characteristics, which are probably also related to each other: First, this is the cheapest marina that can be imagined, perhaps except for the Greek ports that are not really marinas. Marinas in the Mediterranean can cost around the 50 Euro per night. We rarely use marinas in the Mediterranean. Because of the budget, but mostly because we prefer to be on anchor. In the Mediterranean there is no problem almost anywhere to find great bays which are very well protected. We used marinas only in when needing repairs or extreme weather. On the other hand, in the Canary Islands, I assume you already gathered that there is difficult to find bays, it is possible, in windows of very specific weather, to enjoy the delight of anchoring outside the marina. Well, at Las Palmas they charge eight euro for a night including all water and electricity. Another characteristic of the Las Palmas marina is the great number of sailboats that use this marina as the starting place to cross the Atlantic Ocean. Therefore, they arrive, fix whatever need fixing, load up, and leave. This is where the annual flotilla called ARC (Atlantic Rally for Cruisers) starts off, an impressive organization founded by Jimi Cornel, one of the pillars of the "popular" sailors, 36 years ago.
The idea is that all who are interested in crossing the Atlantic can sign up, pay, congregate at Las Palmas, and on the planned date, set out. The organization provides support in the form of lectures, (Zoom lectures in these Corona times, which we had been attending lately even without being signed up for the ARC) about sails, communications, steering, navigation, safety, etc.
When the ARC sailors congregate it turns into a Happening, with ARC officials passing through, inspecting boats, and there is a sort of “escorting from afar” during the crossing. It is not clear how much the :remote escorting” is significant, because all boats are connected by communications, but it provides a sense of security, and make the Atlantic crossing more accessible than previously.
The ARC is so big, that this year three flotillas were organized. The last flotilla left on Sunday, the day we arrived at Las Palmas. Had we come earlier, we would have had no chance of getting a spot in the marina. 70 sailboats left on their way to the Caribbean – we saw the flotilla leaving, with sails taught with the wind – exciting!
Around the marina are dozens of stores, among the largest and best for boat equipment we have seen. Prices are absolutely reasonable, maybe because the taxation here is lower than Mainland Europe.
As stated, we caught a day of good wind,knowing that the flotilla vacates the marina before we arrive. We presented ourselves with great confidence to the marina, and found out that things are not so simple. The marina is managed by the local authority (not a private marina), and everything moves lazily and is very inefficient. You cannot order a place in advance. Arrive, come to the Office to register (there is a waiting list), anchor in a nearby bay and remain listening to the marina's radio network until a place is vacated and it is your turn. How long? No one knows what to say ... We were a little stressed, for several reasons, including our water tanks that were nearing empty (we do not use seawater and desalination when we are in crowded waters / docking. The water is really dirty. In addition, in a few days we will be visiting back in Israel, and should find a safe berth for Ester.
In the meantime, we came to the understanding with Naima that it was time to say goodbye, and within a day or two she would continue on her way. It was impressive to see her in action. Locating potential boats (especially those that appear cool), passing between them, smiling big smiles, starting a conversation, being invited to the boat, and from there, if she does not continue with this boat, continuing on, with people around already knowing and helping her to find a boat. On that first day, she found a boat to take her to another island in the Canary Chain. Such is the world of the young people who roam the boats of others…
After two days in the bay, we were invited to enter the marina. We filled up on water (we miraculously survived). Three more days and we left Ester. In the meantime we managed to join a free guided tour of the city, which was charming and instructive. The old part of the huge city is just beautiful. For those who are not familiar with the charming enterprise of free tours then here is a tip - these tours take place in almost every city / town in the world. Some give an economic picture (history, architecture, etc.), in some places you can find a variety of options such as street art, significant sites. We have enjoyed such tours in quite a few places around the world (Athens, Berlin, Thessaloniki for example). Instructors are with relevant, local academic backgrounds, those who have studied the subject for instruction. Enter the site, check when there is a tour and in what language, register and receive a meeting point. The payment at the end, each according to his ability and desire. Along the way you also get tips about restaurants, museums, cultural shows. Highly highly recommended. Try Goggling a Free hiking tour plus the name of where you are.
So here's a taste of what we discovered in ancient Las Palmas de Gran Canaria.
and also -
We took a first hike in the mountainous area, which revealed to us that the landscape here is completely different from the previous two islands. Mountainous, very green, plants we have not encountered, ripe prickly pears alongside citrus trees full of fruit, cacti, eucalyptus, palms. In short a great smorgasbord… With the help of a great app called Planto we found that there are lots of plants here that are endemic to the Canary Islands and Gran Canaria. Using the app is simple and easy, photograph the plant, the phone thinks a bit and comes back with a result that includes all the botanical information and also possible uses or alternatively warnings of toxins. For example, we took advantage of the app and avoided using plants that look like sage that the app explained are indeed family members of other edible plants but in this case, are not really recommended for boiling for tea!
We ended the trip, which was quite challenging, in a village called Teror, over a beer while waiting for the bus, and we did not really understand how the word Shalom was placed next to the word Teror., Even the waiter there could not explain..π
The hike left us with a taste for more of the impressive landscapes and plants, cute villages, quite a few neat trails and a bus network which leads to every forsaken location.
Last night, we enjoyed a fine meal at a fish restaurant recommended by a local. Located on the beach on the west side of the narrow headland on which the city is built. Great location, great food and the prices relative to Israel are ridiculous. We'll be back….
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| The beach of Tel - Aviv? |
The next day Ester is closed up again, 11 hours, two flights, children waiting at the other end. We will stay for about two weeks, collect the Spanish residence visa and return to boat life.
