New Year!
Starts with hopes for a calm, healthy, fun and fulfilling year for everyone. I wish that we know sanity along with the Corona that unfortunately will probably not disappear at once, that our small and tumultuous country’s leadership will be able to prove that the common grounds are bigger than the differences and that one can live with disagreements, enjoy multiculturalism and especially practice respect and cooperation.
Thats it, so far for the speech to the nation π
Its a pleasant afternoon, after a strenuous swim in not very warm water, a hot shower and coffee, in front of a nice-looking town (Morro Jable) in the south of the island.
I will try to summarise three weeks laden with sights, encounters and feelings. This is quite a bit, especially when not living a routine. I have to admit that time has become precious, as I have become addicted to learning Spanish in the duolingo app. As with other addictions, this time too Udi is guilty (he’s always guilty…) when for some time now he has been trying to drag me into a "positive addiction" (is there such a thing?). I'm now an accomplice to his crime, him being addicted to learning Greek for two years in a row! Hopefully one day I can say more than “Yo no hablo Espanol”π
We arrived at Fuerteventura (Island of the Strong Winds) after a short cruise south of Lanzarote straight to the Marina at Corralejo which was recommended as a particularly nice town. Our impression was very different. A very touristy town, a feeling that it has almost no life of its own. Lots and lots of bars and restaurants, lots of English tourism and bars accordingly. We have again come to the conclusion that the restaurants in the Canaries can be waived, unless you happen to fall on the exceptions. The Trip advisor that serves us as a source for recommended restaurants this time is disappointing. Apparently everything is relative…
Still, we were able to enjoy a specific Irish bar hosting live music and the entire crowd coming from Great Britain (including Irish and Scots). The Brits seem to know how to rejoice and, overall, be at least in some situations quite nice.
The city is surrounded by beautiful dunes and provides excellent conditions for various forms of surfing on the water. In general tourism on this island is younger and sportier than that encountered in Lanzarote. The main thing is surfing, the young and beautiful who walk around barefoot carrying surfboards and a sunburn, wind and salt. Accommodations accordingly. Less "resort towns" and more hostels at different levels.
We docked at the town marina, from which we were "kicked out" after two nights, after having to beg to stay a second night. There are few places for visiting boats, registration for the marina is cumbersome, and in addition there are no marina services other than water and electricity. At least the prices are reasonable. These two days weren’t pleasant . Gray skies, strong winds and the dunes become a nuisance. A desperate attempt to experience them on bicycles were encountered with sand clouds. We parted from Coralejo without a strong sense of missing out. We’ll skip it on the next round…
The next stop along the east coast, the "capital" Puerto del Rosario. The first impression is of a more sympathetic town. No longer a tourist town, mostly locals living their everyday lives, somewhat drowsy… Christmas signs are starting to pop up including a local Christmas market touching in its simplicity and trying to make men and women happy, like in the big cities of Europe.
Here the marina is larger, the minimum conditions (water and electricity) are certainly satisfactory. There is the beginning of a feeling that we are settling down. So far, we feel that we have moved too much. The nature of this life requires sitting comfortably in places that feel "right" to us. A deeper acquaintance with the inhabited environment and the surrounding nature, an acquaintance with the grocery / supermarket, the small shops, and if it happens then also with people.
A hike we made to a picturesque village situated in a valley surrounded by mountains made it clear that there things to see on this island. Our dependence on buses, summoned us for a ride with a young German couple who took us back to the marina and in return we invited them for a beer on Ester. And so the day ended up with an unexpected encounter and a long conversation into the night mostly about a third generation of Nazi descendants, feelings of guilt, politics and society in today’s Germany. Of course the conversation rolled there on their own initiative and was super interesting. We learned a great deal, including about the rise of anti-Semitism in Germany as part of a global process of nationalism and racism. So it's not just scare stories. This time it came from the mouths of the Germans who are experiencing the process and are very worried.
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Aloevera fields forever |
Betancuria
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Trying to concude every good hike with a good beer
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An uncomfortable feeling accompanies us that since we returned from visiting Israel we have not really found our balance. We lost the sense of ease and pleasant routine we felt in the first episode of the journey. As usual looking for "culprits": us (Udi Is guilty again)? The visit to Israel? This annoying island?
Part of the experience of boat life is the ability to change place very easily. If the place / neighbors / island is not pleasant for us, we drop ropes, lift a sail and move to another neighborhood.
So we set off again, the general direction is… Right! south.
Next stop is Gran Trajal's Marina. A Marina that was highly recommended in the docking app that is very useful to us (for the benefit of sailing readers - worth getting to know Navily). We weren’t disappointed. The marina is really neat and quite protected, the small town is completely local, as usual sleepy but definitely pleasant. For us if there is a bus and a supermarket we do not need more. Here there is even a bonus of a new and very modern laundry. Yes, from time to time you have to wash the clothes you wear again and again.
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The town getting ready for Christmas
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And without some minuses it is impossible. So first, for bus nomads, it is much less convenient than the previous town. Also, on the first night we experienced the joy of Bulgarians on the weekend. For some reason, in this marina there are quite a few Eastern Europeans, whose membership in the union allows them to settle throughout the member states of the union. Some have chosen to settle on boats precisely in this marina, and especially on our pier. So we could not sleep…
Both of these reasons made us go on vacation from the boat. We packed a small backpack and our folding bike, and we set off this time overland to the northern part of the island, to a town called Lajares.
From a preliminary reading it seemed like a good place to settle down to tour the north of the island. Four days in a cute little cubicle with a huge terrace and a great view, were a good base for going on several hikes, some riding on our tiny bikes (looking like bears on a circus bike), but doing the job.
The following are photos and brief descriptions:
A hike to some sand stone canyons
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ΧΧ ΧΧ??     
    A hike to the perfect caldera of Hondo     A curious squirl and a raven   |
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| A crazy color of algae |
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| At last a good restaurant which we visited twice |
Back to Esther, Christmas Eve, we should have known in advance, another sleepless night. This time the Bulgarians are raging until 4 in the morning. We begged at three in the morning, for some consideration, they ignored us, and we surrendered, and the next day we passed a neighborhood. The comfortable weather, in addition to the less comfortable neighbors, spurred us to step out of the protected marina into the great sea. Two nights on anchor in front of the beach a little north of the marina. Not particularly protected, but possible when conditions are right, and there is no substitute for being on anchor. You can jump into the water, sit comfortably, workout on the deck without squatting in front of the neighbours (trying to get a new habit).
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| Udi on a shoping mission in the near village |
And again the wandering life summons surprises. The next morning a smiling man wearing a wide-brimmed hat comes up to us vigorously paddling towards us on a kayak. We gladly welcome him. The new friend, Manu (short for Manuel) is French, with English of Doulingo first stage. Still the conversation flowed and was amusing. It turned out they had a plan similar to ours, to move slowly west. They too retired from land life on August 8 this year (on our same date) , 4 children, sailing in the same boat as our previous boat, the same year of production, a little sister to Ester, a little smaller. In short, we became a familyπ After about half an hour, the other half of Manu, Karin, appeared, coming up from the sea equipped with a speargun (without fish) and happily joined the celebration. Her English is much better and the conversation is smooth. It is becoming clear to us that the French cruisers are a different breed. Irresistible adventurers. They are often found on ascetic boats, with which they cross oceans for years, and reach remote places. Specializing in extreme sports, fearless. Karin and Manu have three paragliders on their boat, with which they hike wherever there is a mountain, kite surfing when they cannot find mountains. The means are meager but a fighting spirit is not lacking.
Another rocking night in the bay brought us back to the marina, but this time we knew which pier we did not want to be on. We docked as far as possible from the Bulgarians, with the New Year celebrations on the horizon… The French friends also joined in a convenient mooring in the marina.
We had a beautiful sunset hike to a mountain overlooking the city, a lovely hike to a volcano, a ride back with a couple of yet more Frenchmen who came to visit on the boat. Some fun evenings with Manu and Karin, including the New Year's Eve, all in the accompanying photos…
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| Aperitif on Karin and Manu's boat πEven the shirts are the same |
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| First champain in the cockpit |
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| playing PICKOMINO in a French accent |
The calm weather allowed us to escape from the marina back again to the blue of the sea, sunsets, sunrises, swimming and quiet.
The next mooring point, which was especially beautiful in front of great dunes and wild scenery, again failed. During the night, the wind changed direction and the waves shook us mercilessly. At three in the morning we picked up the anchor, headed south to the town of Morro Jable, which has both a marina but also the possibility of anchoring outside, relatively protected from the wind that is currently blowing. Hope for a quiet night… Sunrise, sunset and the open sea are worth the chance.
Pictures
In about two weeks we are going for a short visit to Israel. According to the Spanish Embassy website our Spanish residence visa is waiting for us ππΎππΎππΎ
Luckily for us the flights are so cheap that one can enjoy frequent visits, recharge batteries of happiness with the kids, visits to grandma Ana that we love, friends, and other family members.
Until then a little more of the Fuerteventura we learned to love, before crossing to the next island in the Canary chain heading west to Grand Canarya, where we will leave Ester as we go on a home vacation.
Until the trip home, if it will be interesting enough and there will be time (π π π ) I will upload one more post.
A hug and a happy new year to you allππΎ❤️
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