I recently went to the Canary Islands with my mom and my baby sister and specifically
to the island of Fuerteventura.
And as someone who loves the sunshine, but like gets bored lying on the beach, this was
honestly my dream sunny destination.
If that sounds like you and you're considering Fuerteventura or if you're just looking for inspiration
for your next holiday then keep watching for my top five must dos on the island.
Now bear in mind, Fuerteventura has plenty more to offer, but this is just the basics,
just the absolute must-dos for anyone who's going for the first time.
By the way, if this is your first time on this channel then, welcome, I'm Eliska, this
is Jack and we make travel videos and try to encourage you to bring a little bit of
adventure into your everyday.
So hit that subscribe button and let's get on into the video.
For background, Fuerteventura is the second largest of the Canary Islands, which are Spanish
and they're a volcanic archipelago off the Moroccan coast.
So although they feel culturally European, in terms of geography and climate, they feel
closer to North-west Africa.
The sun is pretty strong here, although it feels deceptively cool because it's very windy
so make sure to slather on the sunscreen.
Temperatures in the summer are pretty consistently around 25 degrees, which is perfect if like
me you're slightly dysfunctional in like properly hot weather.
So first things first - obviously you know that Fuerteventura is an island and it's a
small island at that, so you can't actually get very far without hitting a coastline.
Of course you can go and lie on the beach, but that comes as a surprise to absolutely
nobody.
But what's really cool about Fuerteventura is that it's insanely windy.
This means that it's a prime spot for wind and water sports.
In fact, it's home to the Fuerteventura Windsurfing and Kitesurfing world championships, which
we actually went to watch and I would highly recommend that if you're around in June then
you go check them out because it's pretty amazing what people can do whilst hanging
off of a piece of cloth that's flapping around in the wind.
Ladies and gentlemen, the 2019 champion of the freestyle here on Fuerteventura
is coming form the Czech Republic, let's welcome Paula Novotna.
If you want to try your own hand at wind or kite surfing then this is the spot to do it.
There are plenty of water sport schools around and you'd be hard-pressed to find more consistently
favourable conditions.
The wind of course also means that there are pretty reliable waves all year round, so if
you're a keen surfer or if you just fancy trying it out then this is also the place
to do it.
There are spots for all levels of surfers, from what I'm told is the longest right-hand
barrel in Europe - I think - by Lobos island to some pretty mild waves by El Cotillo and
some of the other more sheltered beaches.
There's definitely no need to feel intimidated by the big shot surfers, there is something
for everyone.
I even got my mom to try out surfing, and she really enjoyed it so...
Next up - hike a volcano.
As I already said, the Canary Islands are volcanic and although there are no active
volcanoes on Fuerteventura, there are some pretty impressive looking extinct ones, complete
with a crater and everything.
The most popular volcano to hike is the Calderon Hondo - Hondo?
I butchered that didn't I. I think the Spaniards don't pronounce their H's, but if you speak
Spanish, please let me know how it's pronounced.
It has a beautiful crater and the walk up is really easy, literally anyone can do it.
My 4 year old sister went all the way up without being carried once - very proud of her - so
if she can do it, then so can you.
I also saw at least three people do it in their flip flops (which I would never recommend,
but you do you boo).
Once you get to the top of the volcano, you have the option of walking round the crater
which is quite cool, a bit more of a balancing act, and probably not one for the flip flops.
Third tip - hop in some form of vehicle and go explore the landscapes.
The landscape is what makes Fuerteventura truly breathtaking.
It's pretty barren and rocky, although think more rock carpet than rocky cliffs, if that makes
sense... what're you talking about, none of that makes sense.
Where's geologist Jack when you need him.
The south of the island is a little bit more mountainous than the north, which is pretty
flat, and I cannot recommend enough driving through that mountainous region - it just
feels like a completely different planet.
And before you knock that, just know that Solo, the last of the Star Wars saga movies was
filmed on Fuerteventura.
It actually kind of reminds me of bits of Namibia - if you missed those videos, then
i'll link them up here somewhere, but basically it's a very similar like barren landscape
with really cool like mountainous formations.
The beaches are mostly picture perfect stretches of sand, and on the west coast they're often
separated off from the mainland by like a short cliff.
You can basically drive off the road into any of those coves and you'll find yourself
on a sandy beach in between.
For someone who grew up in a landlocked country, that is just the dream.
You can also take a day trip to Lobos island which is like a 10/15 minute boat ride from
Corralejo.
Again, it has a beautiful beach, a little volcanic mound that you can climb and it's just a little
bit more secluded, a little bit of something else to do.
Beautiful landscape and really clear waters around it so you can go snorkelling or diving
around there as well.
You thought we were done at volcanoes and beaches, but no, there's also a desert - well
in-land sand dunes at the Corralejo natural reserve.
Anyway, I'd recommend renting a car and doing a proper explore around the island, it's so
easy, the roads are good.
It's really a waste to just stay in one spot.
I think I'd even get a camper van the next time I go, just because some of the more remote
places are so breathtaking.
So tasting local delicacies is like the main reason I travel.
The first thing I do before I travel anywhere I spend like two to three hours researching
what I'm going to eat there.
We ate very well on Fuerteventura.
I'm just going to run off a list of foods that you should try otherwise we're going
to be here forever.
Canarian potatoes - essentially new potatoes cooked in sea water to give them a delicious
salty coating.
Mojo picon - or just Mojo.
This is a garlic, cumin and paprika spice mixture mixed into a sauce often served with
bread or canarian poatatoes.
We got a box of this stuff from the supermarket and put it on literally everything at home.
Majorero cheese - a firm goats cheese made directly on the island - I believe there's even
a whole museum dedicated to the making of this cheese.
Goats stew - made with potatoes, and such a hearty and homely meal.
All seafood - we stayed in what used to be a fishing village, there's still a lot of
fishing there and there's so much fresh fish, so much fresh seafood and it's all delicious.
It doesn't matter how it's made, they really can't go wrong with it.
We even got seafood from the supermarket to make in our apartment and it was so good.
Gofio mousse - essentially a very sweet mousse made from a base of gofio which is basically
this local flour made of corn and wheat.
Nat gluten free.
Basically, eat everything.
Finally, the Canary Islands are basically Aloe Vera land.
There are actually a couple of Aloe Vera farms on Fuerteventura that you can visit - but
if that's not your thing, then definitely at least go into one of the Aloe Vera shops
and try out some of their products.
The plant itself is baffling to me, it's basically leaf-coated jelly.
And whilst I am no chemist and definitely don't know anything about herbal medicine,
that leaf-coated jelly is some sort of crazy magic.
I can highly recommend the 99.9% aloe vera gel for sunburn - mine is actually 98% - coz
if you engage in the above-mentioned water sports then you might be suffering from that.
I swear that I put on sunscreen, okay?
I didn't even peel!
At any rate, the products make for a great little gift if you need something for someone
back home.
We stayed in a dreamy little town called El Cotillo and I honestly think it's my future
home and I'll be dedicating an entire video to it because I'm in love - and I have recommendations,
so make sure you subscribe and hit that notification bell if you want to watch that video.
But that is it guys - that was a whistle-stop tour of the must-dos and must-sees in Fuerteventura.
If you have anything to add to these tips then please leave us a comment below, I'll
definitely be going back, so I'd love to read them.
Thank you so much for watching and I will see you in our next video.
Byeeee.